Duquesne Light’s new sensor network promises to reduce power outages in Western Pa.

Duquesne Light Company is the first electric utility in the state to install a network of sensors that can detect problems before they cause power outages.

The company said it has installed more than 1,700 solar-powered sensors across Allegheny and Beaver counties.

The devices are mounted on power line poles with a battery backup. They send real-time information on weather and equipment conditions back to the company.

Duquesne Light said the data will speed up repairs, reduce response time to outages and decrease how often outages happen. It will also give lineworkers diagnostic information before they arrive on scene.

“This level of insight improves safety for our crews, enhances reliability and affordability for our customers and ultimately helps DLC build a stronger, smarter grid for our region,” said Josh Gould, the utility’s director of advanced grid solutions.

The company said the information will also help with long-term planning and maintenance.

Most outages in the U.S. are caused by extreme weather, such as last April’s storm that cut off power to 300,000 Duquesne Light customers in the Pittsburgh area. Some were without power for up to nine days.

Duquesne Light officials told Allegheny County Council in September that the storm was “the most extreme weather event” in the company’s history.

After the April storm, Duquesne Light had to replace 300 transformers, 100 miles of wire, and more than 500 utility poles. Typically after a storm, the company needs to replace an average of 53 transformers, 15 miles of wire, and 44 poles.

Extreme weather is made more likely due to climate change.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported an average of 11 hours of electricity interruptions in 2024 across the country. That’s nearly twice the annual average experienced in the previous decade.

Power outages cost the country’s economy billions of dollars every year because of damage and business interruptions.