{"id":305798,"date":"2026-10-13T15:10:23","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T15:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/305798\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T15:10:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T15:10:23","slug":"duquesne-lights-2-7-billion-plan-wont-end-outages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/305798\/","title":{"rendered":"Duquesne Light\u2019s $2.7 billion plan won\u2019t end outages"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the beginning of September, Pittsburgh was hit by what\u2019s categorized<\/a> as a \u201c1-in-100-year storm<\/a>.\u201d We also experienced a derecho in April of last year that took the lives of three people and was declared a disaster emergency<\/a>. Climate change has upended the odds, and we can\u2019t bet on the interval between what should be once-in-a-lifetime weather events.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This year, 60,000 lost power. For most, it only lasted for a few hours. For some, the blackout lingered for a few days. The one last April was worse, and so were the consequences. Hundreds of thousands of people lost power for as long as a week.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was certainly a milestone for our company, and not a good one,\u201d said Matt Neistein, Duquesne Light Company\u2019s director of communications and brand.<\/p>\n

While the storm was the cause, DLC took big heat for how they handled the symptoms. The damage prompted\u00a0disaster emergency declarations from both the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, which formed a\u00a0Special Committee on Emergency Preparedness and After-Action Review to examine storm readiness and response. They called DLC on the carpet in a meeting last September, and DLC answered with a commitment to $2.7 billion worth of improvement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Significant work has been done in the past year, but the investment is scheduled to be dispersed over half a decade, and even then it won\u2019t entirely solve a problem that climate change has worsened. On Sunday morning, as remnants of Tropical Rainstorm Isaias moved through the area, outages<\/a> were reportedly affecting around 4,000 Allegheny County customers.<\/p>\n

Ideally, we would like the power to not go out at all. When it does, we would like it to be restored immediately. If events unfold otherwise, we fault the utility companies who we pay to provide power to us.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last month Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source asked readers<\/a> what they\u2019re experiencing and doing as the weather affects the power. You\u2019ll see some of the responses here. We asked a few people to share their experiences in detail, and asked DLC\u2019s Neistein for an update.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are on a fixed income. We\u2019re considering how and whether to install a whole home generator for our family of four plus dogs and a cat. We\u2019re concerned about the cost of losing the food we preserve by freezing (we have a chest freezer plus two fridges in main house; daughter in ADU has a third fridge.) If we lose our food, that is a significant hardship. We also have home offices we rely upon and once our phones go out we are mostly stranded.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u2014 Maerian Morris, Bellevue<\/p>\n

Jill DellaSalla owns a pet care business, housesitting dogs in their homes, welcoming them in her own. \u201cI was born in this house and we never used to lose electricity,\u201d she said. \u201cNow I get anxious every time it storms.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Power outage preparedness<\/p>\n

Kits are available from major retailers around $70. It\u2019s easy enough to put your own together, though, and many of the prefab ones either need to be supplemented with items more tailored to your household or include unnecessary items. Each household\u2019s needs will vary a bit, but here\u2019s a few things everyone should have on hand.<\/p>\n

Styrofoam coolers ($5, a couple smaller ones are better than one big one)<\/p>\n

Manual can opener ($12 or less)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Non-perishable food ($25 should cover a few days worth per person)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Battery-powered lanterns ($6; candles are not recommended)<\/p>\n

Wireless charger (a good one costs $40)<\/p>\n

First aid kit ($10)<\/p>\n

Cash\u00a0<\/p>\n

During the April 2025 storm, she hosted a dog she\u2019d watched multiple times and together they\u00a0 weathered not only the storm, but the aftermath of a week without electricity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The houses across the street never lost power at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n

DellaSalla made it through the week with wireless and car chargers, a battery-operated lantern, rechargeable fans, two large coolers and multiple daily journeys in search of ice, which often demanded visits to half a dozen stores. The companionship of the pup was a morale booster.\u00a0 \u201cWatching a dog made it easier because I wasn\u2019t concentrating on me,\u201d she said. While she didn\u2019t lose income, she did lose a fridge and freezer full of food. She started to add the cost but gave up when the dollar amount of condiments alone became clear.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On her fifth day without electricity she ordered a generator. (With current prices of groceries, gas and utilities that purchase would now be out of reach.) The needed oil and a gas can are ready for service, and while the device is still in the box she took the instructions out this spring. Hopefully it won\u2019t be needed anytime soon, but having it helps.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She praises DLC for bringing in crews from out of town, including those who went the extra few steps to get the greenlight to complete her block. Precious battery life was used to report her continuing outage daily, and she notes the lack of return communication as a frustration.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s any storm that causes outages somewhere in the city, we lose power here too for at least a day. The storm that caused week-long outages was at least five days here. \u2026 There should be some investigation into what method, if any, DLC uses for triaging storm response. \u2026 I\u2019m going to have to invest in a generator. Replacing a fridge full of food once a year is not sustainable. It\u2019s absurd that DLC doesn\u2019t have to in any way compensate customers for lengthy outages but our rates continue to increase.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u2014 Matthew Jacob, Reserve<\/p>\n

DLC has made some progress, Neistein said.<\/p>\n

The process of reaching contractors to address downed lines and damaged equipment has been automated; previously, as unbelievable as it may seem in the 21st century, this was accomplished by individual phone calls. Outage maps have been enhanced, with more detailed information and quicker updates. Call centers handle greater volume, and text communications with customers are now two-way, allowing feedback to updates to confirm \u2014 or not \u2014 their accuracy.<\/p>\n

