There aren’t many gifts that are equally appropriate for a college-age student or an elderly parent, but we know of one … a gift certificate from the Board of Water & Light.

This year you can give a gift of energy or water with a BWL gift certificate. The recipient can use it to make a regular payment by mail or at one of our many pay stations throughout the Lansing area.

Gift certificates come in $10, $25, $50, $75, and $100 denominations. You can order one by calling our Customer Service Center at 702-6006, or toll-free at 1-877-770-4438. Click here to order on-line.

 It’s not a pleasant thought, but we’re entering that no time of year when access to water and electric meters can be blocked by snow or ice build-up.

 You can help our employees obtain an accurate reading of your meter by making sure there’s a clear pathway to your meter. It also helps ensure your monthly bill is based on actual rather than estimated usage.

If you’re one of those snow birds who flies away to southern climates about this time of year, you may wish to consider turning off your water service while you’re gone.

 The holiday season is a time of joy for most of us, but for many it’s an especially painful period. That’s what makes this a particularly good time to join the BWL’s Pennies for Power program.

 With your permission, we’ll round up your monthly BWL utility bill to the next whole dollar and put the change in a fund to provide utility shutoff protection for low-income families in the Lansing area. Nearly 4,500 BWL customers currently participate in Pennies for Power, contributing some $39,000 per year to the program. Each year, their generosity helps more than 200 needy families.

 If you prefer, our Pennies for Power program also allows you to designate a flat dollar amount to be added to your bill each month, or you can make a single donation and include it with your bill payment. Click here to sign up for Pennies for Power.

Sometimes we get complaints from customers who are surprised to find water bills waiting for them following an absence of a few months. They don’t understand why they would owe money when they haven’t used any water.

The answer is that only part of your monthly water bill is based on consumption. The rest is a fixed charge to cover costs we incur regardless of usage. It includes things like customer service, billing, and the cost of keeping and maintaining our water plants.

The fixed monthly charge is based on the size of your water service. For customers with a 5/8-inch meter, that’s $6.20 per month. For customers with a 3/4-inch meter, it’s $8.69. Those charges appear each month on your bill, even if you don’t use any water.

Some customers choose to have their water shut off if they’re going to be gone for more than a month or two, avoiding the monthly charge for both water and sewer. When they return, we’ll turn their service back on for a $7 reconnection fee.

If we have your current home phone number, you can report your outage quickly and easily by calling our PowerLine phone number at 1-877-BWL-5001. It’s a toll-free number that can handle up to 40,000 calls an hour so your call is practically assured of getting through to us.

PowerLine records your outage information quickly and automatically, but in order for it to work properly, it must recognize your telephone number. Check your BWL utility bill. If your correct phone number isn’t printed on it, please write it down in the space provided on your payment stub, and return it with your payment.