Power Companies Questioned At Public Hearing

PITTSBURGH — (WPXI)- Power company executives faced questions from state lawmakers about their responses to outages following April’s historic storm. Hundreds of thousands of people lost power. The public hearing was hosted by PA State Rep. Mandy Steele. “I heard so much confusion, anger and sometimes hopelessness about the situation,” Steele said. On the panel were two representatives from Duquesne Light and one from West Penn Power. Communication was a major topic. Many criticized the lack of specifics when it came to restoration times. Another topic was prioritization when dealing with seniors and others with medical needs. A Duquesne Light representative said he was “proud” that the company restored “99.9%” of customers within a week. Still, lawmakers said they expect them to be faster next time.