Life Support Customer Check

We’re committed to improving the experience of our life support customers.

This includes verifying the network connectivity of life support customer residences to ensure that when a planned power outage is scheduled or when an unplanned power outage occurs, our life support customers living in the affected area and the adjoining neighbourhoods are properly notified.

The check is carried out by an Ausgrid Officer and will take approximately 15 to 30 minutes. It can be completed when no one is home if your electricity meter board or an external power point is accessible. Your power supply will not be affected during the check.

What to expect during a life support customer check

If you are home, our Officer will inform you that the check will be carried out. Before we begin the check, our Officer will present an identification badge. If you are not home, we will continue to carry out the check and leave a notification in your mail. In cases where the Officer is unable to perform the check, we will revisit your property at another time or may call to arrange a suitable time to gain access to the property.

During the check, our Officer will access your electricity meter board or an easily accessible external power point. In the situations where we can’t access an external power point at your property, we may require access to an internal power point to undertake the necessary checks. Your power supply will not be interrupted for the checks to be carried out.

The checks will allow us to perform a cable trace identification process to test which part of the Ausgrid network you are connected to, so we can continue to accurately inform you if an unplanned power outage occurs nearby or if a planned power outage is scheduled near your address. Our Officer will also take photos of your meter board and the Ausgrid pole or electricity pillar at the front of your property.

Helping to keep our crews safe

Our Officers may ask for your assistance to ensure dogs are safely secured and that your electricity meter board or an external power point is easily accessible.

When will the checks take place?

We will be completing these checks for newly registered life support customers or life support customer addresses that have not been checked in the past. This work is being completed around other projects and, as our crews may be asked to attend emergencies or unplanned power outage sites at short notice, we cannot guarantee that a life support customer check will occur on a planned date.

I’m not a life support customer. How do I update my details?

A life support customer is someone who relies on any of the following equipment which may be impacted by a loss of power:

• an oxygen concentrator
• an intermittent peritoneal dialysis machine
• a kidney dialysis machine
• a continuous positive airways pressure respirator
• Crigler-Najjar syndrome phototherapy equipment
• a ventilator for life support
• any other equipment that a registered medical practitioner certifies as required for life support.

If a life support customer does not live at your address, please let us know by calling 13 13 65 (Mon–Fri, 9 AM–4:30 PM excluding public holidays) or by contacting your electricity retailer to remove your address from the life support register.