Pennsylvania › Utilities › 1,000 to 4,999 participants
Form 5500 statement · plan year 1 Jan 2024 to 31 Dec 2024
Duquesne Light Company Defined Benefit Retirement Plan
Sponsored by Duquesne Light Company, Pittsburgh, PA
Form 5500 information is as filed by the plan administrator with the Department of Labor and may be amended. Figures reflect the plan year shown, not current balances. Form 5500 contains no individual account balances. Look up the original filing at EFAST2.
Duquesne Light Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania sponsors Duquesne Light Company Defined Benefit Retirement Plan, a defined benefit pension plan. Its Form 5500 for the plan year ending 31 Dec 2024 shows 3,892 participants (301 active) and $885M in net assets.
Net assets came to $227,374 per participant, well above the $87,935 median for defined benefit plans with 1,000 to 4,999 participants and above the $187,668 median for defined benefit plans in utilities. The figure is an average across everyone in the plan, including former employees with small balances; Form 5500 holds no individual account data.
Schedule C lists 13 service provider organisations paid $5,000 or more, with reported compensation of $2.2M: $561 per participant, well above the same-size median of $325. Administrative expenses charged to the plan were $3.3M. Schedule C does not capture every cost: fees netted from fund returns and fees the employer pays directly are outside it.
Across the filings on record, net assets went from $666M in 2009 to $885M in 2024 (up 33%), and participants from 5,740 to 3,892 (down 32%).
The independent accountant's opinion on the financial statements was unmodified (unqualified), from an audit whose scope was limited under ERISA section 103(a)(3)(C) to exclude investment information certified by a bank or insurer.
Compared with similar plans
| Measure | This plan | Same size | Same industry | All US DB plans |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net assets per participant | $227,374 | $87,935 | $187,668 | $86,221 |
| Employer contributions per active participant | — | $10,593 | $12,900 | $10,244 |
| Schedule C compensation per participant | $561 | $325 | $468 | $344 |
| Schedule C compensation, share of net assets | 0.25% | 0.41% | 0.27% | 0.42% |
| Administrative expenses per participant | $853 | $513 | $804 | $527 |
Peer columns are medians for plan year 2024 across defined benefit plans with 100 or more participants: 1,000 to 4,999 participants (1,540 plans), utilities (175) and all US plans (5,308). Fee medians cover plans that report an amount.
Trend by plan year
| Plan year | Participants | Net assets | Per participant | Employer contributions | Participant contributions | Schedule C compensation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 3,892 | $885M | $227,374 | — | — | $2.2M |
| 2023 | 3,977 | $919M | $231,093 | $10.0M | — | $1.8M |
| 2022 | 4,091 | $890M | $217,445 | $10.0M | — | $23.7M |
| 2021 | 4,164 | $1.19B | $284,617 | $10.0M | — | $2.6M |
| 2020 | 4,237 | $1.18B | $279,095 | $10.0M | — | $2.4M |
| 2019 | 4,328 | $1.10B | $253,590 | $10.0M | — | $2.5M |
| 2018 | 4,579 | $995M | $217,248 | $15.1M | — | $2.3M |
| 2017 | 4,666 | $1.10B | $235,431 | $123M | — | $2.2M |
| 2016 | 4,706 | $913M | $193,980 | $40.0M | — | $1.7M |
| 2015 | 4,845 | $876M | $180,703 | — | — | $2.4M |
| 2014 | 4,880 | $949M | $194,565 | $1.9M | $0 | $2.6M |
| 2012 | 5,572 | $885M | $158,832 | $59.5M | — | $2.6M |
| 2011 | 5,646 | $789M | $139,729 | $24.4M | — | $3.4M |
| 2010 | 5,709 | $787M | $137,920 | $86.5M | — | $3.7M |
| 2009 | 5,740 | $666M | $116,042 | $30.0M | — | $3.1M |
Years in which the plan filed the full Form 5500 with 100 or more participants, from 2009. Plan year is the year in which the plan year began.
Statement for the year
- Net assets, beginning of year$919,057,913
- Employer contributions—
- Participant contributions—
- Rollovers and other contributions—
- Total contributions$0
- Total income, including investment results$41,530,143
- Benefits paid$72,326,904
- Administrative expenses$3,320,576
- Total expenses$75,647,480
- Net income−$34,117,337
- Net transfers$0
- Net assets, end of year$884,940,576
Participants
- Active participants301
- Retired or separated, receiving benefits2,821
- Retired or separated, entitled to future benefits152
- Total participants, end of year3,892
Fees and service providers
| Organisation | Services reported | Direct | Indirect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Asset Management | Investment management | $516,908 | $0 |
| LCG Associates, Inc. | Consulting (general) | $450,816 | $0 |
| Nisa Investment Advisors | Investment management | $354,137 | $0 |
| BlackRock Institutional Trust Co. | Investment management | $289,513 | $0 |
| Hewitt Associates, LLC | Consulting (general) | $173,550 | $0 |
| BNY Mellon Asset Service | Custodial (other than securities); Custodial (securities) | $165,320 | $0 |
| Towers Watson Delaware, Inc. | Consulting (general) | $76,243 | $0 |
| Mellon Capital Management Corp. | Investment management | $60,327 | $0 |
| Duquesne Light Company | Other fees | $49,630 | $0 |
| Lgima US Credit Fund LLC | Investment management | $47,483 | $0 |
| Morgan Stanley | Investment management | $0 | $0 |
| Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP | Consulting (general) | $0 | $0 |
Schedule C, Part I line 2: providers that received $5,000 or more, with the form's own service codes. 1 smaller rows are not shown. Individuals named on Schedule C (plan employees, individual trustees) are never shown and their compensation is excluded. Eligible indirect compensation disclosed by formula carries no dollar amount. See how to read Schedule C fees.
