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How-to · Housing & utilities

Ask your utility about a medical certificate

A medical professional can certify that you need utility service for a health reason, which may let you set up more lenient payment plans.

Steps

4 steps
  1. Ask your utility about the certificateCall your electric or gas company and ask how it handles a medical certificate on your account.
  2. Have a medical professional submit itA qualified medical professional sends an Emergency Medical Certificate to your utility. The patient must live in your household.
  3. Set up a payment planWith an accepted certificate you can arrange more lenient payment plans, or renegotiate if you can show financial hardship.
  4. Call the PUC if you cannot agreePUC Consumer Services handles complaints when you cannot reach satisfactory payment arrangements with your utility.

Bring

  • Patient name and relation to you
  • Description of health conditions
  • How long the condition will last
  • Type of service needed
  • Medical professional's signature
It does not stop shutoff if payment plans are not kept, and it applies only to PUC-regulated utilities.

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