Free backup battery for medical equipment during a power outage now covers more California households

Who qualifies for a free backup battery for medical equipment during a power outage

Southern California Edison runs a program called the Critical Care Backup Battery Program, which gives away a free backup battery for medical equipment during a power outage or a wildfire safety power shutoff. According to the program page Southern California Edison keeps live today, a customer qualifies if the home sits in a high fire risk area designated by the California Public Utilities Commission, the customer is enrolled in Southern California Edison Medical Baseline program, and the household relies on electrically powered medical equipment or another qualifying medical device. Southern California Edison supplies the battery itself, a 200 watt solar panel kit to recharge it, and delivery, setup and training, all at no cost, and keeps a program phone number, 1 800 736 4777, for anyone checking their own eligibility.

The 3 battery sizes Southern California Edison offers

The Critical Care Backup Battery Program flyer that Southern California Edison publishes lists 3 battery sizes, 1.5 kilowatts, 3.0 kilowatts and 6.0 kilowatts, so a household can be matched to how much power its equipment needs. Every size ships with the same 200 watt solar panel kit, so the battery can recharge itself between outages without a separate purchase.

The 2 larger batteries, 3.0 kilowatts and 6.0 kilowatts, both ship on a wheeled roll cart, while the smallest, 1.5 kilowatt battery does not, according to the same flyer. Southern California Edison states every battery carries a 3 year warranty, on its current program page.

How the eligibility rule got broader

Southern California Edison original program, described in its 2020 flyer, only covered a narrower group, a physician verified Critical Care customer whose household could not go without power for medical equipment for more than 2 hours, and who was also enrolled in a low income program, California Alternate Rates for Energy or Family Electric Rate Assistance. In a February 2021 wildfire mitigation filing, announced through Edison International Newsroom, Southern California Edison committed to expand eligibility for the Critical Care Backup Battery program to include all Medical Baseline customers, not only that narrower group. An Energized by Edison article published in July 2022 states the utility had by then already delivered a free battery to more than 7,000 eligible customers, while still describing income enrollment as a requirement. An Energized by Edison article published in October 2022 announced the wider rule was live, saying thousands of additional Medical Baseline customers in high fire risk areas could now qualify.

Reading Southern California Edison own dated pages side by side shows a further difference nobody has stated directly. The 2020 flyer and the July 2022 article both require enrollment in California Alternate Rates for Energy or Family Electric Rate Assistance, but the current program page lists only the 3 conditions named above, with no mention of either program anywhere in its text. No source states that Southern California Edison removed that income requirement or names a date it happened, so a caregiver checking eligibility today should rely on the current program page rather than the older income rule.