Brandon sues Hydro over gas explosion

BRANDON — Brandon is suing Manitoba Hydro for an explosion that injured one employee and caused almost $1 million in damage at the city’s public services complex nearly two years ago.

The explosion happened in the mechanical room of the civic services complex on Richmond Avenue East, which has administration offices and is home to the city’s bus fleet, on Sept. 7, 2023, owing to “overpressure” in the building’s natural gas system.

The city, in a lawsuit filed in Manitoba Court of King’s Bench on Aug. 27, says “the resulting damage was caused by the negligence of Manitoba Hydro.” Centra Gas Manitoba Inc., a subsidiary of Manitoba Hydro, is also listed as a defendant.

No statements of defence have been filed. The allegations haven’t been proven in court.

Two days before the explosion, Manitoba Hydro replaced a natural gas meter and told the city to remove a gas regulator because it wasn’t needed, the city’s statement of claim says.

On the day of the explosion, Manitoba Hydro employees inspected the pipe work and instructed a city employee to repair a leak, which was done later in the day, the claim says.

An inspection then led Manitoba Hydro to approve natural gas to be reintroduced. A city employee “began purging” the natural gas line to the hot water boiler and reignited the boiler by “bleeding the line.”

While doing so, natural gas was released into the mechanical room due to the overpressure. The amount of natural gas “was sufficient to be ignited,” causing the explosion at around 6 p.m.

The city said the gas regulator had previously converted 40 pounds per square inch of pressure to between 0.25 and 0.5 psi, “as required by the appliances in the building.” The new meter delivered five psi directly to the appliances, the suit claims.

“The explosion was caused by the absence of an appropriate regulator, resulting in overpressure within the building’s natural gas system, and ignition,” the claim said.

Manitoba Hydro returned the gas regulator not long after the explosion. It also removed the new meter.

The city wants Manitoba Hydro to pay for the repairs, building contents, Manitoba Hydro services, engineer services, and insurance adjuster and investigative services.

City spokesperson Merrilea Metcalf deferred comment to the city’s lawyer, Bernice Bowley, who declined to comment.

Manitoba Hydro media relations officer Peter Chura said the Crown corporation is aware of the lawsuit and will respond “in due course.”

In its statement of claim, the city says undersized gas service lines contributed to the explosion.

In July, the city asked Manitoba Hydro to upgrade the natural gas meter to a larger meter to support a bigger natural gas load.

Last month, an engineer reviewed the request and found the existing steel gas service line installed by Manitoba Hydro in the 1990s was two inches in diameter, which is too small for the expected pressure load, the city claims.

The engineer said a four-inch-diameter line is needed.

“Based on the load of natural gas required for the building, it should have always been installed with a gas service line of four inches in diameter,” the claim reads. “Manitoba Hydro knew or ought to have known that the existing gas service line was never in compliance with applicable… codes.”

Metcalf also provided an update on construction work at the complex.

She said the city is working through final inspections and approvals, and the building should be ready for regular use this fall.

— Brandon Sun