Members who rely on medical equipment at home depend on reliable, uninterrupted electric service to keep their equipment running. Whether this equipment is life-sustaining or helps alleviate issues related to another medical condition, the health and safety of all of our members is incredibly important. Through Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative's Medical Alert Program, we ensure that members who make use of medical equipment in their homes can be prepared for a loss of electric power.
About the Medical Alert Program
If you or another member of your household rely on electricity to operate life-sustaining equipment, such as a respirator or dialysis machine, it is important that you notify your electric cooperative by enrolling in this program. Members with other serious medical conditions that require equipment which may not be life-sustaining but still uses electricity to meet a medical need are also encouraged to enroll.
The purpose of the Medical Alert Program is to efficiently provide our most vulnerable members with notice of planned outages, conducted so crews can safely perform maintenance on utility equipment. When we schedule outages, members on our Medical Alert list will be notified by phone about the location and estimated duration of the planned outage so they can expect to be without power for a certain period of time. We encourage all members who use life-sustaining medical equipment, those with other serious medical conditions, and those acting as caretakers to always have a backup plan. Options such as a generator or an alternate location with electric service can allow for continued use of your medical equipment during an outage. We cannot provide prior notice to members on the Medical Alert list when dealing with unplanned outages, caused by weather, contact with trees, or other unforeseen circumstances, and we cannot guarantee that members on the Medical Alert list will have their power restored first in these instances.
Sign Up for Medical Alerts
If you or a member of your family should be included in our Medical Alert Program, following the link below will let you access, download, or print the Medical Alert Application enrollment form. Completion of this form requires some basic information about the member and the equipment they use, as well as certification from the member’s physician if their medical equipment is life-sustaining. The form must be returned to our office at 64 County Route 639, Sussex, NJ 07461 or sent to us at medalert@sussexrec.com.
Please note that an updated enrollment form must be submitted yearly to remain enrolled in this program.
Access the Medical Alert Program Enrollment Form Here
More Information
Our Medical Alert Enrollment Form asks for some basic information about the member in question and the equipment they use. We also ask if you have an alternate power supply available to you, for example a backup generator or a secondary location that equipment can be used. If your equipment is life-sustaining, we ask that you complete your enrollment form with a signature from your physician. This lets us verify the life-sustaining utility of your medical equipment.
You do not need to make use of medical equipment that is life-sustaining to be eligible for our Medical Alert list. Members with other serious medical conditions, which require equipment that may not necessarily be life-sustaining but still use electricity to meet a medical need, are also encouraged to enroll. In these cases, members are not required to include a signature from their doctor.
Yes, your enrollment in the Medical Alert Program must be updated each year. This means that Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative must be provided with an up-to-date Medical Alert Program Enrollment Form each year to guarantee your account will continue to be included in our Medical Alert list.
The Medical Alert Program primarily concerns planned outages. Planned outages are conducted for safety reasons when our utility equipment requires maintenance. We occasionally make use of planned outages across different parts of our service territory, interrupting the flow of power so our crews can work on electrical distribution and transmission equipment safely. These outages affect nearby groups of members for a period of time that differs depending on the scope of the maintenance needed. This maintenance is required to ensure a stable and reliable flow of power, but we do not want to adversely affect members with medical conditions who are made vulnerable without ready access to electricity.
If your household is enrolled in our Medical Alert Program, we provide advanced notice of planned outages. When we schedule outages, members on our Medical Alert list will be called at the number provided on their enrollment form. We will provide information about the location and estimated duration of the planned outage so members can expect to be without power for a certain period of time.
If electricity is a medical necessity, this advanced warning will give you time to make other arrangements for on-site back-up capabilities or other alternatives before your service is interrupted for maintenance. We encourage all members who use life-sustaining medical equipment, those with other serious medical conditions, and those acting as caretakers to always have a backup plan. Options such as a generator or an alternate location with electric service can allow for continued use of your medical equipment during an outage.
Unlike our scheduled outages, unplanned power failures due to natural causes and system problems cannot be predicted. Because of this fact, we cannot provide prior notice to members on the Medical Alert list in these instances. Additionally, the Cooperative is not able to restore Medical Alert Program members’ power first during unplanned outages. Typically, SREC typically restores power to the largest outage groups first. Sometimes smaller outages have to come online before larger ones due to the linear nature of power circuits, from substations out to neighborhoods. In either case, Medical Alert members will be picked up as the outages are restored, but in these cases they cannot be prioritized. This is why it is important for households where a member relies on medical equipment to have backup measures such as a generator on-hand.
No. The Medical Alert Program does not relinquish you from paying your account’s balance on time, nor does it make you exempt from the delinquency disconnection process. The Medical Alert Program does not guarantee an uninterrupted, regular, or continuous power supply nor does it restore your power any faster during an unplanned outage. However, it does open lines of communication with the Co-op that give you advanced warning of planned interruptions.
If you feel that you may need help paying your monthly electric bill, visit the "Billing Assistance" tab on our Billing Information page for information on options that could potentially help.
In addition to enrolling in Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative's Medical Alert Program, members with medical conditions that rely on electricity may also wish to register in New Jersey’s Register Ready program. The NJ Register Ready program is a good way for residents with disabilities or access and functional needs to receive help in the event of a disaster. Residents (or their families, friends, caregivers, and associates) can provide information that would allow emergency responders to better plan to serve them in a disaster or other emergency. The information will be held securely and only used for emergency planning response. To register for NJ’s Register Ready program, call 2-1-1 or visit registerready.nj.gov. Other resources for Sussex County residents can be found at http://www.sussexcountysheriff.com/community/community_alerts/.