Pa. lawmaker proposes hearing with residents, power companies following prolonged power outages

CBS News

05-05-2025

A Pittsburgh-area state representative says she'll hold power companies accountable after this week's prolonged power outages.
State Rep. Mandy Steele, the acting chair of the House Committee on Energy, said she plans to look into scheduling a hearing at the Capitol, which would include the testimony of people impacted by the storm and people who represent the power companies.
"What went wrong? What can we improve for next time?" Steele said as she described topics officials would look into. "I intend to hold them accountable."
It's the sort of hearing that could feature people like Donna Terry, who lives in an apartment complex full of seniors, which has lacked power for five days.
"It's really frustrating," Terry said. "Mentally, right now, it's really affecting me, because I'm crying more now, and this is rough."
The generator at the building, the Douglas Plaza Apartments in Wilkinsburg, has not worked in five years, she and other residents said. Residents have to walk up multiple flights of steps in the dark. There's no hot water.
"We feel so abandoned," said Rosemary Worthy, another tenant. "There's 200-300 and something thousand power outages, and now you're down to 37,000? I don't understand why ours wasn't fixed days ago."
They are frustrated both with their building and with Duquesne Light.
Steele said she recognizes the pain seniors are in, adding she feels both neighborhoods and people are not safe due to the outages.
"There are downed wires and trees all over the roads in our neighborhoods. We are reaching a point of incredible urgency," Steele said. "I am frustrated with a number of things. One of those is speed of restoration."
Also frustrating her, she said, is what she says is a lack of communication from power companies. People are left in the dark, she said, unsure of when power will come back on.
Duquesne Light Company responded with the following statement:
"Duquesne Light Company has been actively engaging and sharing timely updates directly with government stakeholders, including Ms. Steele, since the April 29 storm that resulted in severe damage throughout the Pittsburgh region. We understand that these relationships are crucial to upholding our mission to deliver safe, reliable and affordable electricity to our customers."
Duquesne Light officials have called the storm unprecedented. It's something we should expect, Steele said.
"The United States Army Corps of Engineers has for years said that because of climate change, these storms are going to increase in frequency and severity," Steele said.
KDKA-TV asked Gov. Josh Shapiro at a briefing last week if there is more that power companies could do to proactively prevent outages.
He replied, saying it is time for an honest dialogue about how expensive it would be to take actions like putting power lines underground. He said the state has a role to play in making those upgrades.
Steele said it would be good to look at potentially strategically burying power lines underground.
Outside the Douglas Plaza Apartments, KDKA-TV did see power crews working, but they said they did not expect to restore power there until Monday due to the severity of damage to a power pole.
The owners of the apartment complex did not respond to a request for comment.