Do you or someone you know have a medical condition that requires electrically powered equipment that must be operated continually to sustain life or avoid serious medical complications? What would happen if you could not pay your electric bill? Would your electric service be disconnected?
Shut-off or termination of utility service is a serious matter. It is important to contact your utility as soon as you receive a shut-off notice. To avoid having your utility service shut off, it’s your responsibility to contact the utility company immediately with any billing dispute or payment problem.
The electric utilities regulated by the Florida Public Service Commission (Florida Power & Light Co., Florida Public Utilities Company, Duke Energy Florida, LLC, Tampa Electric Co., and Gulf Power Company) have identical tariffs that define how the companies will address a customer who needs “continuously operating electric-powered medical equipment necessary to sustain the life of or avoid serious medical complications requiring immediate hospitalization of the customer or another permanent resident at the service address” and has not paid his electric bill.
For customers requiring Medically Essential Electric Service, the major points to remember are:
- The customer must request and complete an application, including medical certification of need, at least annually to remain eligible for the Medically Essential Electric Service program.
- The customer’s need for medically essential service must be certified by a doctor of medicine licensed to practice in Florida.
- The company is required to grant an extension of not more than 30 days beyond the date service would normally be disconnected for nonpayment.
- The company must give written notice of the date that the service is liable for disconnection based upon the 30-day extension.
- The customer is then responsible for making the payment by the end of that time period or making other arrangements to meet his medical needs.
- No later than noon on the day prior to the disconnection date, the company must attempt to contact the customer by telephone to advise him or her of the impending disconnection.
- If the company cannot reach an adult member of the household by telephone, it must send a representative to the residence no later than 4 p.m. on the day before the scheduled disconnection to advise the customer of the impending disconnection.
- If no one is home, the representative may leave written notification of the disconnection.
- This plan cannot ensure that the customer will have electric service 100 percent of the time. Natural disasters, equipment failures, or other unforeseen events may cause a service interruption.
- The customer is responsible for any backup equipment and/or power supply in case of an outage.
Some utilities have programs to help customers with special needs find ways to pay their utility bills. Programs may vary by company, so you should call your electric company for details about qualifying for these programs. Other programs like the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) may be able to assist customers whose income falls below the Federal Poverty Guidelines.
