Do xPAP machines qualify as medical devices for utilites?

I called my power company, who told me any medical device qualifies for increased baseline power allotments. Does anyone have experience with this?

Depends on the utility. Some offer discounts. Sounds as if your utility won't charge you as much (essentially a discount) for the use of medical equipment. I would take advantage of the offer - if there were no downsides to the offer.

My utility will try to prevent unannounced power interruption if I have life sustaining medical equipment. But they highly recommend backup power units. They don't offer any discounts for medical equipment. (Too bad!)

JohnBFisher wrote:Depends on the utility. Some offer discounts. Sounds as if your utility won't charge you as much (essentially a discount) for the use of medical equipment. I would take advantage of the offer - if there were no downsides to the offer.

My utility will try to prevent unannounced power interruption if I have life sustaining medical equipment. But they highly recommend backup power units. They don't offer any discounts for medical equipment. (Too bad!)

What John says is correct, but unlike O2 compressors Xpap uses very little power, so by all means feel free to let your neighbors help pay for your electric needs. After the New U.S.A., is a socialist state. Turning the lights off when you leave a room will lower your electric bill by more than your xpap uses, and will savd our resources. Jim

unlike O2 compressors Xpap uses very little power

This would have been useful information without the barb. Not all of us are electrical experts.

yes, it does qualify as a medical device... Most utilities have a registry of customers that have "life sustaining" folks and will put you on a priority list for restoration of power.

As John said, they will also remind you that you need back-up power.

As has been stated, the benefits vary with providers. In the 3 areas where I've inquired about any benefits of registering as a CPAP user, each offered 1 or 2 of the following 3 benefits: #1 Nearly negligible savings #2 Expedited restoration of service during outage #3 A one-time temporary delay of follow through on a shutoff notice. Applying for the program required a form to be submitted from the doctor. In one location, I found the savings - even over a year - would be less than the cost of my doctor's visit to get the form completed. I have signed up for and gratefully utilized benefit #3 - a blessing for someone when a few days waiting on a disability check can make a difference in being able to pay your bill or lose utility services.

Jeannh wrote:I called my power company, who told me any medical device qualifies for increased baseline power allotments. Does anyone have experience with this?

This came up in another thread quite a while back & I can't seem to find it again.

But, from memory, seems that some utilities offer discounts, some do not.
Of those that do offer discounts, an XPAP did not qualify for some utilities, but did qualify for others.

More utilities offered some sort of advance notice of any "planned" power disruption, but some utilities did not even offer that.

Point is, it does seem to vary quite widely by utility.
The only way to find out exactly what your utility may offer would be to inquire.

Our Dr filled out a form for us and we were put on an "expedited" list for restoration of power. During the superstorm this year after being without power for 3 days, we had power restored about 4hrs before our neighbors.

It's perfectly all right with me if they restore power to my neighbors on O2, before they get to me.
It bothers me that there is no priority list here, even if I'm not on it.

Without the barb, without the barb I chant in the background. The OP asked about electric discounts. Look at your machine and its power needs. Look up ohms law and you will find the xpap machine eats almost a bucks worth of electricity per month. So if you feel the need to chase the savings go for it. As to a priority restoration list I see that as real value. As to power loss, a mid sized computer UPS or a 12v cable and snatch the battery out of one of your cars is a cheap backup plan. My house has "whole home" generator backup and an extra generator backing it up. Then the battery racks as third backup. That said I found a ~3,000va UPS on sale at a computer retailler for my xpap and if all else went to cr@p wife would wake me up long before the machine ran out of power. 99 bucks will go a long way at an after Christmas sale at an office depot or comp usa type store plus you get surge protection to boot.

Jeannh wrote:

unlike O2 compressors Xpap uses very little power

This would have been useful information without the barb. Not all of us are electrical experts.

barb ??????

barb, noun; snarky comment, or dismissal.

chunkyfrog wrote:barb, noun; snarky comment, or dismissal.

barb, noun; sharp pointed comment. Meant to inform, of a situation of using a small thing to get the masses to over pay for your electric usage.

Many electric companies don't have the brains to know why they are giving discounts to their customers. Many will give more discounts than the usage requires, This makes everyone pay more in rates to cover the cost of service, much like the government would due to help us.

Restoring service faster is a fine idea, but it doesn't compute, the electric comes on wires, it has to be fixed from point A to point B. your house, they can't just bring you a bucket of electric. Your only hope would to be fill your own bucket for outages. Gen or Battery or whatever. I'd hate to think while they were fixing my power for my xpap, they let 3 people die that were on ventilators.

Cut off Barb before backing out the hook, it will do less damage. Jim

Leave my aunt Barb outta' this!!

Sheriff

Goofproof is correct. Point A to B but due to redundancy they can often sneek in back door to get power to C while skipping B. Thus is the case on high priority locations such as hospitals etc.