MEDICAL POLICY
AND FORM

Medical Status Designations and Accommodations Policy

A customer should notify GRICUA of any medical condition which requires the need for life-sustaining equipment.

The qualifying life support equipment includes, but is not limited to:

  1. Kidney, Hemodialysis, and Peritoneal dialysis equipment
  2. Ventilators and oximeters (excluding small nebulizers)
  3. Feeding or infusion pumps
  4. Suction machines
  5. Oxygen concentrators - continuous use only

The customer will be required to submit a GRICUA Physician Statement form (GPS form). The GPS form must be completed by the customer's physician. The customer may not submit any other physician notes in the GPS form's place.

Upon completion and submittal to GRICUA of the GPS form, the customer will be added to GRICUA'S medical alert list. This list will allow GRICUA to alert its crews of at-risk customers living in an outage area but does not guarantee that during an outage they will receive preferential treatment. Outages may be caused by storms, traffic accidents, or other circumstances beyond GRICUA's control. GRICUA routinely performs maintenance on its distribution system. If this maintenance will require the system to be de-energized, the customer will be notified so that the customer can locate temporary shelter.

IF A CUSTOMER REQUIRES 100% CONTINUOUS ELECTRICITY, IT IS THE CUSTOMER'S RESPONSIBILITY TO HAVE A BACKUP SOURCE OF ELECTRICITY OR MAKE OTHER ARRANGEMENTS TO BE RELOCATED SHOULD THERE BE AN INTERRUPTION TO GRICUA'S DELIVERY OF POWER. See GRICUA's Rules and Regulations for Electric Service Section 6.8 - Service Interruptions.

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PHYSICIAN'S STATEMENT FORM

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Medical customers are fully responsible for their bills. In the event that an at-risk customer becomes delinquent, GRICUA will send out delinquent notices but will not disconnect power after the first notice period. However, GRICUA will extend its disconnection period by 30 days so long as the customer has notified GRICUA that they will be late. In addition, the customer must make payment arrangements to bring any past due balances current by 60 days. If after the extended period the customer still is delinquent, the customer will be disconnected.

At-risk customers are responsible to develop a backup plan in case of an unforeseen outage or if they are disconnected for non-payment

Customers are advised that this medical designation is only valid for the calendar year and must be resubmitted by January 15th of every year. GRICUA will update its medical alert list yearly

TIPS

As a customer with life support equipment in your home, we realize that reliable electric service is important to you. GRICUA works hard to maintain a reliable and safe distribution system. However, storms, accidents, vandalism and other circumstances beyond our control can sometimes cause power outages. In case of an unexpected power outage, we encourage you to have a backup plan.

The following are some recommendations

  1. Obtain a cellular telephone that operates without electricity and keep the battery charged
  2. Store flashlights where you can find them quickly
  3. Place emergency numbers close to the telephone
  4. Add GRICUA to your emergency number list. You can report an outage or other electrical emergency 24 hours a day by calling (520) 796-0600
  5. Be prepared to move the person and support equipment to a location not affected by the outage
  6. Call 911 if someone in your household needs immediate medical attention or must be transported
  7. Consider purchasing a portable generator and battery backups, which are capable of operating equipment during an outage

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