There were lots of contributing causes to the largest power blackout in U.S. history, but it all got started because a utility in Ohio didn’t do a good enough job trimming trees around power lines.

That’s the conclusion of a joint U.S. and Canadian task force investigating the causes of the August 14th blackout that left more than 50 million people without power in the Midwest, Northeast and southern Canada. The task force interim report puts much of the blame for the blackout on First Energy, a large utility holding company based in Akron, Ohio.

Although there were several contributing factors, the blackout began near Cleveland when three large transmission lines failed after coming into contact with overgrown trees as the lines sagged under a heavy load. The sag wasn’t unusual, but the trees had been allowed to grow too tall, according to the report.

That’s a pretty dramatic example of the need to keep trees trimmed away from power lines. On a smaller scale, it’s something we at the BWL face as well. We’re working in neighborhoods every day to keep trees trimmed a safe distance from our power lines. We do it to protect the safety of our customers and lineworkers, and to make sure the lights stay on. We appreciate your support as we work to eliminate safety hazards and keep your electric service reliable.

Despite our best efforts, power outages still happen. When they do, you want to be able to reach us to report your outage.

Nothing’s more frustrating than a busy signal at a time like that. You can just about eliminate that possibility when you use the BWL’s PowerLine, toll-free, at

1-877-BWL-5001, to report your outage. Chances are you’ll never get a busy signal because PowerLine is designed to take up to 40,000 calls an hour.

PowerLine records your outage information quickly and automatically, but it has to 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.

You know it’s going to be a bad day when you wake up some cold January morning and your water pipes are frozen. Here are some things you can do to avoid that unhappy situation:

• Replace broken basement windows and cover them with plastic for extra winter protection.

• Keep your basement adequately heated.

• Inspect and protect concealed pipes along outside walls, above the ceiling or behind paneling in finished basements.

• If your home has a crawl space, make sure it’s weather-tight and heated enough to keep pipes from freezing when the weather gets really cold. If you’ve had trouble with frozen pipes in a crawl space, wrap them with heat tape covered with insulation.

You can thaw frozen pipes quickly and safely with a hair dryer. We’re not allowed to work on a customer’s inside plumbing, so this action can save you time as well as a plumber’s bill.

A lot of our customers continue to be confused about who runs the sanitary sewer system and who sets the rates for those services.

The confusion is understandable because sanitary sewer charges are included on the BWL utility bills of Lansing customers. And the confusion is increased by the fact that sewer bills are calculated by the amount of water you use. But we don’t run the sewer system.

We’ll try to clear things up. The BWL provides billing services for Lansing’s Public Service Department, which operates the wastewater treatment system. This saves you and the City money that would otherwise be spent creating and running a separate billing system. But the Lansing Public Service Department runs the sanitary sewer system and rates are set by members of Lansing City Council.

Water and electric rates are established by the BWL’s eight-member Board of Commissioners, and those systems are operated by the Board of Water & Light.

With winter in full swing, snow and ice often cover our sidewalks and driveways.

This causes problems for BWL meter readers who are out every day, regardless of the weather. You can help by keeping a pathway cleared to your electric and water meters.

That helps both you and us. For our meter readers, it means a safer work environment. And for you, it increases the likelihood our employee will be able to get to your meter to record your actual usage, avoiding a bill based on estimated consumption.