Corporate Responsibility Embedded in Duquesne Light’s Commitment to Modernizing the Grid and Customer Service
New report highlights company’s progress towards environmental, social and governance goals, and continued investments in grid reliability and resilience
Today Duquesne Light Company (DLC) released its 2024 Corporate Responsibility Report in a commitment to deliver a safe and reliable clean energy future for all, while contributing to the Pittsburgh region’s social and environmental wellbeing. Now in its third year, the report provides a comprehensive review of DLC’s impact across three core areas: Climate Conscious, Powering People and Responsible Performance.
Grid Modernization Takes on Renewed Urgency
In 2024, DLC invested an additional $466.7 million in infrastructure, just a portion of the minimum $1.9 billion planned between 2023 and 2027 to increase grid resilience and reliability. DLC’s modernization strategy has become even more critical in the face of increasingly volatile weather, such as 2024’s prolonged heat wave that further stressed equipment during a severe weather event, and April 29, 2025’s unprecedented storm resulting in widespread destruction and record outages. Some notable investments include the state’s first pilot of Gridware, a smart technology placed on distribution poles to more quickly detect issues, expedite repairs and enhance outage response. A full-scale rollout will begin later this year. DLC also launched a new Outage Management System, which through customer feedback and continued upgrades will deliver more accurate and timely outage information when it’s needed most.
To support the community’s ability to safely respond to emergencies involving electrical hazards, such as in severe weather, DLC also provided free training to first responders in 2024. Additional training opportunities are scheduled throughout 2025.
Supporting Customers Through Utility Assistance & Energy Savings
DLC continued to prioritize the affordability of its service in 2024 by facilitating more than $5.7 million in customer payment assistance. Customers also had the opportunity to reduce their bills and their carbon footprint through DLC’s energy-savings initiatives, including the distribution of more than 9,200 energy efficient products at community events and 3,100 home visits through the Smart Comfort Program. Together we saved more than 75,000 megawatt-hours – the emissions equivalent to driving 15,466 gas-powered cars for a year.
Other report highlights include:
- Charitable Giving: Donated $1.8 million to local nonprofits and contributed more than 4,800 hours of community service through DLC employee volunteer efforts.
- Environmental Stewardship: Constructed new wetland treatment system to naturally filter and treat discharge at former industrial site in Springdale Township.
- Reliability: Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PA PUC) approved DLC’s first Load Management Plan aimed at balancing electricity supply and demand by optimizing existing grid resources.
- Workforce Development: Launched a veteran interview panel and military skills translation process to attract and support veteran talent.
“Corporate responsibility is deeply embedded in our company culture and we’re proud to once again release this report in recognition of our employees’ hard work to deliver safe and reliable service that promotes long-term prosperity and a clean energy future for all,” said Christine Waller, DLC’s vice president of communications and corporate responsibility.
The full report is available for download on DLC’s Corporate Responsibility page, including supplemental materials such as data tables for year-over-year comparisons on benchmark environmental, social and governance goals.