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I've seen power company discounts for life saving equipment mentioned as an aside on other threads and would like to know more. How do they work? Is it required because of state or federal law? If it's a law, does anyone know if Washington state has such a law? Or if Puget Sound Energy has such a program? (Are there any other Puget Sounders on the board?) I just spent a while searching the PSE website and coming up dry. Is there a description on another power company's site that I could refer my local company to if I ask for a discount?

Well, I guess that's enough questions for now. Thanks for your help.

The power requirements for a CPAP are minimal and they don't warrant any sort of power discount, they are also not lifesaving equipment. Save the power discounts for those devices that really need a discount.

Bearded_One wrote:The power requirements for a CPAP are minimal and they don't warrant any sort of power discount, they are also not lifesaving equipment. Save the power discounts for those devices that really need a discount.

Apparently in some areas, they do warrant power discounts and people on this list qualify for them.

Please leave the judgments about who or what needs a discount to the people involved. You don't really know anyone else's situation but your own or those very close to you, nor do I....

Here in soCal, Edison does not grant a discounted rate to those with cpaps.

There IS another wrinkle to this topic. Some utilities (in addition to granting or not granting a discount) also maintain lists of customers who depend on various medical equipment or heating/cooling (such as MS patients). These customers are put on a "priority" list for repairs/reconnection in cases of local disasters that cut power.

It certainly doesn't hurt to inquire with your local utility as to the availability of discounts or the existence of priority lists.

Bookbear wrote:Here in soCal, Edison does not grant a discounted rate to those with cpaps.

There IS another wrinkle to this topic. Some utilities (in addition to granting or not granting a discount) also maintain lists of customers who depend on various medical equipment or heating/cooling (such as MS patients). These customers are put on a "priority" list for repairs/reconnection in cases of local disasters that cut power.

It certainly doesn't hurt to inquire with your local utility as to the availability of discounts or the existence of priority lists.

Thanks, Bookbear. I'll look into the priority list since our area is often the last to get power because we're a small pocket of a very large power company....

So Cal Edison does not give a discount but the give you an additional Medical Baseline allocation 16.5 kWh per day.

http://www.sce.com/CustomerService/Rate ... cation.htm

Interesting topic CorgiGirl - I don't need a discount, but would be very interested in getting some level of priority when it comes to determining rotating power outages - I am with PG&E in the Bay Area - I will research and post what I find.

Mike

So according to PG&E's website, they provide an extended baseline allowance for customers who have life support equipment - I would doubt that my CPAP is defined as "life support equipment" ? , but they define life support eqyuipment as including "Intermittent Positive Pressure Breathing (IPPB) machines" ?

Inflate your tires to save energy.

Barry

mymontreal - I have pg@e also. you can get their forms online. Print them out, get doc to sign and see what happens. Its what I intend to do. I don't really care about the discount but it also puts me on a list to prioritize me in power outages and that is a big deal where I live. Though, I will be putting a back up system into place before fall arrives.

After hearing about possible discounts on this forum about a year ago, I contacted my local electric provider, XCEL in the Minneapolis area. They have no discounts but do have a registry for those on necessary medical equipment. This registry allows for some preference to be given during a power outage as to more expedient power restore. CPAP does qualify. They needed additional documentation from a medical provider in addition to CPAP RX. I did not pursue it further.

I am in Missouri and have Aquila for a power company. They do not offer discounts nor do cpaps qualify for any type of priority service in case of a power outage. I inquired this spring and was told only if you were UNABLE to leave your home and required certain medical devices would you be given any type of priority service. Clearly with a xpap you ARE able (in most cases) to leave your home unless other medical conditions exist.

Clearly with a xpap you ARE able (in most cases) to leave your home unless other medical conditions exist.

right. you can leave your home. You just can't sleep. And then when you leave your home your a danger to yourself and others.

Bearded_One wrote:The power requirements for a CPAP are minimal and they don't warrant any sort of power discount, they are also not lifesaving equipment. Save the power discounts for those devices that really need a discount.

I have to agree this is barking up the wrong tree. It is not worth doing the math. That little blower and heater must be adding maybe $1.39 to the monthly power bill. What do we want a 10% discount or $0.14 per month

rooster wrote:

Bearded_One wrote:The power requirements for a CPAP are minimal and they don't warrant any sort of power discount, they are also not lifesaving equipment. Save the power discounts for those devices that really need a discount.

I have to agree this is barking up the wrong tree. It is not worth doing the math. That little blower and heater must be adding maybe $1.39 to the monthly power bill. What do we want a 10% discount or $0.14 per month

Maybe we could hook or XPAP up in the "Caddie", and the government would bring us gas for the tank, to run it. If we can't pay for power for our XPAP machine, we probably can't feed ourselves either. Jim