The freezing rain and ice storm that blew through Michigan downed trees and limbs, cut power to about 700,000 homes and businesses, closed schools and offices, suspended the QLINE, delayed air travel, caused car crashes and killed a firefighter in Paw Paw, who was electrocuted. The ice, National Weather Service meteorologists said, was between a quarter-inch and more than a half-inch thick, and utility executives added that when there is that much ice on the power lines, the effective stress of 20-mph winds is as if they were gusting at 60. "The company, which has been under fire with customers complaining about its energy reliability even as the Michigan Public Service Commission has approved rate increases, has said it is "committed to providing safe, dependable and affordable power 24-hours a day