INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ A utility company says it has installed locking covers on all of its manholes in downtown Indianapolis after more than a dozen underground explosions in recent years that blasted the metal lids into the air.
Indianapolis Power & Light Co. says the covers now in place on some 1,200 manholes are designed to pop up a few inches in case of an explosion.
An underground explosion in March plunged up to six city blocks into darkness. IPL blamed that blast on electrical cables being damaged by heat from underground steam lines.
The Indianapolis Star reports (http://indy.st/1S592oT ) the state Office of Utility Consumer Counselor criticized IPL for taking four years to complete the manhole cover work.
IPL says the new cover should reduce the likelihood of damage from future explosions.
