Duquesne Light and West Penn Power Outage Update: 83,000+ Still Without Power Saturday After 163K Peak
Friday's windstorm hit Western Pennsylvania like a freight train — and Saturday morning, tens of thousands of Pittsburgh-area residents are still in the dark. Repair crews from six states and Canada are on the ground, but full restoration isn't expected until Sunday at the earliest.
Where the Outages Stand Right Now
As of 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Duquesne Light Company reported 83,527 customers without power. West Penn Power reported 50,250 outages across Pennsylvania.
Of the six counties Duquesne Light serves, Allegheny County is the hardest hit with 69,179 customers without power — the most of any county in the utility's service area.
The peak was far worse. Power outages peaked at 163,000 DLC customers Friday before crews began making progress. As of 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Duquesne Light said crews had restored power to more than 65,000 customers.
What Caused It
A low-pressure system moving in from across the Great Lakes drove high wind gusts into the thousands of outages across the Pittsburgh metro area Friday. The Westmoreland County Courthouse lost electricity shortly after 3 p.m. and came back at 4:15 p.m. — a tight span that illustrated how fast conditions were changing across the region. By 5 p.m., more than 5,800 West Penn Power and Duquesne Light customers in Westmoreland and Allegheny counties alone were without power.
The damage was widespread and sustained. A tree fell onto a house on the 1300 block of Ingham Street in Marshall-Shadeland. A light pole was blown down on the Boulevard of the Allies in Pittsburgh. In Shaler Township, police closed Vilsack Road after a tree took down wires.
Crews From Six States and Canada Now On the Ground
The scale of mutual aid called in reflects the severity of the storm. More than 500 extra crews have been deployed to help DLC, including crews from Maine, Maryland, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama. DLC is also working with Pittsburgh's Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security to bring in crews from Canada.
West Penn Power said power had been restored to about 55% of impacted customers as of 3 p.m. Saturday. Due to widespread damage and ongoing windy conditions, the company says restoration efforts will continue over the next few days.
Restoration Priority Order and Timeline
DLC repair crews are prioritizing restoration in the following order: transmission lines first, then substations, then feeders serving large neighborhoods, then small neighborhoods, and finally individual homes.
DLC said system-wide estimated restoration times are not expected to be available until Sunday afternoon. Customers in Allegheny County with damage to individual service lines may wait longer than the system-wide estimate.
What the Weather Looks Like Going Forward
Winds are expected to ease to 20–25 mph Saturday with gusts possibly picking back up to 30–35 mph Sunday afternoon. Light snow showers are forecast for Sunday but are not expected to produce measurable accumulation. Temperatures could reach the 60s Sunday afternoon before a cold front drops Pittsburgh back into the 30s Monday.
How to Report Outages and Check Status
Duquesne Light: Report at duquesnelight.com or call 1-888-393-7100. Track outages in real time on DLC's outage map at duquesnelight.com/outages. Join the Duquesne Light Mobile Network for text restoration updates.
West Penn Power: Report at firstenergycorp.com/wpp or call 1-888-544-4877, or text "OUT" to 544487.
For any downed power lines, call 911 immediately and stay at least 30 feet away. Do not assume a downed line is dead.
