Letter to the editor: Questions for Duquesne Light

Duquesne Light has been an incredibly poor steward of what should be a public utility.

I grew up in the foothills outside Boulder, Colo. We regularly experienced 100 mph winds and almost never lost power. Now I live in Pittsburgh, where every gentle breeze or mildly hot day knocks out power for half the city. The recent storms, of course, were a catastrophe.

Since our representatives have handed a public utility over to a private company, I have a lot of questions:

1. Has Duquesne Light ever upgraded or maintained the power grid placed in its care?

2. Allowing private business into the public sphere only has one argument: competition can (potentially) create better service. Who is Duquesne Light’s competition?

3. Is Duquesne Light doing anything other than price gouging the public? What benefit do we get from privatizing our power grid?

Pete Ramberg

Sharpsburg