Duquesne Light Holdings, Inc. (“DLH”) is an energy services

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

formed in 1989 to serve as the holding company for Duquesne Light Company and to engage in certain unregulated energy and related businesses. After a 2007 acquisition, DLH is a wholly owned subsidiary of parent company DQE Holdings LLC, with principal executive offices located in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, Pennsylvania. Through its chief subsidiary, Duquesne Light Company, the corporation provides energy to over 588,000 homes and businesses.

Historic incorporation

Duquesne Light was one of the dozens of companies founded by inventor

George Westinghouse George Westinghouse Jr. (October 6, 1846 – March 12, 1914) was an American entrepreneur and engineer based in Pennsylvania who created the railway air brake and was a pioneer of the electrical industry, receiving his first patent at the age ...

and for its first 75 years of operation (1870s-1940s) was a subsidiary of the holding company known as the "Philadelphia Company". Other such companies also founded by Westinghouse such as the

Equitable Gas EQT Corporation is an American energy company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration and pipeline transport. It is headquartered in EQT Plaza in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. EQT is the largest natural gas producer in the Appalachian Basin with 19.802 ...

company and other "Equitable" energy/electronic companies were equal subsidiaries with DQE when it was a subsidiary of the 'Philadelphia Company'. In 1997, Duquesne and Allegheny Energy agreed to a $4.3 billion merger with headquarters remaining in

Hagerstown, Maryland Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland, United States and the county seat of Washington County. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2020 census was 43,527, and the population of the Hagerstown metropolitan area (exte ...

. However DQE backed out of the deal by 1998. In May 2007, Duquesne was acquired by a consortium led by affiliates of the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

n-based

Macquarie Group Macquarie Group Limited () is an Australian global financial services group. Headquartered and listed in Australia (), Macquarie employs more than 17,000 staff in 33 markets, is the world's largest infrastructure asset manager and Australia' ...

Limited. The consortium consists of several institutional investors which own all of the common equity of parent company, DQE Holdings, LLC. This classifies it as an

investor-owned utility Investor-owned utilities (IOUs) are private enterprises acting as public utilities A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using ...

. In 2010,

GIC Private Limited GIC Private Limited is a sovereign wealth fund in Singapore that manages its foreign reserves. Established by the Government of Singapore in 1981 as the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, its mission is to preserve and enhance th ...

acquired a 29% stake from original investor DUET Group. In 2018, Duquesne Light began offering $3,000 rebates for the purchase of

electric vehicles An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes ch ...

in an effort to promote adoption of electric vehicles and increase the number on the road. The company partnered with Nissan North America to execute the program. People in Pennsylvania who purchase electric vehicles, in addition to the rebate, get up to $7,500 in federal

tax credits A tax credit is a tax incentive which allows certain taxpayers to subtract the amount of the credit they have accrued from the total they owe the state. It may also be a credit granted in recognition of taxes already paid or a form of state "disc ...

and a $1,750 rebate from the state. In 2019, the company named Steve Malnight as CEO, replacing Rich Riazzi, who had held the post since 2010.

References

External links

Official Web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dqe Electric power companies of the United States Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange Holding companies established in 1912 1912 establishments in Pennsylvania Energy companies established in 1912