Administrative expenses on Schedule H
- Recordkeeping fees$1,723,082
- Other administrative expenses$1,330,054
- Salaries and allowances$267,440
- Total administrative expenses$3,320,576
Investment structure
Assets at year end by Schedule H category. The form shows the kind of vehicle holding the money, not the funds on the menu.
- Common/collective trusts$441M · 49.3%
- Corporate debt instruments$216M · 24.2%
- U.S. Government securities$173M · 19.3%
- Registered investment companies (mutual funds)$29.1M · 3.3%
- Other investments$16.8M · 1.9%
- Receivables$10.4M · 1.2%
- Cash (interest and non-interest bearing)$5.1M · 0.6%
- Partnership/joint venture interests$3.2M · 0.4%
Audit and compliance answers, as filed
- Accountant's opinionUnmodified (unqualified)
- Audit scope limited under ERISA section 103(a)(3)(C)Yes
- Accounting firmBaker Tilly US, LLP
- Participant contributions reported as transmitted lateNo
- Covered by a fidelity bondYes, $10,000,000
- Blackout period during the year—
These are the plan administrator's own answers on Schedule H, Part IV. A reported late transmittal is the filer's disclosure of a timing lapse, usually corrected through the Department of Labor's voluntary program; the amount is the total involved, not a loss.
Plan characteristics
1ABenefits are primarily pay related3HPlan sponsor(s) is (are) a member(s) of a controlled group
Codes entered on Form 5500 line 8a, with the labels from the official instructions. Business code 221100: Electric Power Generation, Transmission & Distribution.
Other plans of Duquesne Light Company
| Plan | Participants | Net assets |
|---|---|---|
| Duquesne Light Company 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan for IBEW Represented Employees | 1,069 | $211M |
Similar plans in Pennsylvania
| Plan | Sponsor | Participants | Net assets | Per participant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PPL Retirement Plan | PPL Services Corporation | 6,073 | $1.46B | $240,432 |
| Retirement Income Plan for Employees of Ugi Utilities, Inc. | Ugi Utilities, Inc. | 3,210 | $516M | $160,843 |
| Constellation Employee Pension Plan | Constellation Energy Generation LLC | 7,495 | $1.20B | $159,525 |
| Rhode Island Energy Retirement Plan | PPL Services Corporation | 2,157 | $570M | $264,202 |
| Constellation Retirement Program | Constellation Energy Generation LLC | 17,060 | $4.99B | $292,361 |
| Essential Utilities, Inc. Pension Plan | Essential Utilities, Inc. | 2,052 | $299M | $145,845 |
Defined benefit plans in utilities closest in size.
Questions and answers
How big is Duquesne Light Company Defined Benefit Retirement Plan?
3,892 participants at the end of the plan year ending 31 Dec 2024, of whom 301 were active employees, with net assets of $884,940,576. Among defined benefit plans that places it in the 1,000 to 4,999 participants band, which held 1,540 plans in plan year 2024.
What does Duquesne Light Company contribute per participant?
This filing has no Schedule H financial statement, so employer contributions are not reported here.
What fees does the plan pay and how do they compare?
Schedule C reports $2,183,927 in compensation to service provider organisations, $561 per participant or 0.25% of net assets. The same-size median among plans reporting any Schedule C compensation was $325 per participant. Administrative expenses on Schedule H were $3,320,576. Investment costs deducted inside mutual funds and other pooled vehicles are not itemised on Form 5500, so these figures are a floor rather than a full cost.
Who runs the plan?
The sponsor is Duquesne Light Company. Investment advisory or management: Western Asset Management, Nisa Investment Advisors and BlackRock Institutional Trust Co.. Trustee or custodian: BNY Mellon Asset Service. The financial statements were audited by Baker Tilly US, LLP. Form 5500 also names the plan administrator's signer and other individuals; this site publishes organisations only.
Was the audit opinion unqualified?
The filing reports an unmodified (unqualified) opinion from a limited-scope audit, in which the accountant did not audit investment information certified by a bank or insurance company. Unmodified (formerly "unqualified") is the standard clean opinion.
How current is this, and does it show my balance?
This is the Form 5500 for the plan year 1 Jan 2024 to 31 Dec 2024, received by the Department of Labor on 13 Oct 2025. Filings are due seven months after the plan year ends, or nine and a half with an extension, so the public record always runs a year or more behind. It contains plan-level totals only: no individual balances, contributions or names of participants exist in the data.
Provenance
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Form 5500 research files (Form 5500, Schedule H, Schedule C) for plan years 2009 to 2025, public domain, with filings received through 24 Aug 2026. This page shows the latest filing on record for EIN 25-0451600, plan 001, received 13 Oct 2025; an amended filing replaces it at the next build. Medians and percentiles are computed by this site; see the methodology. Report an error through corrections.