Latest news with #DuquesneLightCompany
CBS News
05-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Pa. lawmaker proposes hearing with residents, power companies following prolonged power outages
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.
CBS News
04-05-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Duquesne Light Company provides update, says power should be restored by Tuesday night
Following last week's severe storms that left so many without power, Duquesne Light Company provided an update on Sunday morning, saying power has been restored to 93% of customers and those still without power should expect to have it restored by 11 p.m. on Tuesday night, if not sooner. According to DLC, of the customers who currently do not have power, 23,000 are from the initial storm last week, while an additional 17,000 lost power from weather incidents since May 1. "DLC determined that the estimated time of restoration for all customers, also known as the 'global' ETR, is Tuesday, May 6 at 11 p.m., with many customers expected to be restored sooner," DLC said in a news release provided to KDKA-TV. They are expecting certain municipalities to be "substantially" restored by Monday, May 5, at 12:30 p.m., and that includes all municipalities in Beaver County, along with many in southeastern Allegheny County. For Allegheny County, that includes Baldwin Borough, Clairton City, Duquesne City, Homestead Borough, Jefferson Hills, McKeesport, Munhall, North Versailles, Pleasant Hills, West Homestead, and West Mifflin. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh, Coraopolis, Gibsonia, Monroeville, Allison Park, and Carnegie saw significant damage, and they're expected to be restored to the global ETR by Tuesday at 11 p.m. Since the storms hit last week, Duquesne Light Company has brought in an additional 600 crew members from outside utilities and from other contractors. The company encourages customers to check the DLC Outage Map for the latest updates, which can be found at this link.
CBS News
02-05-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Duquesne Light estimates power will be fully restored by Tuesday, a week after Pittsburgh's deadly storm
Tens of thousands of people are heading into the weekend without power after deadly storms hit the Pittsburgh area on Tuesday, and Duquesne Light says it will be days until everything is fully restored. At the storm's peak, Duquesne Light said about 325,000 customers, more than half of the utility's service territory in Allegheny and Beaver counties, lost power. Crews have restored power to over 250,000 homes, but tens of thousands still don't have electricity. First Energy also had 380,000 homes without power after the storm. In the company's latest update on Thursday, First Energy said it had restored power to more than 275,000 people, though tens of thousands are still without it on Friday. When will Duquesne Light restore power? After evaluating damage from the "unprecedented" storm, Duquesne Light Company says all power will be restored by 11 p.m. on Tuesday, May 6, though most customers will see the lights come back on before then. The utility says it has brought in over 500 additional contractors to help. In the meantime, Duquesne Light is reminding people to stay at least 30 feet away from downed wires, broken poles and other safety hazards. "Always assume that a downed wire is live and never approach a downed wire or any objects that are around or touching a wire, including puddles," Duquesne Light said. The company says it prioritizes public safety hazards first, followed by public health and safety facilities, major circuits, then small neighborhoods and individual homes. When will First Energy restore power? First Energy on Thursday posted estimated restoration times to its website, with all power expected to be restored on Monday, May 5 at the latest. First Energy says it has more than 4,700 "internal and external" resources working around the clock to restore power. It prioritizes repairs that will address the largest number of customers before moving on to more isolated issues. "Hundreds of isolated issues affect individual or small numbers of customers. These are the most time-consuming repairs because they require our crews to go to each individual location to make the repairs. Many of the isolated issues include repairs to 'service drops,' which are wires attached to each home to deliver electricity from the neighborhood power line. These wires are often damaged by fallen trees and large branches," First Energy explained. Pittsburghers urged to remain safe Duquesne Light is reminding residents without power to remain safe. Use flashlights or battery-operated lanterns, not candles, for lighting. Keep generators far from buildings and don't run them in confined spaces like garages, because it could lead to carbon monoxide poisoning. People are encouraged to continue checking on elderly and vulnerable people who might need extra help. Duquesne Light is also warning customers to look out for scams. The company says there are "bad actors who attempt to take advantage of difficult situations" by pretending to be with the utility. If you're unsure whether Duquesne Light has actually called you, hang up and call 888-393-7100 to verify.
Reuters
30-04-2025
- Climate
- Reuters
Nearly 450,000 US customers without power after severe storm
April 30 (Reuters) - Nearly 450,000 customers in Pennsylvania were without power early on Wednesday, data from showed, a day after a storm system brought on severe weather to the central United States. Duquesne Light Company said late Tuesday it was working to restore power to more than 240,000 customers who were experiencing power outages in Allegheny and Beaver counties after the storm. The Reuters Power Up newsletter provides everything you need to know about the global energy industry. Sign up here. High wind gusts nearing 80 miles (128.75 km) per hour knocked down trees, broke utility poles and caused more than 20,000 separate reports of hazards so far, the utility said. FirstEnergy also reported nearly 200,000 customers affected across Pennsylvania, including areas such as Allegheny, Armstrong, Indiana, Washington and Westmoreland counties.
