Downtown Pittsburgh steam heat system 'beyond repair,' says mayor

A failing steam factory that has provided heat for more than a century to buildings in Downtown Pittsburgh is “beyond repair,” but plans are afoot for a national energy company to replace it with a new system that would provide heat and electricity through renewable energy, Mayor Bill Peduto said.

Peduto said Clearway Energy Pittsburgh, a North Side steam plant subsidiary of San Francisco-based Clearway Energy Group, can provide steam heat while generating electricity through steam and other renewable means to clients, including the city, that comprise the nonprofit Pittsburgh Allegheny County Thermal.

“As late as yesterday we were talking to them about the potential of partnering with the (Pittsburgh) Parking Authority in turning the roofs of our parking garages into solar farms and being able to use solar energy in order to provide electrical into the cogeneration equation,” he said. “There’s a lot of opportunity and if we start thinking about the 55 other buildings that are a part of this, and using their rooftops as well, there’s opportunity for solar and even wind. We’re not limiting (Clearway) to the source of energy. We just want to see a system that utilizes steam for more than heat and then use other sources of energy as well in order to be able to create both a power and heating system.”

PACT was created in 1983 to take over operations of a steam-generating station on Fort Duquesne Boulevard that was previously owned by a subsidiary of Duquesne Light. The nonprofit has been plagued for years with aging infrastructure and rising costs, prompting clients to drop out and install their own systems. PACT’s customer base has dropped from 102 in 1992 to 55 today. Clients, including the city and county, have representatives on its board of directors.

An audit released in 2013 by Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner claimed PACT overcharged taxpayers and wasted money on contracts.

PACT’s steam pipes run through a tunnel system throughout the Golden Triangle. Peduto said it would be cheaper for buildings to install their own heat systems than pay rate hikes necessary for upgrading the 100-year-old infrastructure.

Peduto said PACT clients have three choices: abandon the system, fix it or enter into a partnership with Clearway.

Allegheny County, PACT’s largest client, opted to pull out and heat the jail, courthouse, family court building, county office building and former county morgue with boilers in the jail and county office building, according to William McKain, the county manager.

McKain said the county plans to have the both systems online by next year.

He said the county is paying PACT more than market rate for heat and he was concerned about PACT’s declining customer base, a lack of a good preventative maintenance, years of deferred maintenance and future rate hikes.

“All those types of considerations led me make the decision to leave PACT and create our own energy system,” he said.

Tim O’Brien, PACT’s operations manager, said he didn’t have time to comment Friday.

Clearway did not return a call seeking comment.

Peduto said the city wants to remain in the PACT system because of its commitment for a 50% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2030.

“There’s a big difference in our environmental footprint, especially in our carbon footprint, between having 55 separate boiler systems than having one combined system through steam,” he said.

He said a new Clearway system has potential to connect with the company’s North Side steam plant and one it recently built in Uptown.

“There’s an economy of scale which sets in when we have the ability to connect these three energy districts in a way that will be able to provide both heat and power to buildings not only Downtown but also the North Shore and Uptown,” the mayor said.