The region’s two electric utility companies still have about 16,800 customers without power in Western Pennsylvania on Sunday afternoon as a result of storms that blew through Southwestern Pennsylvania on Saturday, with intense winds taking down trees that cut power lines and broke utility poles.
West Penn Power in Greensburg reported that it had about 13,00 customers without power in Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties as of 4 p.m. Sunday, while Duquesne Light Co. said it had only about 3,800 customers still without electrical service in Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver and Westmoreland counties.
Duquesne Light said that at the height of the power outages, it had about 40,800 customers without power. Gusts that reached almost 70 mph caused widespread damage across the region, Because of the extensive damage, service is not expected to be fully restored until 10 p.m. Tuesday, although many of those customers should be restored sooner as crews continue working around the clock to make repairs.
West Penn Power said some of the customers will have their power restored Sunday afternoon and evening, while others may have to wait until Monday evening or Tuesday. It had about 100,000 customers that lost power during the storm. The Greensburg-based utility said that many of the remaining affected customers are located in the hardest hit areas of Butler, Washington, Westmoreland and Armstrong counties.
“Our focus has been addressing hazards and assessing damage so that we can share estimated restoration time,” West Penn Power said in a statement.
West Penn Power said that customers can report an outage by texting the word “OUT” to 544487 (LIGHTS).
Downed wires and other potentially hazardous situations involving utility poles and power lines should be reported to Duquesne Light at 412-393-7000.
Fire departments throughout throughout the region were dispatched Saturday afternoon to scenes of trees blocking roads and downing power lines, according to dispatches from the Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety.
The National Weather Service in Moon said that a severe thunderstorm was located over Mt. Pleasant, moving eastward at 65 mph.
