The Public Utility Commission has released its 2023 “Electric Service Reliability Report”, measuring the performance of the state’s eleven power distribution companies. While the number of major outage events declined compared to the 2022 outages, the report concludes that compared to 2015, power service interruptions have trended upward and are now “well above” previous levels. It blames the problem on a number of factors, chiefly severe weather and “the complexity of maintaining an aging power grid.”
Penelec’s performance, while slightly improving in 2023, is still well below that of its performance in 2015.
Penelec had eight reportable events in 2023 and one major event, a storm with high winds on April 1st that affected more than 126,000 customers. The report is critical of Penelec’s average response and recovery time when the lights go off, saying the utility’s “improved response times and shortened repair times will prove essential” to returning to the PUC benchmark level. It also demands less frequent outages, which did improve in 2023 but not enough. The recommendation there is for better vegetation management. Equipment failure and trees are the biggest problem areas.
The annual report concludes that for all of Pennsylvania’s power suppliers, “fewer customers experiencing outages but longer durations for those who do…emphasizes the critical need for ongoing infrastructure investments, regular maintenance, and enhanced vegetation management to prevent tree-related damage to the power grid.”
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