If it seems like your energy bills have been high over the past few months, it isn’t your imagination. Prescheduled rate hikes for Lansing Board of Water & Light, or BWL, customers and an especially cold winter have increased energy costs.
BWL is the sole electric utility provider for most East Lansing and Lansing residents, which some residents say is problematic as monthly electric bills topping $1,000 have been reported. The lack of competition creates even more of a need for transparency and oversight of the municipally-owned utility, some residents say.
“I don’t think it’s the fairest thing in the world when you don’t have a whole lot of options to get services, you have to go through them [BWL],” said Brandy Hannah, 43, who moved to Lansing in 2021…