Replacing exploding manhole covers with safer ones could take years
A utility consultant warned three years ago that manhole explosions would continue to rock Downtown Indianapolis three to five times a year and that Indianapolis Power & Light Co. should install newly designed manhole covers to prevent injuries.
On Thursday, after another explosion tossed manhole covers high into the air, the utility scrambled to reassure the public that the system is safe and to say it might work faster to replace the manhole covers.
Workers are replacing 50 to 100 manhole covers a year with the safer version, which lift about 3 inches to allow excess gas to escape when underground pressure builds.
However, IPL has installed only 357 "lift-locking" manhole covers so far, out of more than 1,000 manholes Downtown. It could take another six to 12 years to replace all of the manhole covers, unless IPL steps up the pace.
"We've got about 600 to 700 left," Joe Bentley, senior vice president of customer operations, said at a news conference Thursday morning near the explosion, at the intersection of Capitol Avenue and North Street. "We'll probably look to accelerate that."
No one was injured Thursday in the manhole explosions. But the company can expect state and city officials to turn on the pressure to get the problem under control, especially as thousands of basketball fans begin streaming into Indianapolis in two weeks for the NCAA Final Four men's basketball championship.
On Friday, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission will meet at 10:30 a.m. to formally consider an order opening an investigation. The probe is expected to look at IPL's ongoing investment in its network facilities, along with the operation and maintenance of the system, according to an advisory issued Thursday by the IURC.
A statement released Thursday afternoon by Mayor Greg Ballard's office called the manhole issue "concerning."
"I know IPL is investigating the problem, and in addition to their efforts, our local Department of Homeland Security is going to conduct some precautionary checks. A preventive look in other areas of downtown is warranted," the statement read.
The Indianapolis Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Public Safety is coordinating with IPL to do safety checks of manholes Downtown.
The checks will begin as soon as the immediate issue Downtown is resolved, said Al Larsen, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety.
"We want to make sure we have a safe environment for the foreseeable future and down the road," Larsen said.
IPL said the explosions Thursday a few blocks north of the Statehouse were caused by a short circuit and electrical arcing, not aging infrastructure. They said weather may have been a factor.
IPL officials tried to tamp down concerns that another explosion could happen, including during the Final Four tournament, which will takes place April 4 and 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium. But they acknowledged they couldn't rule out another explosion.
"I can't guarantee it, because the fact is, again, the laws of physics will prevail," Bentley said. He pointed out that electric currents that are released due to a malfunction will always try to find their way back to the ground, sometimes causing explosions or fires.
"We have a very safe system and a very reliable system," he added. "I know these occurrences get a lot of media attention, but our system is a very safe underground system."
Since 2005, at least 18 fires or explosions in IPL's underground network have rocked Downtown, including 14 in the past five years. Sometimes, flames have shot 25 feet into the air, and manhole covers have been tossed into the sky.
The explosion Thursday, which took place shortly before 7 a.m., disrupted rush-hour traffic and shut off power to up to six square blocks. Crews rescued one person who was stuck in an elevator because of the blackout.
Officials said the blasts caused significant damage to infrastructure in the area of Capitol Avenue and North Street. IPL planned to bring in generators to help restore power in the hardest-hit areas, including an apartment building.
During an emergency news conference, IPL officials said other large cities have to face similar challenges.
"It is a safe and reliable network, especially when you put it in context with other Downtown networks in other cities," said Kelly Huntington, IPL's president and CEO.
Huntington said the utility has taken many steps to address concerns raised in 2011 by O'Neill Management Consulting LLC of Atlanta, which prepared a 186-page report for the state after a round of explosions, including a massive convulsion that shook the Statehouse.
The consulting firm found that about half of the incidents stemmed from failures in equipment owned either by IPL customers or by another utility. In particular, steam lines operated by Citizens Thermal have become problems at many manhole sites, according to the report, often causing temperatures too hot even to allow IPL to attempt routine inspections.
"They have been good at fixing a problem when they see it," Daniel O'Neill, president of the consulting firm that conducted the assessment, told The Indianapolis Star in 2011. "But the deeper root cause is something they need to sharpen their skills on."
One of the recommendations was to install the newly designed manhole covers. IPL said it began the replacement process around Lucas Oil Stadium, Monument Circle and other heavily traveled parts of Downtown.
The company said it had concerns about moving too fast with new manhole covers, because it is still studying the long-term effects of the mechanism. Too much snow and rain could lead to rusting that might make it difficult to remove the covers. The new covers cost about $700 more each than standard manhole covers, the company said.
This was the second underground emergency this week Downtown. On Monday night, witnesses reported a blast with smoke and fire from sidewalk grate in the 400 block of Massachusetts Avenue. IPL said some of its underground equipment malfunctioned, but there was no explosion.
Star reporters Justin Mack, Madeline Buckley and Chris Sikich contributed to this report.
Call Star reporter John Russell at (317) 444-6283 and follow him on Twitter @ johnrussell 99.