People across Allegheny County are preparing for Thursday night’s storm and any future storms, with their biggest concern being the tree branches that are sitting on or near power lines, which have not been trimmed or removed.
One family in Mt. Lebanon shared their experience, stating that while Duquesne Light came to address the issue, the problem was not fixed. Maury and Ellen Katz of Mt. Lebanon previously made headlines as they fought to restore their power for days after the April 29 unprecedented storm. They made multiple calls to Duquesne Light and even posted a sign in their yard, but received no clear answers regarding when their power would be restored. Now, they are worried about another outage.
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“It worries me because, last time, the cause was large trees falling over the power lines in the backyards, and those trees are still there,” Maury Katz said.
Across Allegheny County, Duquesne Light customers are anxious about future storms. Abby Goldstein, a resident of Churchill, was without power for eight days and is now advocating for a coordinated effort between the power company and elected officials to prevent such occurrences in the future.
“I am concerned about all future storms. We are preparing for potential outages by purchasing chargers and supplies we know we can rely on, because we can’t count on Duquesne Light,” Goldstein said.
West Penn Power is increasing staffing at its service center in anticipation of the storms.
“We can bring in additional linemen and resources as necessary, depending on the severity of the weather,” said Will Boye, the spokesperson for West Penn Power.
Channel 11 News asked what customers should do if their power goes out.
“We want customers who experience outages to let us know, as this helps us pinpoint the damage and can speed up the restoration process,” Boye said.
However, Duquesne Light declined to answer our questions, leaving their customers anxious about the possibility of being left in the dark again.
“It’s very frustrating because it’s just going to happen again, and it could be worse next time,” Maury Katz said.
Channel 11 News will continue to monitor the storms as they move into our region.
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