|
|
From the service representative that takes your call to the worker that climbs the pole to repair the
wires, here’s how the people of Duquesne Light swing into action to get your power back on
if a major storm causes widespread power outages.
|
|
It takes more than 45,000 miles of overhead power lines,
250,000 utility poles, and 103,000 transformers to bring electric power to homes and businesses throughout
Allegheny and Beaver counties. Most of the time, this equipment works well and electricity is there when you
want it, at the flip of the switch.
|
|
If the power does go out, the cause usually is something
beyond our control – namely, weather and accidents.
Tree branches are one of the biggest causes of power outages. In fact, the density
of trees along our circuits is up to 50% greater than that of most other utilities.
When heavy limbs sway in a storm, they can literally rip overhead electric lines from the poles.
Falling trees can even take down transformers and poles.
High winds, severe lightning, ice and rain, heavy snowfalls, cars hitting utility poles, and
equipment failures also can cause the power to go out.
The more severe and widespread the damage is, the more homes and businesses that will be without
power.
|
|
We learn about power outages in several different
ways. One is through our equipment in the field. We have two-way communication
links with each of our 300 major substations and with more than 800 individual switching devices
on top of utility poles throughout Allegheny and Beaver counties. We also have nearly 10,000
pole-top communication devices, which can do a number of things, including automatically read
customer meters.
Every one of these devices can sense when there’s trouble, and automatically send a signal
to our Distribution Operations Center notifying us that there has been a problem.
The Operations Center is staffed around-the-clock, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
|
|
We also rely on you to call and let us know if your
power goes out. The number for residential and business customers to use is: 1-888-393-7000.*
This is the direct line to our Customer Call Center. It answers 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
We also have special telephone and fax machine numbers at the Call Center that are dedicated
for police, fire fighters, and emergency workers.
The Customer Call Center continually relays outage information to our Distribution Operations Center,
which is the heart of our outage response.
*When you call, please use our automatic ElectriCall® answering system. It is easy to do, and will
get your power on the road to being fixed faster than if you wait to speak to a customer service
representative.
|
|
Operations Center experts evaluate the extent of
the outage, and work out a plan for getting the power back on.
At the top of the list is any public safety problem — such as wires down
across a major highway — and restoring electricity to vital public services — hospitals,
police and ambulance stations, water-treatment plants, sewage pumping stations, and so on.
Next is fixing problems that will get the power back on for the greatest number of people.
So a repair that will restore power to 1,000 customers will get done before a repair that would restore
power to 100 customers.
|
|
In some cases, our Operations Center people can get
the power back on without ever leaving their desks. Although they can’t physically fix a
downed wire or other problem, they can use the computer to open and close the automatic switches
on the pole top devices to isolate the area where the problem occurred.
That means that they can get power back on almost immediately for many customers. In fact,
under normal conditions, this system can get the power back on in just about five minutes for
two of every three customers affected.*
*On a typical 23,000-volt distribution circuit.
|
|
To get power back to the remaining customers, the next
step is to find out just what caused the problem and how extensive the damage
is by sending a troubleshooter or technician to the site.
These Duquesne Light workers have
to travel on the same highways and face the same problems other drivers do. Duquesne Light trucks,
cars, and vans are not considered emergency vehicles. If the weather has made travel
difficult or slow-going, it may take us a while to get to the site of the power outage.
Often this effort is well worth it — especially when the troubleshooter is able to restore
power by fixing the problem right on the spot. We have troubleshooters working around the clock.
|
|
If the damage is too extensive for one person to
fix — such as when wires are down between utility poles, or when a transformer or pole is
damaged — the trouble-shooter will call for a repair crew, explaining
the exact nature of the problem so that the crew comes prepared with all the equipment it
needs to make the repair.
Many times, we have to call a tree-trimming crew to the site to remove
tree limbs or entire trees before we can even get to the power lines.
Our crews are committed to doing whatever it takes — including working around the
clock, in all kinds of weather — to get your power restored. In severe emergencies,
we bring in additional help, including technicians and other Duquesne Light workers,
crews from other power companies, and private contractors.
|
|
When the repairs have been made, our Call Center
representatives call some of the customers in areas affected by the power outage to make
sure their electric service has been restored.
|
|
|
|
