Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

Childhood Cancer Lantern
Search Saved

Utah program

Holding off an electricity shutoff for medical reasons

A qualifying medical statement can postpone an electricity shutoff under Rocky Mountain Power’s rules.

What it is

A qualifying medical statement can postpone an electricity shutoff under Rocky Mountain Power’s rules.

A shutoff could put medically necessary equipment or care at risk. A clinician’s statement can create a temporary hold. Registered life-support equipment has a separate protection.

Eligibility rules
  • A qualifying medical professional must supply the statement. Life-support registration is separate and in writing.
  • These details concern Rocky Mountain Power’s electricity tariff, effective April 25, 2025. Other utilities confirm their own protections.
What you get
  • A qualifying statement can delay or restore service for the certified period, up to one month.
  • Registered life-support equipment receives additional protection.
What the help includes
  • For known life-support equipment, termination requires the regulator’s specific approval.
  • The tariff also provides at least 30 days without termination after a qualifying energy payment is received.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask the oncology team about a medical statement for the utility, with the notice and account number ready.
  2. Send the statement to the company and ask for written confirmation of the new disconnection date.
  3. If your child uses life-support equipment, ask the utility about separate written registration.

Rocky Mountain Power: customer contact on the utility bill · Official page ↗

After you ask
  • The utility applies the tariff and flags the account. An extension involves the regulator.
Good to know

A medical hold postpones disconnection; it does not forgive the unpaid bill.

Other details
  • Rocky Mountain Power accepts its form or a qualifying professional’s letterhead explaining the medical risk and period needed. Its listed certifiers include physicians, osteopathic and naturopathic physicians, surgeons, physician assistants, nurses and certified nurse midwives licensed under Utah’s applicable law. An extension goes to the Public Service Commission. This electricity tariff does not establish rules for every gas, water, municipal or cooperative utility, and the separate winter moratorium is not an unconditional protection for every customer.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Would a medical statement or life-support registration protect our electricity supply? What are the limits, and could you help us arrange the paperwork if needed?”

Why I’m asking: I want to understand how a shutoff would affect care and what protection applies.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Send the statement and register equipment in writing.

Your social worker

The clinic writes the statement.

The care team

The statement has to come from a qualifying medical professional.

Who decides
The utility applies its tariff; the regulator decides an extension.
Ask the care team
“The power company has sent a shutoff notice. Can you write the medical statement today, and note the equipment at home?”

How to apply

First step: Ask the clinic for the medical statement the day a notice arrives, and send it to the utility.

  1. Ask the clinic for the medical statement the day a notice arrives.
  2. Register any life-support equipment in writing.
  3. Apply for energy assistance in the same week, because the hold is short.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Ask the oncology team for the medical statement and send it to the utility. Register life-support equipment in writing separately.

What to gather

  • The shutoff notice
  • The account number
  • A list of equipment that needs power

How long: The stated period or one month, whichever is shorter.

What a yes looks like

The disconnection date is moved and the account is flagged.

What a no looks like, and the next move

If the utility says the rule does not reach it, ask whether it is regulated; a city utility is not.

Watch out

  • It is a postponement, not forgiveness: the bill is still owed.
  • An extension means petitioning the regulator, not simply renewing.
  • If a city or a co-operative runs your power, the regulator's rules do not reach it; ask the city directly.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

A medical statement holds the power on for the stated period or one month, whichever is shorter.

  • $1 — Maximum hold from a medical statement
  • $30 — Days without termination after a qualifying energy payment is received

Legal protection: A qualifying medical statement postpones termination · For known life-support equipment, termination needs the regulator's specific approval · Winter shutoff protections have utility-specific eligibility and procedural conditions; a universal November 15–March 15 ban is not established.

What it costs the family: Nothing. The bill still has to be paid.

The eligibility facts, as published

Other
a statement from a qualifying medical professional; registration in writing for life-support equipment
Residency
Utah, for a regulated utility
Processing standard
unknown

Expect friction on: The hold is short and the bill is still owed

The trap: It is short: the stated period or one month, whichever is shorter, and an extension means petitioning the regulator rather than simply renewing. The bill is still owed, so use the time to apply for energy assistance.

Where I read this

← Back to your options