Residents in several Collier neighborhoods say that when inclement weather is forecast, they can all but expect to lose power.
“Our group of Collier Township neighborhoods — including, but not limited to, Walkers Mill, Rennerdale, Rennerdale Highlands, Barrington Manor, the homes along McMichael Road and other newer housing plans — has been plagued by frequent and prolonged power outages, leaving residents frustrated and vulnerable,” said Gene Vercammen, a township resident.
“Power loss has become so common that any forecast of inclement weather brings not just concern, but the expectation, that the lights will go out — often for half a day or longer. These service interruptions have a severe impact on home life, remote workers, local business and community spaces.”
Residents have established an online petition to improve Duquesne Light’s electric service in Collier’s Rennerdale area.
Duquesne Light spokeswoman Alyssa Battaglia told TribLive that the company is actively analyzing potential enhancements to the area’s technology and infrastructure, aiming to minimize future disruptions and improve reliability in that area.
“Over the past three months, DLC customers in the area have experienced four outages, mostly caused by vegetation falling on power lines, which is a leading cause of outages in DLC’s service territory,” she said.
About 400 customers were impacted for each of the four outages, Battaglia said.
A Dec. 5 outage lasted about eight hours due to “storm restoration priorities,” she said. On Dec. 30, the first interruption lasted about seven hours, and a secondary outage lasted just over two hours for repairs. That outage was from a storm that caused a tree to fall on lines.
When there’s a storm causing power outages, restoration priorites dictate that crews address public safety hazards first, such as burning wires or lines down across highways; then restore power to hospitals and safety facilities; then restore major circuits; before moving on to smaller neighborhoods, according to Duquesne Light’s website.
A Feb. 1 outage lasted around an hour initially, and was then followed by a three-hour secondary interruption for equipment repairs. That outage also was caused by a fallen tree damaging equipment, Battaglia said.
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Another outage, just three days later, lasted about an hour after a tree fell and damaged equipment.
Vercammen said that while Duquesne Light’s overall service might meet industry benchmarks, the reality in Collier tells a different story.
He cited an electric reliability report to the state Public Utility Commission and said the circuit that serves the Rennerdale area is consistently one of the worst-performing in the region.
The petition calls on officials to clear trees and brush away from nearby power lines along the right-of-way to reduce tree-related outages, and to strengthen infrastructure to prevent equipment failures, Vercammen said.
“Given the rapid pace of development in Collier Township, I believe the best long-term solution is to bury the power lines,” he said. “While this would be a significant undertaking, it would demonstrate DLC’s commitment to improving service reliability and preparing the region for future growth.”