NEW YORK (AP)  -- Consolidated Edison has agreed not to charge ratepayers for the cost of last summer's steam explosion in midtown Manhattan.

The utility says it will foot the nearly $24 million in repair costs from the blast near Grand Central Terminal last July. It also has agreed to credit customers for the period they were unable to enter their homes.

A woman died of a heart attack and dozens of people were injured when the pipe ruptured, spewing a geyser of steam and mud.

Regulators and the state Consumer Protection Board have signed off on the agreement, which would settle a state probe into whether Con Ed improperly managed its Manhattan steam network. It must still be approved by the Public Service Commission after a public hearing this month.