Edison Medical Baseline Allowance Application: How to File and Keep It

To apply for the Southern California Edison Medical Baseline Allowance, complete the two-part application — your household information plus a medical certification signed by your doctor — and submit it online at sce.com/mbl, by mail to SCE’s Medical Baseline Department in Azusa, or by phone at 1-800-655-4555.¹ Approved customers get an extra 16.5 kWh of electricity per day at SCE’s lowest baseline rate, plus advance notice before any Public Safety Power Shutoff.

Check That You Qualify Before You Start

The program covers two groups of residential customers: people who use electrically powered life-support or mobility equipment at home, and people whose medical conditions require extra heating or cooling to stay safe.

On the equipment side, California law lists respirators, iron lungs, hemodialysis machines, suction machines, electric nerve stimulators, pressure pads and pumps, aerosol tents, nebulizers, compressors, IPPB machines, and motorized wheelchairs.² CPAP machines for sleep apnea also qualify.³ The statute uses “including, but not limited to” language, so a device that isn’t on the list can still qualify if your doctor explains its life-support or mobility function.

On the condition side, paraplegia, hemiplegia, quadriplegia, multiple sclerosis, and scleroderma all qualify. So does any life-threatening illness or compromised immune system where a practitioner certifies in writing that extra heating, cooling, or both are medically necessary.²

The program is not income-based. Any full-time resident in a household meeting one of these criteria can apply.

Part 1: What You Fill Out

Have your SCE bill in front of you. Part 1 asks for your customer account number and service account number, both of which appear on the bill. Enter the customer name exactly as it appears on your bill. A name mismatch between the application and the account is one of the most common reasons for processing delays. If the person with the medical condition isn’t the account holder, there’s a separate field for the patient’s name.⁴

The service address you enter must be the address tied to the SCE account, not a separate mailing address. It needs to be where the equipment is used or where the patient lives.

Part 1 also includes an acknowledgment section about renewal requirements. Read it before you sign. It spells out that permanent conditions require self-certification every two years, while non-permanent conditions require annual self-certification plus a new doctor’s certification every two years.⁴

Part 2: What Your Doctor Fills Out

This is the section applications most often fail on. Only a licensed medical doctor (MD), doctor of osteopathy (DO), physician assistant (PA), or nurse practitioner (NP) can sign.⁴ Registered nurses, chiropractors, and therapists cannot.

Your practitioner checks whether the patient requires electrically operated medical devices and lists the specific equipment used in the home. They indicate whether the patient needs the allowance for heating, cooling, or both. They also note whether the equipment is for life support and whether the patient is in hospice care. Finally, they certify how long the medical need will last by checking either a specific number of years or “permanently.”⁴

The practitioner must print their name, office address, state license number (or military license number), phone number, and sign. SCE reserves the right to call the practitioner to verify, so an illegible name or missing license number will get the application sent back. If your doctor’s office is slow with paperwork, bring the form to your next appointment and have it filled in while you’re there. Waiting on office mail is the biggest bottleneck in the process.

If the condition is genuinely permanent, ask the practitioner to check “permanently” rather than writing in a number of years. It cuts your future renewal paperwork in half.

How to Submit

SCE accepts the application three ways.

Online (fastest): Go to sce.com/mbl and open the “Apply” tab. The form walks you through each field and then forwards it electronically to your practitioner for signature. SCE recommends this method for the quickest processing.¹
Mail: Download the PDF, complete both parts, and mail it to Southern California Edison, Medical Baseline Department, P.O. Box 9527, Azusa, CA 91702. Confirm the practitioner’s section is fully signed before you drop it in the mailbox.¹
Phone: Call 1-800-655-4555, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. A representative will take you through the application step by step.¹

After You Submit

SCE generally processes applications within 7 to 30 days of receipt. If approved, the additional baseline allowance shows up on your bill within one to two billing cycles. You’ll get written confirmation of the decision through your preferred contact method on file. If anything is missing or unclear, SCE will reach out to you or your practitioner, which extends the timeline. Double-checking every field before submitting is the simplest way to avoid that round trip.

Advance notice for Public Safety Power Shutoffs turns on automatically once your medical baseline account is active. There is no separate enrollment for it.

Keeping the Allowance After You’re Approved

Your renewal schedule depends on what your practitioner certified.

Permanent conditions: You self-certify every two years that you still live at the service address on file. No new doctor’s signature is required.⁴
Non-permanent conditions: You self-certify every year and submit a fresh application with a new practitioner certification every two years.⁴

SCE mails a reminder before each recertification is due. Miss the deadline and your account reverts to standard baseline billing until you recertify.

1
Southern California Edison. Medical Baseline Allowance
2
California Public Utilities Commission. Medical Baseline
3
California Public Utilities Commission. Medical Baseline Allowance
4
Southern California Edison. SCE Medical Baseline Allowance Application Form