Duquesne Light Company prepares for high temperatures and possible outages

PITTSBURGH — Your electric meters will probably be working overtime this weekend as temperatures are expected to hit close to 90 degrees.

Power companies are preparing with extra crews on standby, not because of any storm damage but because of this extreme heat.

As Mother Nature cranks up the heat this weekend, power companies are throwing out some cautionary tips as you work to keep cool.

Duquesne Light Company said running your air conditioning continuously can be taxing on the equipment, but so can the extreme heat.

“It can cause cables to fail, it might heat up the oil on transformers, so those are some of the issues we have with the heat,” Hollie Geitner, of Duquesne Light Company, said.

Duquesne Light said what’s unusual this year is how early we’re talking about it.

“This is very unusual to have this high of a temperature in May. And, so, I think, we’re all just making sure we’re ready, but I don’t foresee there will be issues with surges,” Geitner said.

Geitner said simply using a fan instead of your air conditioning will help alleviate stress on the system.

“The biggest time of load on the system is between 2 and 6 p.m., so if you turn your temperature up during that time by like 4 degrees, that can have a positive impact on the system,” Geitner explained.

Duquesne Light said it does not believe there will be any outage issues this weekend, but wanted to share tips to prepare people in case.

The company said to always keep your electronic devices fully charged, have ice ready to keep cool, keep emergency supplies ready, drink plenty of water and try to keep your freezer and refrigerator doors closed.

The power company said keeping your thermostat at 78 will actually cause the least amount of stress on the system, if you can tolerate it.

Summer heat cranking up, thunderstorms back Saturday night and Sunday

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