Pittsburgh's peak severe weather season is here. Experts say it's best to prepare for power outages.

With severe weather forecasted for the early hours in the Pittsburgh region, experts say it's better to prepare for the possibility of sustained power outages when storms hit. Power companies and local officials alike stress safety as the top priority, and that starts with having a plan, regardless of what kind of home you live in.

Allegheny County Emergency Services recommends having an emergency preparedness kit with enough water, nonperishable food and medicine to last for up to 72 hours.

"If you have medication that needs to be refrigerated, make sure you have a place to put that, whether that's at a loved one's home or in a cooler with ice," said Matt Neistein of Duquesne Light. "Make sure that you have plans for that."

Neistein also recommended charging electronic devices like phones, tablets and laptops ahead of time, to be able to maintain communication in case of an extended outage, as well as unplugging larger electronic devices such as televisions or kitchen appliances to avoid potential power surges. He also encourages keeping batteries on hand and using flashlights instead of candles, as they are a fire hazard.

During severe storms, all experts encourage people to stay indoors, particularly during high-wind events, and to stay away from falling objects, like trees or loose limbs and branches. When trees are brought down by high winds, power lines are often brought down with them.

"Stay as far away from power lines as you can," said Neistein. "We recommend at least 30 feet. Further than that is even better. We cannot stress that enough that we want everybody to stay safe. We don't want anybody to be hurt in any kind of weather event."

If you see a downed power line, power companies urge you to call them immediately, as they are often the first priority for repair teams to respond to. 

"Safety is number one — not just for our customers, obviously, but for our employees as well," Neistein said. "With a sustained wind event like there may be happening tonight, that may be something that impacts our response, but we are monitoring closely and we'll keep an eye on to see if we can get people out as quickly as we can."

Duquesne Light customers have several options to make contact if service is interrupted. The phone number for their customer contact center is listed on the company website, and there's also an email address and an AI chatbot people can connect with in real time. 

"We actually interact with our customers on social media," Neistein said. "Sometimes we get people notifying us during an outage or asking us questions on social media, and we have our staff ready to answer those questions as well, so there are many avenues to get in touch with us and we try to be as responsive as we can across all of those platforms."

Neistein said recent weather events — like the historic storm that swept through the region on April 29, 2025 — have prompted Duquesne Light to revamp its technology and staffing to improve response times during severe weather events. But he also says that safety is critical when sending repair crews into the field.

"For safety purposes, we can't send our crews up in buckets on the bucket trucks in 40 mph winds or stronger," he said. "Sometimes that can delay our response in terms of being able to assess the damage or start to repair the damage."