Powering Through: How Utility Companies Are Helping Vulnerable Customers Stay Informed During Severe Weather Outages

A report released in October with data from the 2023 American Housing Survey (AHS) conducted by the U.S. Census found that 14.5 million households nationwide reported having medical devices that require electricity; almost one-third of those households (31.6 percent) were affected by power outages. Of the 33.9 million households that lost power in the 12 months prior to the survey, about 70 percent said at least one outage lasted six hours or more.

“This is the first time since 2012 we had anything close to snow in Jacksonville,” Greg Corcoran, manager of community involvement and project outreach for JEA. Unusually frigid temperatures last month prompted action by the company’s Storm Outreach team, which he leads.

“It’s very rare we have weather-related outages related to winter activity,” he says. “It’s not something we normally deal with, but something we prepared for with this storm for faster outage response.”

JEA serves more than 500,000 electric customers in a four-county region of Northeast Florida. JEA Medical Alerts are available to those who need medical equipment at home and want an extra phone call or an in-person visit. 

Corcoran says most of the weather-related outages JEA faces occur due to hurricanes and tropical storms in the late summer, which can also spawn tornadoes.

Caregivers can sign up and receive notifications

Across the country, Salt River Project (SRP), a community-based not-for-profit organization, serves 1.1 million electric customers in Phoenix and Central Arizona. Of those, 1,712 customers are part of its Medical Preparedness Program.

“Monsoons are our biggest culprit in our service territory — enough to call it a monsoon season,” says Danielle Olaya, a SRP community relations program manager.

“What this program does is let us know who is in that house that is needing some type of electric-dependent medical device in their home,” Olaya says of the program that began 10 years ago for those who need one of seven specified devices. A physician must verify that need for enrollment and recertify every three years.

“It’s important to know not just for the household but can be shared with a caregiver,” she says. “You can sign up other people to be aware of your outages. Even though they may not be a customer or have that same utility, they’ll get that alert so can help put things into action.”

The nation’s sixth-largest, community-owned, not-for-profit electric utility is the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, known as SMUD. Its Vulnerable Population Program began in 2021, which now includes 172 customers. By self-identifying, they ask for additional communication and advance notice of a power loss. 

“Originally, it was developed as a way to address wildfire mitigation, but it’s broader than that,” says Kim Rikalo, SMUD director of customer operations & assistance.

She says someone who is pregnant, has a newborn, or has just been released from the hospital may need to know about potential outages even if they don’t have a device requiring electricity.

SMUD also offers financial assistance for those with certain medical devices — something many utility companies do not. Its Medical Equipment Discount Rate referred to as MED Rate began in 2011 as a way customers can receive a $15 per month discount on monthly bills for specific devices: in-home dialysis cycler, electric wheelchair, oxygen concentrator, ventilator (not a CPAP or BIPAP machine) and extraordinary heating or air-conditioning needs due to a medical condition.

Alerts for planned outages

Not all blackouts are sudden. Power companies have planned outages daily to continuously upgrade systems, replace power poles, and maintain equipment. Such outages, often three hours or less, prompt customer advance notification of service interruption, regardless of medical needs.

When winter weather causes blackouts, electric utilities work to restore power but also improve customer communication and policies. Winter Storm Uri in mid-February 2021 left Texas with record snowfall, the state’s longest streak of freezing temperatures lasting almost nine days and related power outages.

Following Uri, Austin Energy boosted efforts for its most vulnerable customers. A form of the MVR program began in 1983 and altered rules in 2011, including replacing specific medical devices with broad categories: needing life support, being diagnosed with a critical illness or being treated for a serious illness — all of which require uninterrupted electricity. Overton, the deputy general manager, says that about 20 staff members and a handful of managers oversee MVR. After Uri, certification was broadened from physicians-only to others in the medical industry and the renewal period was extended.

Overton clearly recalls the historic 2021 event that hit Austin and nearly brought down the state’s power grid.

“It was a vortex that hovered for a sustained period of time with ice thickening to levels we’d never see before,” he says. “That was more complicated by what we later learned of going through three years of drought. The trees were very fragile, and we had more trees and tree limbs falling during that storm.”

Lewis was in the hospital at the time and says her house didn’t have electricity while she was there.

“I had to stay an extra day until the power came back,” she says. “That was a blessing.”

Lewis says she believes Austin Energy weather communication is “100 percent helpful.”

“Sometimes it’s automated and sometimes they will call me personally and tell me about the update of the weather and do I have a backup plan and someone to go to or could I go to a warming shelter or to the hospital,” she says.

“I’m trying to get a portable generator,” says Lewis. “I need one.”