\"TwoElectrical workers repair damaged power lines along Lincoln Way in White Oak on Oct. 2. (Photo by Danny Arensberg\/Pittsburgh\u2019s Public Source)<\/p>\n

While the tools in play can give a general sense of where restoration has occurred and where it\u2019s still needed, they\u2019re not always reliable when it comes to specifics. \u201cWe might know a circuit with a thousand customers is down, send a crew, fix the transformers, and tech says it\u2019s back on,\u201d Neistein explains, \u201cBut it doesn\u2019t tell us that within it there\u2019s one tree on one street that took out a section of wire.\u201d In situations like this, communications from customers go a long way toward solving problems by identifying them.<\/p>\n

\u201cMultiple times a year the outage typically lasts multiple days, spoiling food and closing school. \u2026 We are considering a battery backup system for our solar array. Neighbors are installing whole house generators. If we pooled our money instead, we could help ensure these power lines are installed underground.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u2014 Melinda Guinn, Fox Chapel<\/p>\n

All of this work is on reactive measures. What would be nicer would be to prevent those damages in the first place, and Neistein said some strides have been made in that direction as well, although not what some might want.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The solution that would seem to be the obvious one is to move everything underground. Downtown\u2019s grid is already there; if it\u2019s good enough for the Golden Triangle, why not for the rest of Pittsburgh? But the system at the city\u2019s center, its installation begun a century ago, is practically a historic landmark.<\/p>\n

Neistein cited the prohibitive cost of underground lines, which he put at approximately a million a mile or more, would add up into billions and would be passed along to the customer. The second problem is the time necessary to dig up thousands of miles: decades. Less momentous but still worthy of consideration is the difficulty of repairs, which are needed less often than on overground systems but are more complex and time-consuming.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"PowerDashboard of outages in Allegheny County on Oct. 11, around 11 a.m. (Screenshot)<\/p>\n

Instead, DLC has tried what Neistein describes as an \u201coverall hardening of the grid,\u201d replacing older equipment with modern equipment. There\u2019s a focus on vegetation management. The fewer branches and trees likely to compromise lines the better. Handling as many as feasible prior to damage is best of all. Neistein estimates DLC will be pruning or removing 40,000 trees this year alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most of these are on public rights-of-way; if on private property the utility company will contact the homeowner to tackle a threat. This is another area in which DLC is happy to get a heads up. If a perilous sycamore looms in your yard or sketchy poplar towers in a vacant lot, give them a ring, they\u2019ll assess the hazard the offending limb or trunk presents, and if needed will take action.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even if not reaching out about wayward boughs, however, Neistein stresses the importance of keeping lines of communication open, including updating contact information beyond the address to which your bill is sent. For at least a third of customers, DLC has no phone number, and this is critical for updates on outages which are unfortunately a foregone conclusion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can do all the investment we want,\u201d he said, \u201cBut when an oak tree comes down on wires there\u2019s nothing we can do about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSince the winter power outages are when my senior cat and I are most at risk, most of my power outage prep is for the winter season. So, it looks like planning, purchasing, and setting up ways to stay warm and keep the pipes in my house from freezing and bursting. More broadly, it\u2019s been changing the types of foods I buy, keeping electronics and power banks charged, putting flashlights and candles in every room, etc.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u2014 Grace Godwin, North Side<\/p>\n

Before moving three years ago for an arts administrator position with the University of Pittsburgh, Jeremy Seghers joined community groups on social media to get a sense of the place he would soon call home. \u201cI saw a lot of people complaining about losing power,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was a little bit of a concern.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Seghers relocated from Florida, which gave him extensive experience in storm preparation. Once in Pittsburgh, his neighbors in Beechview told him that power outages were a rarity in the area. For some time that stayed true, as he emerged unscathed from last year\u2019s catastrophic weather.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In September, the wheel turned when a power line was downed by a tree and he had his very first Pittsburgh blackout. It lasted 16 hours.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The temperature allowed open windows, an improvement from sunshine state outages heavy with muggy heat. His dog and cat seemed unaffected, and due to a habit of not stocking up too much on groceries, the financial loss was minimal. \u201cIn all honesty, I don\u2019t think it was that bad,\u201d he said. \u201cI kind of know what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

He sees a lot of room for improvement in communications, especially since outages can mean limited or sluggish internet access. While he could receive texts, sending was extremely slow and so was refreshing DLC\u2019s website. Some links didn\u2019t load. \u201cI don\u2019t know if there\u2019s some other way to do it, but it seems like for them to communicate with us is much better than us trying to communicate with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even with a routine from his prior residence, he\u2019s revising parts of the pattern and how he assesses the potential for issues. \u201cThe foliage is different,\u201d he said. \u201cPalm trees bend; here they don\u2019t bend, they just fall over.\u201d He\u2019s identified one in a condemned lot next door that he\u2019s looking to have removed before it damages his house. And he\u2019s lining up pet-friendly hotels to which he can flee if necessary.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe usual outage is four to six hours. We have at least four outages every year that are longer than a day and in the last two years we\u2019ve had outages longer than five days. One was eight. \u2026 We have two small children and the power outages affect their ability to go to school or camp.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Alicia Cahall, Aspinwall<\/p>\n

Lissa Brennan is from an island that was without power and water for months following Hurricane Irma and can be reached at lissabrennan.lb@gmail.com<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

This story was fact-checked by Rich Lord.<\/p>\n

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