Upgrading the energy backbone of Pittsburgh, Duquesne Light Company has taken the wraps off its $237.4 million Watson Substation, an infrastructure centerpiece positioned to boost Downtown Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle with improved power resiliency. Unveiled in the Bluff neighborhood, the Watson Substation emerges as a bulwark against the caprices of extreme weather and the escalating energy demands of an urban core in revival, noted in a report by WPXI.
Kevin Walker, president and CEO of Duquesne Light, heralding the investment, said, “DLC is incredibly proud to invest in the future of our region through critical infrastructure projects like Watson.” With the addition of the Watson Substation, Duquesne Light Company bolsters its ability to provide reliable service to the Downtown area, ensconcing it among the ranks of its existing Brunot Island and Forbes substations. Despite the promise of reliable currents, the substation's activation promises brief interruptions in service as power transfer is scheduled for Oct. 28 and 29, an operational necessity detailed by the WPXI report.
In light of the operational cutover, Duquesne Light’s director of operations center, Jason Keller, stated, as per WTAE, "The cut overs are scheduled for the evening of (October) 28 and 29, are going to be later in the evening, probably between 8 and 12 -- 8 p.m. and 12, midnight. Our intention is to limit the disturbances as much as possible to the customers that would be impacted in the areas downtown, ideally, where we're going to try our best to have no outages associated with this." He further assured that these service interruptions, essential to the integration of the new substation into the grid, would not inconvenience customers more than once.
Bracing for these scheduled outages, downtown Pittsburgh residents and businesses, especially those nestled along Boulevard of the Allies, Fort Pitt Boulevard, and the streets crisscrossing the urban grid from Bigelow Square to William Penn Way, are advised to prepare for brief disruptions.
