Kansas City, Mo. ? A jury has determined a Milwaukee parts manufacturer should pay more than $135 million in damages related to a 1999 gas explosion that destroyed a Kansas City Power & Light Co. plant.

A spokesman for Allen-Bradley Corp. said the company was disappointed with Friday’s verdict and said it would appeal. Allen-Bradley recently became part of Rockwell Automation Inc. in Milwaukee.

Jurors in Jackson County assessed damages at $452 million, and found KCP&L was liable for 70 percent.

Tom Robinson, a spokesman for KCP&L, said the utility was “gratified the jury recognized we should receive compensation.”

The explosion at KCP&L’s Hawthorn 5 plant on Feb. 17, 1999, left it out of operation for 838 days. The utility claimed a loss of $552 million for rebuilding the plant, lost business and other expenses.

KCP&L blamed what it called defective computer safety equipment, but Allen-Bradley blamed the utility and wastewater that leaked into the equipment.

“They both had to be at fault,” jury foreman Bob Palmer said.

KCP&L said it did not cause the explosion. It blamed an errant Allen-Bradley guidebook for installing switching equipment that malfunctioned and opened the gas line, which caused the explosion.

Allen-Bradley contended a short circuit from sewer water caused the malfunction that opened the gas line. It blamed the sewer problem and poorly trained KCP&L technicians who repaired the damage.

KCP&L asked jurors to place a value of $621 million on damage that included the cost of rebuilding and lost income and to find Allen-Bradley negligent for much of that.

Allen-Bradley contended that number should be only $130.6 million and all blame should be on KCP&L.