Council schedules post‑agenda hearing with Duquesne Light, PUC and officials after multi‑day outages

Councilwoman Warwick on May 6 asked council to schedule a post‑agenda hearing bringing Duquesne Light Company, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and federal and state representatives to discuss the utility’s response to the recent severe weather event that left some residents without power for as long as eight days.

“Leaving folks without power for eight days in 2025 is simply unacceptable,” Councilwoman Warwick said on the council floor, while also thanking line crews and city staff who responded. Multiple members supported the request and added concerns: Councilwoman Kale Smith flagged backup power outages at critical services including 911 and food distribution sites; Councilman Mosley said outages affected up to roughly 350,000 customers at peak and called for planning for more frequent extreme-weather events.

Council members agreed the hearing should include Duquesne Light representatives, the PUC, county and state offices, and relevant city departments including public safety, emergency management and city planning. The motion to schedule the post‑agenda hearing passed on voice vote; the clerk and the sponsor will work with the clerk’s office to set a date over the coming weeks.

Council members said the hearing should be more than an airing of grievances and instead aim to produce a coordinated plan for future storms, including communications resiliency, backup procedures for critical services (911, 311 and food distribution), and clarity on how utilities prioritize neighborhoods for restoration. Several members asked that the city planning director also be invited to align resilience work with the ongoing comprehensive plan.

Council President Lavelle instructed staff to coordinate with the sponsor to schedule the post‑agenda session and to invite the agencies and offices requested by members.