Duquesne Light Warns Of Possible Pittsburgh Power Outages

PITTSBURGH, PA — Duquesne Light is warning that some Pittsburgh customers could experience power outages Tuesday or Wednesday as the company prepares to open a new state-of-the-art substation in the city's Bluff section.

The Watson substation will join Duquesne Light's Brunot Island and Forbes substations in supplying power to the Downtown community. Some of the power from those substations will be transferred to Watson, which could cause brief power outages Tuesday and Wednesday.

Areas that may see an impact include Boulevard of the Allies; Fort Pitt Boulevard; Bigelow
Square; Boyd, Chatham, Crawford, Diamond, Grant, Ross, Smithfield and Wood streets; Centre, Forbes, Liberty, Oliver, First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh avenues; and Cherry, Strawberry and William Penn ways.

The six-year, $237.4 million Watson substation project was a joint effort between Duquesne Light; PWWG Architects, which designed the building’s façade; and Burns & McDonnell, the project designer and contractor.

The new substation boasts many modern features, including numerous network circuits, 130 rooftop solar panels and a robust stormwater management system.

“DLC is incredibly proud to invest in the future of our region through critical infrastructure projects like Watson, which will strongly enhance the capacity of Downtown’s electric grid,” Duquesne Light CEO Kevin Walker said.