Power companies expect restoration time up to 5 days in wake of storms

About 130,000 Duquesne Light customers in the region — still without power Wednesday because of the severe storms Tuesday evening — may have to wait for five days before they have electricity restored, a company official said.

The storm that caused an “unprecedented event in the history of Duquesne Light” left 250,000 total customers without power, which is about 40% of the company’s customer base, said John Hilderbrand II, the utility’s vice president of operations. With trees downing power lines, poles breaking and electrical facilities damaged, there were about 22,000 hazards, Hilderbrand said.

That estimated time frame for restoring power could be pushed back if another round of severe weather hits the region Thursday, Hilderbrand said.

A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for the region until 7 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.

The utility’s transmission and distribution systems have been damaged, Hilderbrand said. In major storms, some customers may remain without power longer because the electrical lines are temporarily inaccessible to work crews because of fallen trees that must be removed before electricity can be restored.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission said Allegheny County was one of the hardest-hit areas in the state in terms of power outages that were still affecting about 75,000 customers Thursday afternoon.

Duquesne Light was deploying contractors to supplement its crews and was anticipating additional resources arriving from Ohio and eastern Pennsylvania, Hilderbrand said.

Two people in Allegheny County have died as a result of the storm — an electrocution in Pittsburgh and another caused by a fallen tree in Ross — said county Executive Sara Innamorato. Additional details were not available.

“You have to assume that wires down are energized and you cannot approach them in any way. Allow the experts to make those scenes safe,” Hilderbrand said.

“Do not try to move a wire or clear a roadway by yourself,” Innamorato said, stressing the importance of safety.

An Edgewood firefighter suffered a chain saw injury while cleaning up storm damage, said Matt Brown, chief of Allegheny County Emergency Services. Details were not available.

Call volume spikes

Allegheny County’s 911 emergency call center was five times busier Tuesday afternoon than normal, with 5,600 calls to 911 between 5 and 6 p.m. Tuesday. There were 9,300 calls for the entire day, which is more than double the normal volume, Brown said.

“Almost every municipality received some form of damage from the storm,” he said.

The hardest-hit areas were the city of Pittsburgh, Moon, Mt. Lebanon, Penn Hills, Forest Hills, Ross, Hampton and Shaler.

Three municipalities — Forest Hills, Wilkins Township and Churchill — had declared disasters. Harrison, Robinson and Swissvale were expected to follow.

Innamorato said she had spoken with Gov. Josh Shapiro, who pledged the state’s support. She said she would rely on the county’s emergency service professional in deciding if and when to declare a county level disaster.

The Army Corps of Engineers had to use manual operations to keep the Emsworth locks and dam operating on the Ohio River, Brown said.

FirstEnergy Corp. said its West Penn Power Co. in Greensburg had about 60,800 customers without power in Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler, Indiana, Washington and Westmoreland counties as of Thursday morning.

The bulk of the remaining outages Thursday afternoon were in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, which had about 17,000 and 16,000 customers without power, respectively. Armstrong had 12,800 outages and Washington had 12,600.

Only about 2,400 customers were without power in Butler County.

Power is estimated to be restored to the majority of homes still without power by:

• 11 p.m. Saturday in Washington and Westmoreland counties, as well as the part of Butler County serviced by Penn Power
• 11 p.m. Sunday in Allegheny County and the West Penn Power portion of Butler County
• 3 p.m. Monday in Armstrong County

Some parts of Westmoreland County, Meyers said, may not be restored until 3 p.m. Monday. The restoration work may also be delayed by storms forecast for Thursday afternoon and evening.

The potential is increasing for severe weather as a line of thunderstorms move through eastern OH and northwest PA this afternoon/evening. Further expansion of the watch IS POSSIBLE for the rest of the area as we monitor additional storm development. https://t.co/hNXYGBDgeV

— NWS Pittsburgh (@NWSPittsburgh) May 1, 2025

If winds reach above 40 mph or if there is lightning spotted in the area, line workers will be put on pause, Meyers said.

“Those things are beyond our control,” he said. “The one good thing is when we have another storm like this, we have a lot of boots on the ground ready to go.”

There are about 2,000 crew members working to restore power to the region, he said.

Focus on safety hazards

In its efforts to restore power, Duquesne Light said it will focus on addressing public safety hazards first, such as wires down across major highways, burning wires or equipment or building fires. While downed power lines are being handled, company personnel continue to assess the total damage to the electrical system’s infrastructure and begin restoring service.

Restoring power to essential facilities that provide emergency services is a high priority. They include hospitals, police, fire and emergency facilities, water and sewage plants, nursing homes and assisted living facilities, the company said.

It then will focus on rebuilding the major circuits, which will restore power to the greatest number of customers as quickly as possible.

Restoring power to small neighborhoods and groups of customers served by a single transformer will follow. Returning power to individual homes and businesses will be done as crews restore “service drops” that bring electricity from the nearest pole to a single building.

Generators used by customers for emergency power should not have the ability to send any power back into Duquesne Light’s system, without fulfilling the company’s special requirements and completing the utility’s required interconnection agreement.

Storm update (1/4):
Crews are starting to make progress on restoring customers following yesterday’s extreme weather. More than 250,000 lost power across our service territory at the peak of the storm, making this one of the most unprecedented storms we've ever experienced.

— Duquesne Light Co. (@DuquesneLight) April 30, 2025

Storm update (2/4):
We appreciate everyone’s patience as we continue assessing the widespread damage and determining restoration times. Given the severity of the destruction, some customers may be out of service for approximately 5-7 days, but many will be restored sooner.

— Duquesne Light Co. (@DuquesneLight) April 30, 2025

Storm update (3/4):
There are still many hazards around the area, including downed wires, poles and trees, so we strongly encourage the public to exercise caution and NEVER approach a downed power line.

— Duquesne Light Co. (@DuquesneLight) April 30, 2025

Storm update (4/4):
We understand how difficult and frustrating it is to be without power, especially for an extended period of time. This is an “all hands on deck” effort for the company, and we will continue to work around the clock until everyone is restored.

— Duquesne Light Co. (@DuquesneLight) April 30, 2025