It used to be really easy to sign up for the budget plan: two amounts on the bill, pay the budget amount, and you we're enrolled. Now it's a pain. I moved into a n apartment at the beginning of December, paid my first bill in full because it was tiny, then got my second bill Friday. This bill was over $200, so I looked to pay the budget amount. None on the bill. Called and found out could not sign up for the budget plan until I paid the entire bill of $200+. Ridiculous! read more

Terrible customer service. Really aggressive after a two hour wait.

Like others, after spending hours on hold and receiving call backs from customer service only to be put on hold again, I have service from Duquesne Light. After three months of bills near $100 per billing cycle during the winter (I have gas heat, stove and hot water) this has to be the most expensive electric service on the planet. I have friends in the area that have Allegheny Energy with larger homes and smaller electric bills. This company has to go. read more

So it looks like they changed their website at some point the last week or so with NO communications, announcement, or notification to the users! Additionally, nothing was moved to the new website with the payment history, address, account details, due dates, basically nothing useful on the new site! Also, none of the old links they have on their email notification is going to the new site! if you click on any links from a recent emails, it goes to dead link and there is not re-direct to the new site! basically from a technology conversion prospective, it can't get any worse! I sent them a very harsh email asking about all of these things and all I got is automated response! read more

I am a new customer as I have just moved into a new apartment. I attempted to pay my bill online, but needed my account number to set up an account to pay online. This was totally fine, however, obtaining my account number was like pulling teeth. I called and was on hold for approximately ten minutes. The woman gave me my account number, however when I got home and attempted to set up the online account, the account number I was given was only 9 digits and apparently account numbers are ten digits. So I had to call again to get the correct account number. THEN, even though the due date was today, September 5th, their ridiculous online system would not let me set the payment date until the 8th. The website displayed a message that said I may be subject to late fees even though the company's website would literally not allow me to pay my bill on time. WTF? Thanks a ton. read more

Absolutely awful! Four power outages in 2 months. This company is really really AWLFUL. No one picks up the phone. Their website is totally broken. I'm not sure why the company still exists. Just god awful. Worst experience since moving to Pittsburgh. read more

This was one of the worst customer service experiences I've had. I have spent about two weeks trying to get my electricity set up in my new apartment and no one seems to be able to tell me what the issue is with getting my account getting set up. Not to mention, it takes forever to get in contact with an actual person! read more

My son who is a student it Pittsburgh, PA applied for power with this company. They then turned the power off after it was turned on. They stated that it was turned off because they could not view his ID. They stated they called my son to tell him they needed a better picture, but there is no call from them on my call log with my cell phone company. They then told my son it would take three days to turn it back on. I contacted them after my son added me to the account, and I spoke with a Gerald Simmons who was a supervisor. He was patronizing and condescending to me as well as my son. When I asked him for his supervisors name, he stated his supervisor was the Public Utilities Commission. When I asked him who signs his evaluations, his answer was "I don't know." Of course, they have no competition in the area so the think they can get away with their unprofessional behavior. I will be filing a complaint with the PUC as well. I would give them ZERO stars, but to post this, you have to give them at least one star. read more

This company has the worst customer service I have ever experienced. We are moving so have two accounts for 2 months. They can't handle it. Never sent us bills for our new property. Can't get online set up. Website either down or gives errors. Service reps are rude and not knowledgeable read more

I had the complete opposite of a 5 star experience getting my light scheduled to be turned on at my new home. I am a current customer of Duquesne light and have been for 2 1/2 years. I had originally put a security deposit down back then. I have never made a late payment. I tried using the online application to get my service scheduled at my new house. It was denied. I called in and they made me print out and fill out the application by hand, as if something had changed from the day before. I also had to send in my drivers license and a $340 security deposit as if they don't already have an existing relationship with me. After all that, they could not specify whether the electricity will be turned on by my closing date in 6 days. read more

