Electricity has been restored to nearly all of Downtown, according to American Electric Power. The lights came back on at about 12:40 p.m., said spokeswoman Terri Flora. Only a few buildings remain without power, and the company continues to work on repairs, she said.

Electricity has been restored to nearly all of Downtown, according to American Electric Power.



The lights came back on at about 12:40 p.m., said spokeswoman Terri Flora.



Only a few buildings remain without power, and the company continues to work on repairs, she said.



The outages are related to an early morning explosion involving underground AEP equipment near Third Street.

An earlier attempt to restore electricity to Downtown buildings this morning was unsuccessful.

The utility at one time had hoped to have power restored by 10 a.m. But workers saw smoke when they began to energize the system, so they stopped and are working on further repairs, said AEP spokeswoman Terri Flora.

The power failure followed explosions and a fire early this morning in an underground electricity �vault� on Third Street, one of 259 such structures in the city.

Since the explosion, AEP has inspected the vaults near the one with the explosion to make sure there was no danger of a similar incident.

�Those seem secure,� Flora said.

(Earlier story follows)

The Downtown water main break in January may have contributed to this morning's explosions on 3rd Street.

American Electric Power is still determining why its underground structures exploded, but AEP Ohio President Pablo Vegas noted that the damage was right next to the site of the water main break.

�We know a lot of water got down into that system during that break,� he said this morning. �We also know a lot of salt was put onto the street to melt the ice.�

He said the salt and corrosion underground �may have been part of the source of what occurred last night.�

A least two manhole covers blew off, including one that broke windows at the Chase Tower.

The electricity network �vault� that was the site of an explosions and a fire this morning is one of 259 in the city, most of which are Downtown.

These underground structures, which can be as small as a closet or as large as a bedroom, contain transformers and other equipment that help deliver electricity to nearby traffic signals and buildings.

Earlier today, AEP spokeswoman Terri Flora predicted power would be restored by 10 a.m.

Many Downtown workers are being told to show up late, or not at all, after explosions and fire in an underground AEP network vault near the Renaissance Hotel and Chase building on 3rd Street blew off manhole covers and knocked out power. Even with fewer workers coming Downtown, rush-hour traffic was stalled in many areas north of Broad Street.

A small blast was followed by a larger blast around 1:30 a.m. A third blast was heard around 2:30 a.m.

AEP has not yet determined the cause of the explosions, but they were not related to demand for electricity in the frigid weather, Flora said.

AEP crews cut service to some customers Downtown while investigating the cause of the blasts and repairng the equipment. Many traffic signals were out but are now all working again, Columbus police said.

Power was cut to the AEP Building at 1 Riverside Plaza; the Borden Building at 180 E. Broad St.; the building at 180 N. High St.; the Midland Mutual Life Insurance Building at 250 E. Broad St.; the Ohio Department of Health Building at 246 N. High St.; the YMCA at 40 W Long St.; and Nationwide Insurance at 215 N. Front St.

AEP�s Downtown offices are closed, and employees have been told not to report to work. Nationwide employees on Front Street have been told to report at 11 a.m. People who work at OhioHealth headquarters on E. Broad Street have been told to work from home or another OhioHealth location. Franklin County offices in Memorial Hall will not open today. The Ohio Attorney General�s office at 3rd and Gay is closed, and employees who work there have the day off.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio offices, in theBorden Building, also are closed.



Complete list of closings and delays

After the first two blasts around 1:30 a.m., fire alarms went off in the Chase Tower, 100 E. Broad St., and the Athletic Club of Columbus building, 136 E. Broad St.

�A couple of manhole covers were blown off,� said Battalion Chief Sean Moore.

Smoke was coming out of a manhole in N. Lynn Street just north of E. Broad Street, Moore said. A window was broken in the explosion.

Parts of the manhole went through the windows of the Chase Building, according to Pablo Vegas, president of AEP-Ohio. Vegas said that 11 or 12 people from AEP were working to repair the damage from the blast.

Police closed off E. Broad Street between 3rd and Young streets, 4th Street between Capital and Gay, E. Gay Street between Lazelle and 3rd, and 3rd Street between Lynn and Broad.

Hotels associated with the Arnold Sports Festival Downtown were not affected by the explosion or the power outage.

Dispatch reporter Jared Rutecki contributed to this story.

jrutecki@dispatch.com

dgearino@dispatch.com