Electrical services have been disrupted across the nation because of stray and discarded balloons. Screenshot from First Energy video
Feb. 10 (UPI) — For Valentine’s Day, electric companies would love for everyone to heed a warning: Helium-filled foil balloons can cause power outages.
Brightly colored helium balloons are sold as an ideal way to convey one’s love to another every February holiday, but the heart-breaking reality is that, in the recent past, electric services have been disrupted throughout the nation because of stray and discarded balloons.
Utility companies are trying to warn consumers.
FirstEnergy Corp., which serves more than six million customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York, sent out a news release with the headline: “Don’t Let Balloons Float Up and Take Down Power This Valentine’s Day.”
“Foil balloons cause power outages when released outdoors because their metallic coating conducts electricity and poses a risk to the electric system,” the company said.
FirstEnergy noted the balloons were to blame for 109 power outages across its service area last year.
And it’s not just Valentine’s Day to blame for the heighten risk.
In December, New Orleans banned the release of metallic balloons and all those coated in metal or other “conductive material,” ahead of New Year’s Eve, Mardi Gras and the Super Bowl.
During the summer, wayward metallic balloons triggered a widespread power outage in Orleans Parish after coming into contact with a power line. It also disrupted the city’s water treatment plant and seriously injured a Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans employee.
Also in 2024, Pacific Gas and Electric Company reported 369 power outages across PG&E’s service area in Northern and Central California, disrupting electric service to more than 230,000 homes and businesses.
California law requires balloons to be tied to a weight and that they never are to be released outdoors.
“On Valentine’s Day, nothing puts a damper on a romantic evening faster than a widespread power outage,” Ron Richardson, PG&E’s vice president of Electric Distribution Operations, said last year. “If your Feb. 14 plans include metallic balloons, please keep them tied down with a weight. If they contact our overhead lines they can disrupt electric service to an entire neighborhood, cause significant property damage and potentially result in serious injuries.”
FirstEnergy also advises to puncture and deflate metallic balloons once they are no longer in use. Also, they say, never attempt to retrieve any type of balloon, kite or toy that becomes caught in a power line.
“While our community outreach has helped reduce balloon-related outages from previous years, people of all ages can help keep the lights on in our local communities by understanding the steps to take to eliminate the dangers posed by foil balloons,” Lisa Rouse, director of Distribution System Operations at FirstEnergy, said.
Also, never go near a power line that has fallen to the ground or is dangling in the air.
Balloon problems don’t only occur in February either.
Last month, power was knocked out for thousands of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers in West Los Angeles. The reason? Metallic balloons.
The Kissimmee Utility Authority in Central Florida said 339 homes lost power in January 2016 after a balloon, made from the metalized nylon substance mylar, touched power lines and caused damage.
In July 2017, mylar balloons colliding with a power line caused an explosion and led to an hours-long power outage in Long Beach, Calif. The power company noted 5,000 customers also lost power in an incident involving a bundle of Valentine’s Day balloons in 2016.
In January 2020, a power outage affecting about 400 Cleveland Public Power customers was caused by released mylar balloons that came into contact with equipment and sparked an explosion.
Improperly disposed balloons can also end up in the ocean and along shorelines, becoming part of marine debris, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Debris Program. They could be mistaken for food and eaten by wildlife, causing internal injury, starvation and even death,
