It is hard to believe 15 years have passed since a massive power outage left 50 million people in the northeast and Midwest in the dark, including Metro Detroit.

On Aug. 14, 2003, a tree branch in Ohio fell onto a high voltage power line, and that outage affected eight states from New York to Canada and Michigan. A software bug failed to re-distribute the overloaded transmission lines.

The outage was fixed for most in a day but lasted for a few days for many people.

People in Metro Detroit, Lansing and Ann Arbor were affected, and that led to crowded stores, packed restaurants, and overbooked hotels.

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The incident led to new rules in tree-trimming near power lines and technology upgrades for many utility companies.