Duquesne Light Company Crews Traveling East to Assist with Ida Relief
Will support Met-Ed with power restoration in Reading, Pa.
September 2, 2021
September 2, 2021
PITTSBURGH — Thursday afternoon, nearly 40 Duquesne Light Company (DLC) employees left for Reading, Pa., to assist Met-Ed with power restoration efforts following the impact of Hurricane Ida.
Shortly after 1 p.m. today, Met-Ed reported that 13,000 customers are still without service after some areas in its territory received up to nine inches of rain and damaging floods. The company reached out to other utilities and contractors, including DLC, as part of the industry’s Mutual Assistance Program.
Left: Brandon Schnupp, senior lineworker (L) and Rocky Pisano, journey lineworker
Right: Joe Cataldo, general manager of transmission and distribution (L) and Don Kunc, senior manager of distribution operations
“Ida has left a devastating path across a large portion of the country, including here at home,” said Joe Cataldo, general manager of transmission and distribution construction and maintenance at DLC. “Fortunately, we experienced relatively minor power loss in our service territory, so when Met-Ed contacted us for assistance, we were able to answer the call. We’re looking forward to working together to help their customers get restored as quickly and safely as possible.”
Cataldo is leading the DLC group traveling east, which includes 30 lineworkers, nine load-lift buckets, four service buckets and two winch trucks.