Medical Baseline: lower utility rates if someone at home relies on medical equipment (California)

The short answer

• Medical Baseline is a billing program offered by PG&E, Southern California Edison (SCE), San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and Southern California Gas (SoCalGas) under rules approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). It is based on medical need, not income. If another company delivers your energy, ask whether it has a similar program.
• You may qualify if a full-time resident of your home relies on a qualifying device, such as an oxygen concentrator, CPAP machine, dialysis machine or power wheelchair, or has a listed condition that requires extra heating or cooling.
• On rate plans that have a baseline, you get extra energy at your plan's lowest price every day: about 16.4 to 16.5 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity and about 0.82 therms of gas. That is roughly 500 kWh and 25 therms a month. Some plans give a percentage discount instead.
• A licensed physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant certifies the need on the utility's form. You renew every two or four years, depending on whether the condition is permanent.
• Medical Baseline does not keep the power on during an outage, and it does not stop a shutoff for unpaid bills. Plan for outages separately.

This is a utility billing program, not medical advice. Your clinician decides whether to certify, and the utility decides whether you qualify.

First, what "baseline" means

Most California households get a set amount of energy each day at the utility's lowest price. That amount is called the baseline, and it depends on where you live and the season. Energy you use above it costs more. A kWh is the unit for electricity on your bill; a therm is the unit for natural gas.

Medical Baseline adds more energy to that lowest-priced amount. It helps most when medical equipment, or medically needed heating or cooling, pushes your use above the regular baseline.

Who can qualify

The person with the medical need must live in the home full time. Their name does not have to be on the bill, though the account holder signs the application. Renters can apply, and so can people whose landlord or mobile home park bills them for energy. PG&E's tariff says a landlord who bills tenants for energy must pass the extra allowance on to a qualifying tenant, and SDG&E and SoCalGas say the allowance appears on the landlord's bill to you.

The utilities' rules cover a resident who:

• depends on a life-support device used at home. The utilities define this as a medical device needed to sustain life or relied on for mobility;
• has paraplegia, hemiplegia, quadriplegia or multiple sclerosis and has special heating or cooling needs;
• is being treated for a life-threatening illness, or has a weakened immune system, and needs extra heating or cooling to sustain life or keep the condition from getting worse;
• has scleroderma and needs extra heating.

PG&E's tariff says other conditions that require heating or cooling may be reviewed case by case. PG&E's program page also lists asthma and sleep apnea as examples.

Devices on the utilities' lists include: respirators of all types, oxygen concentrators and generators, CPAP machines and apnea monitors, nebulizers, suction machines, dialysis and hemodialysis machines, infusion pumps, pressure pads and pumps, hospital beds and air mattresses, electric nerve stimulators, left ventricular assist devices (LVADs), airway-clearance vests, and motorized wheelchairs and scooters. The utilities present these as examples, not complete lists, so ask about equipment that is not named.

Usually not covered: heating pads, humidifiers, vaporizers, air filters, saunas, hot tubs, whirlpool pumps, and pool or tank heaters. PG&E and SCE say devices used for therapy, rather than to sustain life, generally do not qualify.

Income does not matter, and neither does Medi-Cal. PG&E says Medi-Cal enrollment does not automatically qualify you for Medical Baseline. Medi-Cal can, however, qualify you for the income-based CARE discount described below.

What you get, utility by utility

Figures are as published by each utility as of October 20, 2026.

A few details matter:

• More than one device? If the standard amount does not cover your equipment or medically needed heating and cooling, ask the utility to evaluate you for additional allotments. PG&E adds them in steps of 16.438 kWh a day after review. Its 12% discount stays the same no matter how many allotments you would otherwise receive.
• Some charges drop off. PG&E's rate schedules say Medical Baseline customers do not pay the Wildfire Fund charge, and SDG&E says its Medical Baseline customers are exempt from a similar wildfire charge.
• Heating and cooling follow your main fuel. At PG&E, a medically needed heating or cooling allowance goes on the account, electric or gas, that supplies your main heating or cooling.

How to apply

Applications have two parts. You fill in the customer part. A licensed physician (MD or DO), nurse practitioner or physician assistant completes and signs the medical part. All four utilities' forms accept these clinicians, though SDG&E's web page refers only to "your physician," and PG&E's rules say a physician assistant must be part of your physician's team.

