Duquesne Light completes constriction of new transmission line in Western Pennsylvania
Duquesne Light Company (DLC) finished construction of a new transmission line as part of its Universal-Plum-Cheswick reliability project near Pittsburgh.
The new 138-kilovolt line spans approximately five miles across Penn Hills, Monroeville, and Plum between Duquesne Light’s Universal and Plum substations in eastern Allegheny County. The new project is necessary to meet increased electric demand and maintain reliable service in the region.
Construction began in August 2020 and ended in February 2022, approximately two months ahead of schedule. It involved the installation of nearly 4 miles of 40 self-supporting steel monopoles on concrete foundations and 1.5 miles of underground transmission conductor.
“After many years of planning and design, it is very rewarding to see this line come to fruition,” Michelle Antantis, senior consulting engineer at DLC, said. “This work is critical to providing improved reliability to customers served by our Universal and Plum substations. The new interconnection between them makes the eastern portion of our grid more resilient and allows us to provide more reliable service.”
The new transmission line extends through Boyce Park, covering more than 1,000 acres, mostly in Plum Borough.
DLC has invested more than $3.1 billion into new and upgraded infrastructure over the past 10 years, including the Universal and Plum substations, which were upgraded to accept the new transmission source at both ends of the line.
“Maintaining safe and reliable infrastructure is key to the growth of our communities and is one of DLC’s core commitments,” Jason Hartle, senior project manager at DLC, said. “This project is another example of the investment we’re making not only in our equipment but also our customers and region. I’m very proud of the hard work our team did and look forward to the positive results it will yield. We want to thank our customers and the community for their patience as we built this crucial infrastructure.”
