With increasing in-home care, changing energy needs and the greater frequency of natural disasters impacting power supply, Essential Energy has joined the campaign to change industry rules to make way for better energy-based life support back-up planning for customers.

Essential Energy has co-led a rule change submission to the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) that reflects a new approach to ensuring life support users are looked after proactively in a rapidly changing energy environment.

Essential Energy’s Chief Executive Officer, John Cleland says that the energy industry needs to work together with customers, healthcare professionals and consumer bodies to provide better support and protection during power outages. 

“The current rules around defining a customer who requires electricity for medical support requires a clearer definition so that those customers with critical continuous energy supply requirements are more easily identified, supported and are provided with a medically aligned back-up plan,” John says.

“Amending the National Energy Retail rules will allow for electricity retailers and distributors to identify customers for whom power is critical to sustaining their life and mitigating lifelong irreversible injury.

“By providing clearer visibility of these customers and their premises, energy suppliers can provide more effective support during unplanned power outages,” John explains.

The rule change is the result of over two-years of energy and health industry collaboration through the Energy Charter that recognises the need for new ways of proactively looking after those who use medical equipment in the home, currently known as life support customers.

The change request introduces a Critical Life Support Customer definition where energy-based back-up planning and support needs are determined by a registered medical professional.

68% of life support users mistakenly believe that the power will be restored within two hours of an unplanned outage, however, only 7% have access to back-up power. And for some life support users, continuous power is vital to operate their equipment to sustain their life and to avoid lifelong irreversible injuries.

Better ability to identify Critical Life Support Customers for energy providers will also improve the efficiency of communications during power outages and provide more time for customers to enact their medically aligned, energy-based back-up plans.

Some of the key changes include:

• A back-up plan required for Critical Life Support Customers to assist them and their care team to put in place an appropriate, medically aligned energy-based back-up plan
• A nominated second contact person to be made aware of planned power outages to be able to assist the Life Support User in a power outage and check on their welfare
• Registered Medical Practitioners to share information on available concessions and rebates from jurisdictional schemes and help with developing a back-up plan that aligns with their medical needs
• Life Support Users who are permanently reliant on Critical Life Support Equipment won’t need to provide an updated medical confirmation every four years

By improving the accuracy of life support registers and implementing medically aligned back-up power plans, the energy industry can work together with customers to provide the right support when it’s needed. 

The rule change submission was the work of co-leads Essential Energy and SA Power Networks in collaboration with The Energy Charter. For more information about the submission, visit Better Protections for Life Support Customers on the AEMC website.