• Find your account number and check which company delivers your electricity and gas. If a publicly owned utility, such as a city utility or an irrigation district, serves you, ask it about its own medical programs. The CPUC's Consumer Affairs Branch says it does not handle complaints about municipal utilities.
• Get the name and email address of the clinician who will certify. SCE and SoCalGas send your clinician an electronic signature request when you apply online. PG&E gives you a confirmation number and instructions to pass to your clinician.
• Apply online or with the paper form: PG&E at pge.com/medicalbaseline, SCE through its Medical Baseline Allowance page, SDG&E at sdge.com/medicalbaseline (by email or mail), and SoCalGas online, by email, mail or fax.
• Kaiser Permanente members: SCE and SoCalGas send Kaiser patients to a paper process. SCE asks you to submit the form to Kaiser's release-of-information department. SoCalGas says to start with your local Kaiser unit, which returns the completed form to you to forward.
• PG&E paper forms: send the form within 90 days of the clinician's signature.
• Fill in the outage contact preferences (phone, text, email) if the form asks for them. PG&E uses them to reach you before planned shutoffs.
• Keep a copy of everything and note the date you sent it.
• Check that it worked. PG&E bills list "Life Support" or "Medical" under Enrolled Programs. SCE says an approved allowance appears within one to two billing cycles.

Questions to ask your clinician before they sign: Does my condition or device match the utility's definitions? Is the need permanent? Which devices run on electricity and which on gas? Is extra heating or cooling medically necessary for me? The clinician certifies the medical facts; the utility makes the decision.

Keeping it

• Permanent conditions: once a clinician certifies the condition as permanent, you confirm every four years that the person still lives there. No new signature is needed.
• Non-permanent conditions: you submit a new application with a clinician's signature every two years.
• Watch your mail. PG&E says it mails a letter if you are removed for missing a renewal. Missing one can quietly end the discount.
• Moving: PG&E transfers enrollment only if you stop service at the old address and start it at the new one at the same time; otherwise, call and ask for a transfer. SDG&E says enrollment moves with you automatically. If you move into a different utility's area, expect to apply again.
• Tell the utility if the person with the medical need moves out or no longer uses the equipment.

What Medical Baseline does not do

• It does not guarantee power. PG&E's application says the company cannot guarantee uninterrupted service and the customer must make backup arrangements. SDG&E says the same.
• It does not prevent a shutoff for unpaid bills. You must keep paying. If money is tight, call the utility before a shutoff notice. PG&E's rules offer a 24-month payment arrangement to residential customers who say they cannot pay. They also require an in-person visit, within the 48 hours before or at the time of shutoff, to customers identified as Medical Baseline or life support.
• It does not change your medical care. Equipment problems, supplies and backup oxygen are questions for your clinician and equipment supplier.

When the power goes out

• More warnings before planned shutoffs. PG&E aims to warn customers about 48 hours and 24 hours before a Public Safety Power Shutoff (a planned outage during high wildfire risk) and again just before. It says Medical Baseline customers get extra alerts, which may include repeated calls or texts or a doorbell ring. Answer the call or reply to the text so the utility knows you got it. SDG&E says it always attempts advance notice of state-directed outages.
• Backup power programs change often. As of October 2026:
  • PG&E's Portable Battery Program had reached capacity and closed for 2026. It serves Medical Baseline or Self-Identified Vulnerable customers who rely on a device and have had at least one Public Safety Power Shutoff, or three or more outages from enhanced safety settings, since 2024.
  • PG&E's Generator & Battery Rebate offered up to $300 per account, plus up to $200 more for CARE or FERA customers, in higher fire-threat areas or on circuits with enhanced safety settings. PG&E reported about 125 rebates left as of October 15, 2026.
  • PG&E and the California Foundation for Independent Living Centers run the Disability Disaster Access & Resources program. PG&E's page ties eligibility mainly to living in a high fire-threat district, plus having a disability or chronic condition, using an electric or assistive device, or relying on electricity to live independently. It can help with backup batteries, accessible rides, hotel stays and food during shutoffs, and PG&E says a doctor's verification is not required.
  • SCE describes its Critical Care Backup Battery Program as offering a free portable battery to Medical Baseline customers in high fire risk areas who regularly use electrically powered medical equipment.
• Generator safety. Never run a generator inside a home, garage, basement, crawlspace, shed or on a porch, even with doors and windows open. Keep it outside, at least 20 feet from doors, windows and vents. Install battery-operated or battery-backup carbon monoxide alarms outside sleeping areas and on each floor. SDG&E notes that state law requires you to tell the utility if you will use a generator during an outage.

