Why Did My Energy Company Ask About Life Support?
14th February 2025
If you or someone you love relies on life support equipment, then it’s important that your energy company knows about it. This way, they can keep you well-informed of any changes to your power supply.
For some people, a continuous supply of power or gas to the home is critical. It may be that you rely on an oxygen concentrator to deliver a steady supply of oxygen, or a kidney dialysis machine to do the important job of filtering blood. You or someone in your household may need a ventilator for life support or some other piece of equipment that helps to live comfortably at home.
If you or someone living at your property requires a life support device, it’s important to let us know about your situation so we can:
- Help distributors prepare for planned outages by updating their records so impacted customers can be informed well in advance
- Assist in prioritising a distributor’s power restoration efforts when an unplanned outage occurs
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Support when you need it
While a continuous supply of energy can’t be guaranteed to homes in which life support equipment is used, either your retailer or your local distributor will proactively inform you of planned outages so you can best prepare for them.
If you’re a Red Energy customer dependent on life support equipment and aren’t sure if we know about it, you can call us on 131 806. We’ll send you a registration form to complete – you’ll need to get your doctor to sign the form, too. Once signed, this needs to be returned to us so we can complete your registration.
Once registered, we or your local distributor will then be able to contact you if there is a planned outage in your area for any reason – so you can put your back-up power plan in place.
Concessions and energy rebates
Life support equipment – which can include extra heating or cooling for some medical conditions – can be power-hungry. To ease the burden when it comes to electricity bills, state governments offer a range of rebates for people who rely on specific life support equipment. Usually, you must hold a concession card to be eligible for the rebate, although this does differ by state.
Around Australia, there are different rules for the types of equipment covered and rebate. Learn more about specific state-based concessions in areas that we service here:
If you or a loved one qualifies for the rebate, you simply need to complete and submit the application form (see state-based pages above) or you can call us on 131 806 so we can arrange for your rebate.
The final word
If you need the power on for life support equipment, then it’s important that your energy provider knows about it. Your provider can also assist you in applying for concessions to help with your energy bills.
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About Red Energy
Red Energy is 100% owned by Snowy Hydro Limited, who own, manage, and maintain the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme in New South Wales. Our Customer Solutions team is 100% based in Australia.