United Power strives to provide reliable power to its members. At times, however, circumstances may arise that lead to an interruption in power, such as standard maintenance improvements to our system, or an outage, caused by a number of events such as severe weather. When an outage does occur, the cooperative is quick to dispatch linemen to safely restore power to its members as quickly as possible.
Some outages, however, can create situations that require an extended time to resolve. These kinds of outages can be especially worrisome for members with special medical needs. If you use life-sustaining medical equipment that depends on electricity for operation, such as oxygen generators, kidney dialysis machines or respirators, it’s important to put together a plan for a power outage before it happens.
Have a Backup Plan for Prolonged Outages
United Power can’t guarantee your service won’t be interrupted by scheduled maintenance or an outage. In the event of an outage, we recommend you plan for how to respond.
Register with United Power. United Power can place a flag on the accounts of members who utilize special medical equipment, allowing us to contact you in an unplanned outage and before a planned outage.
Have a Power Backup. Outages can happen at a moment’s notice and without warning. Though the cooperative makes every effort to quickly restore power, we cannot provide a specific time frame for when your power will be restored. If you use medical equipment, consider obtaining a power back-up, such as a battery or generator, in the case of an extended outage.
Plan for Evacuation. In the worst case event, such as a significant weather crisis like a blizzard or flood, prepare to evacuate to an alternate location. These events can result in outages lasting several days.
How You Can Help
If you do experience an outage or other electrical emergency, always report it. Do not assume United Power knows about your outage. You can report your outage by logging into our online portal available at www.unitedpower.com/smarthub or by calling our outage reporting line at 303-637-1350.
More information about medically necessary devices can be found on our Medical Devices page.