LIPA Urges Customers with Special Medical Needs to Enroll in Critical Care Program

Uniondale, NY - With June 1st marking the official beginning of the hurricane season, the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) wants to remind all customers who rely on electricity to power life-supporting equipment in their homes to register with LIPA’s Critical Care Program.

Customers enrolled in the Critical Care Program will receive advance notice of scheduled outages and severe weather that may cause power outages. This will enable customers who depend on electricity for emergency medical and life-support equipment to make advanced preparations. If an outage does occur, LIPA will make every effort to restore electric service to program participants as soon as possible. However, there may be circumstances when timely restoration is difficult and Critical Care does not guarantee priority restoration of service. It is important customers realize it is their responsibility to develop a plan that will ensure their medical needs are taken care of in the event of a power outage.

“The Critical Care Program is an integral part of LIPA’s emergency preparedness plan. We encourage customers who qualify for this program to sign up well in advance of storm season,” said LIPA Chief Operating Officer Michael D. Hervey. “While it is inconvenient for any of our customers to lose power, it can be a matter of life and death for those who need electricity for life sustaining medical equipment.”

Customers wishing to enroll in the Critical Care Program must provide LIPA with a medical certificate from a doctor or the local Board of Health. Once approved the customer’s account and meter will be tagged as “critical care.”

Devices which meet the medical criteria for life-support equipment include:
Apnea Monitor
Curraise Respirator
Positive Pressure Respirator
Suction Machine
IV Feeding Machine
Tank Type Respirator
Respirator/Ventilator
Hemodialysis Machine
Rocking Bed Respirator
Oxygen Concentrator
IV Medical Infusion Machine

For more information about LIPA’s Critical Care Program call 1-800-490-0025 or visit http://www.lipower.org/residential/custserv/services-care.html

LIPA, a non-profit municipal electric provider, owns the retail electric Transmission and Distribution System on Long Island and provides electric service to more than 1.1 million customers in Nassau and Suffolk counties and the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens. LIPA is the 2nd largest municipal electric utility in the nation in terms of electric revenues, 3rd largest in terms of customers served and the 7th largest in terms of electricity delivered. In 2010, LIPA outperformed all other overhead electric utilities in New York State for frequency of service interruptions, and ranked second for duration of service interruptions. LIPA does not provide natural gas service or own any on-island generating assets. More information about LIPA can be found online at: http://www.lipower.org