A full household outage plan, including battery run-times and what to ask your equipment supplier, belongs on its own page: A power outage plan for a household that uses medical equipment.

Pair it with income-based discounts

You can have Medical Baseline and an income-based discount at the same time.

• CARE (California Alternate Rates for Energy) takes 30% to 35% off electricity and 20% off natural gas. You can qualify by income or by being enrolled in programs such as Medi-Cal, CalFresh, WIC, SSI, LIHEAP, free school lunch, or CalWORKs/TANF.
• FERA (Family Electric Rate Assistance) takes 18% off electricity for households whose income is a little above the CARE limits. It is offered by PG&E, SCE and SDG&E.

These are the CPUC's annual income limits for June 1, 2026 through May 31, 2027. Apply through your utility.

If you do not qualify for Medical Baseline but someone's health or safety would be at risk without power, PG&E offers Self-Identified Vulnerable status. You sign up yourself in your online account, no medical form is needed, and it lasts one year. It brings outreach during planned shutoffs, a doorbell ring or door hanger if you miss alerts, and extra notice before a shutoff for nonpayment. Ask other utilities whether they offer something similar.

If your bill has risen and you want to know why, see Your PG&E bill and the 2027 rate case.

If something goes wrong

• Denied? PG&E says it mails a letter explaining why and what to do next. Ask what was missing; often the fix is a corrected or re-signed form.
• Still stuck? Try the utility's customer service first. If that fails, you can file an informal complaint with the CPUC's Consumer Affairs Branch online or by calling 1-800-649-7570.

Sources

1. Medical Baseline Program — Pacific Gas and Electric Company, accessed October 20, 2026.
2. Electric Rule No. 19: Medical Baseline Quantities — PG&E tariff approved by the CPUC, effective March 23, 2023.
3. Gas Rule No. 19: Medical Baseline Quantities — PG&E tariff approved by the CPUC, accessed October 20, 2026.
4. Electric Schedule D-MEDICAL — PG&E tariff, effective March 1, 2026.
5. Electric Schedule E-1: Residential Services — PG&E tariff, rates effective June 1, 2026.
6. Electric Rule No. 11: Discontinuance and Restoration of Service — PG&E tariff, sheets effective December 17, 2025.
7. Medical Baseline Program Application (Form 62-3481) — PG&E, January 2024.
8. Self-Identified Vulnerable Program — PG&E, accessed October 20, 2026.
9. Portable Battery Program — PG&E, accessed October 20, 2026.
10. Generator & Battery Rebate Program — PG&E, accessed October 20, 2026.
11. Disability Disaster Access & Resources Program — PG&E, accessed October 20, 2026.
12. Company profile — PG&E, accessed October 20, 2026.
13. Medical Baseline Allowance — Southern California Edison, accessed October 20, 2026.
14. Medical Baseline Allowance Application (Form 14-746) — Southern California Edison, revised February 2023.
15. Critical Care Backup Battery Program eligibility — Southern California Edison, accessed October 20, 2026.
16. Medical Baseline Program — San Diego Gas & Electric, accessed October 20, 2026.
17. Medical Baseline Allowance Program brochure and application — San Diego Gas & Electric, 2021.
18. Medical Baseline Allowance — Southern California Gas Company, accessed October 20, 2026.
19. Medical Baseline — California Public Utilities Commission, accessed October 20, 2026.
20. CARE/FERA Program — California Public Utilities Commission, income limits effective June 1, 2026 – May 31, 2027.
21. Utility Complaint — California Public Utilities Commission, accessed October 20, 2026.
22. Contacting the CPUC — California Public Utilities Commission, accessed October 20, 2026.
23. What to Know About Generators and Carbon Monoxide — U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, March 2022.
24. Avoiding Carbon Monoxide Poisoning — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accessed October 20, 2026.