The worst service I have ever received from a company ever. I have opened a complaint case about them with the Pennsylvania Utilities Commision, and if you are being mistreated by them I suggest you open one as well (1-800-692-7380). They have a call center available only from 8am-5pm, you know, when most customers are working and may not have the luxury of being able to make calls from their jobs. I found out that, due to an error, my power was shut off, so I called when I was able- 4:40pm. After wading through the horrible automated system and being on hold I finally reached a Call Center Rep at 4:55pm. The CCR was very rude to me (for example when I requested to speak to a supervisor she stated that there were no supervisors there at all, ever) and then disconnected the call knowing that when I tried to call back I would be stuck in the automated system until I reached the message stating they were closed and to call back tomorrow during regular business hours. So, I paid the money they state is needed to restart my service via their online channels. PLEASE NOTE: If you pay them money using their online service you have to call them and tell them that you paid (just giving them the money is not enough)- which you can only do during "business hours". So, still without power you call back the next day when the phone lines open and report your payment- then they will put in a request to turn your power back on. AGAIN PLEASE NOTE: If you call on (for example) Monday, regardless of the time, the request for your power to be turned on will fall on the following business day which (in this example) would be Tuesday. So on and so forth. So expect to not have power for a few days once it gets shut off. PLEASE NOTE AGAIN: the money you paid for your "Residential Deposit" to get your service turned back on (they state) will sit in your account and if you have a bill that occurs after you pay that "Residential Deposit" they will apply the deposit amount to your bill and then charge you the "Residential Deposit" again. If you open a complaint with them, they will close it without speaking to you stating that they resolved it to your satisfaction. There is so much that is wrong with how they deal with their customers - the people who give them money- I can't believe that they have not been sanctioned somehow by the state. read more

twice my power has been shut off with no notices, warnings, phone calls or emails when our account is just over a month late. each resulted in a $210 reconnection fee when our past due about was less than $150. during each shut off they took multiple days to reconnect our service despite me trying to pay right while they were there shutting off our power with no notice. I've lived in Pittsburgh for over a decade and this company has been the worst provider I have ever felt with. DO NOT USE THIS PROVIDER. read more

Terrible customer service and incompetent IT staff - they don't care about their website issues and safeguarding customer information. Website is down for days, and I'm unable to get to my bills. They are not following good programming practices and the website exposes errors and programming code on their pages, which is something a hacker can easily use. If this were a bank, this would be all over the news, but utility company - no one cares. read more

These people failed to stop billing me after I called in to have my service transfered back into the landlords name. On top of that, they want to send me another bill that is part of their "New system" since they claim I never shut off service when I remember and my wife also remembers us turning it off. I pray they get replaced by a more professional staff and adequate, efficient competitor. read more

Worst customer service ever...........worst telephone menu..........worst wait time 27 mins.....worst system to get live help ..................the worst of the worst. Should be ashamed of the whole operation. read more

Having to deal with disconnecting multiple services is a nightmare! You send in the disconnect notices as directed & you expect to no longer receive bills for meter readings AFTER the disconnection date. Bills trickle in, some are noted as final, some are not. Some are sent to the service address instead of the billing address randomly after having been sent to the billing address before. According to customer service, they can only correct the billing to the incorrect addresses ONE TIME even though it continues to happen. You have more than 10 service addresses which they cannot take care of in one phone call. You have to trust the fax/mail (which has obviously done you wrong in the first place). Some addresses are disconnected according to customer service, you feel that since they were all sent at the same time, they should all be alright. Wrong. Another bill rolls in, it's still open in your name 2 MONTHS LATER with no note of closing. When asking if there was someone I could talk to who was in charge of disconnecting services, they advise that you call the same exact place you have been calling & getting no where. Duquesne Light has the worst customer service of any utility company I have ever dealt with. It is inconvenient with extreme hold-times and no face to face service for customers who are having recurring problems. I could go on & on. I see no end in site with the issues I have been having with them. I only wish there was a way to get the help I need so I no longer have to pay for services I no longer own. read more

My advice to anyone that is forced to deal with this company is to skip the online hassel, and call them directly to make payments. As a new customer, I am very dissapointed in Duquesne Light. Receiving my first bill, I paid it within 2 days online, knowing full well that utilities can be a pain. I waited for my payment to be processed through my banking account, only for it to never get withdrawn. I thought it was just taking the weekend to get processed, since i paid on a Friday; however, when I looked at my account today (a thursday) i had a payment due of 20$ more than payment I was led to believe I had already paid, since my balance has been 0$ for the past 6 days. Confused, I called and spoke to a less than helpful representative who informed me that I was being charged an additional 20$ because my payment has been cancelled. This was the first I was hearing that my payment didn't go through, and I'm sure you can understand my confusion with this when my account online made every indication that no such thing had transpired. I am still not exactly sure why my payment was cancelled, and I find it infuriating that Duquesne Light treats their new customers with such disinterest. Wouldn't an email suffice to inform their paying customers that a payment did not go through? Ohh, but then they wouldn't recieve their due 20$ cancellation fee... The payment was far from being late, yet I was still charged for a cancellation fee for a payment that I was led to believe was taking care of according to their website. Terrible company that is only interested in suckering individuals out of money that may seem inconsequential at the end of the day, yet clearly adds up on their end. As I stated above, the best way to deal with them is anything but electronically. read more