Power outages continue to disrupt Southwestern Pennsylvania after Friday storms with high winds took down power lines.
More than 44,800 households in the Pittsburgh area had power outages Sunday afternoon.
Duquesne Light reported more than 27,000 customers without power as of noon, with about 24,300 in Allegheny County and about 2,800 in Beaver County.
Most customers will have power restored by Monday, March 16, at 10 p.m., Duquesne Light said in a statement released Sunday, “with many customers restored sooner. A small number of outages are due to extensive damage or involve repairs on private property. In those cases, restoration may extend beyond the current estimate.”
West Penn Power still had more than 17,800 customers without power on Sunday as well. Westmoreland County had about 3,300, Butler County about 2,700, Washington County about 2,600, Allegheny County about 2,000, Armstrong County about 1,500 and Beaver County 1,200. Fayette was down to 57 outages by noon.
Duquesne Light said that early power restoration efforts had prioritized hospitals, police stations and utility companies, but now that those areas have been restored, crews are focused on restoring residential areas connected to the largest circuits, followed by smaller neighborhoods and individual homes.
On Saturday, a Duquesne Light spokesperson said the company asked for help from utility crews in neighboring states and Canada to support restoration efforts.
On Sunday, the electric company said that aid was also received from states across the East Coast and Southeast region of the U.S., including Maine, Maryland, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Florida.
The additional crews are expected to remain onsite through at least Tuesday, March 17.
Kasey Reigner, Allegheny County Emergency Services spokeswoman, said while some areas have ongoing outages and road closures until the power company can safely remove downed trees, all of the county’s hospitals and emergency medical service buildings are stable.
Both electric companies had customer alerts warning of restoration delays on their websites Sunday morning.
West Penn Power and Westmoreland officials could not be reached for comment.
Roads slowly reopening
As of 10 a.m. almost all of District 12’s roads had reopened.
PennDOT spokeswoman Melissa Maczko said she was waiting for information regarding the status of four roads, including Route 231, which was closed between Route 221 Buck Run Road/Camp Buffalo Road, in Blaine and Donegal townships in Washington County; Route 2011 between Meadow Run Road and Ohiopyle Road in Stewart Township in Fayette County; and Route 119 between Barnhart Road and Hannastown Road, as well as Route 819, which is closed between Evergreen Road and Route 22 in Salem Township in Westmoreland County.
District 11 PennDOT spokeswoman Nicole Haney said all road restrictions from downed trees and wires remained in place, including:
• Noblestown Road, between Walker Avenue and Columbia Avenue, in Collier in Allegheny County
• Bull Creek Road, between Howes Run Road and Lardintown Road, in Fawn in Allegheny County
• Bakerstown Road at Freeport Road in Fawn, Allegheny County
• Green Garden Road, between Todd Road and Hunter Gaze Lane, in Hopewell and Raccoon townships in Beaver County
• Route 151 (Bocktown Road), between Independence Road and Stone Quarry Road, in Independence and Hopewell townships in Beaver County
• Brodhead Road, between Crestmont Drive and Circle Drive, in Hopewell Township in Beaver County
• Park Road, between Bradys Run Road and Bradys Ridge Road, in Brighton Township in Beaver County
• Park Road at Achortown Road in Chippewa Township in Beaver County
• 37th Street Extension between McKinley Road and Route 551 in Chippewa Township in Beaver County
• Shenango Road, between Braun Road and Route 51, in Chippewa Township in Beaver County
• Dogwood Drive, between Harmony Road and Wises Grove Road, in Daugherty Township in Beaver County
• Harmony Road, between Dogwood Drive and Tulip Drive, in Daugherty Township in Beaver County
• Cherry Hill Road, between Lark Drive and Brown Road, in North Sewickley Township in Beaver County
• Route 18, between Weber Road and Century Farm Road, in Hanover Township in Beaver County
• Route 151, between Ridge Road and Route 18, in Raccoon Township in Beaver County
This is a developing story.
