Duquesne Light Company Restores Power to More Than 71,000 Customers Overnight and Into the Morning Following Severe Weather
More than 90,000 customers lost power after a microburst unexpectedly swept through the region; mutual assistance from American Electric Power (AEP) to assist in restoration efforts
PITTSBURGH — Duquesne Light Company (DLC) is working to restore electric service to 19,000 customers who were impacted by severe weather that left many without power across DLC’s service territory Monday evening.
With high wind gusts reaching 60 mph in what the National Weather Service (NWS) is referring to as a microburst — combined with the current historic heat wave — yesterday’s storm is the most significant the region has seen since a windstorm in February 2019 that affected approximately 130,000 customers.
These heavy winds knocked down trees, broke utility poles and caused more than 1,000 separate cases of trouble. The most significant damage is in the northern portions of DLC’s service territory.
Crews have been working around the clock to isolate and restore as many customers as possible, focusing first on critical and emergent needs. Service has already been restored to around 71,000 customers since outages peaked at around 90,000 last night.
DLC continues to assess the overall damage and will establish an estimated time of restoration for all customers as soon as that work is complete. Nearly 250 lineworkers and troubleshooters, are working around the clock to restore power to as many customers as possible. Due to the extensive damage and outages, about 80 additional crews from contractors and mutual assistance from American Electric Power (AEP) in West Virginia will aid in restoring power to the Pittsburgh area.
Non-storm related public safety incident
At approximately 9:30 this morning, a crane atop a barge pulled down wires across the Ohio River near the Shippingport Bridge. The U.S. Coast Guard has closed the Ohio River to traffic while DLC mitigates any hazards in the area. Permanent repairs are forthcoming. Three commercial customers are impacted by this outage.
Reminders for the public
In the event of an outage, customers are encouraged to follow these safety tips:
- Ensure that cell phones and other necessary electronics are fully charged.
- Drink plenty of water and have ice handy to use for cooling packs.
- Avoid downed power lines and give ample space to lineworkers.
- Avoid walking under or around dead or dying trees as well as trees with dangling limbs.
- Keep supplies in an emergency preparedness kit, including water bottles, non-perishable food, first-aid supplies, flashlights and a battery-powered radio.
- Avoid opening refrigerator and freezer doors. Food will stay frozen in a fully loaded freezer for 36-48 hours if the door remains closed.
- Seek a location with air conditioning when possible. The city of Pittsburgh has activated cooling centers throughout the area. Reach out to your local municipality for up-to-date information on these centers.
Customers should always call 9-1-1 for any emergency medical issues that could be impacted by an outage. Because of the intense heat that is forecasted, DLC also advises checking on elderly family members, friends and neighbors who live alone.
When the extent of weather damage is widespread throughout the area, company personnel have to prioritize restoration in this order: public safety hazards, public health and safety facilities (critical customers), major circuits then small neighborhoods/individual homes. For more information on DLC's restoration priorities, please visit our website.
In the event of an outage, the quickest way to report it is through DuquesneLight.com or the free DLC Mobile app. Those without internet access can call 888-393-7000. Customers should keep in mind that crews are aware of outages as soon as they are reported, even if they do not immediately appear on DLC’s outage map.
Customers can follow DLC on Twitter/X (@DuquesneLight) and Facebook (@DuquesneLight) for additional updates.