Nothing Romantic About Metallic Balloon Outages
By Taelor Bakewell
Candlelight dinners are not as romantic when they are not planned.
Metallic balloons may seem like the perfect gesture to show how much you care on Valentine’s Day. However, they are the cause of thousands of power outages across Southern California Edison’s service area every year.
“Metallic balloons sound like the perfect gift for the holiday, but if not handled properly, they can not only cause major disruptions but also threaten public safety,” said Andrew Martinez, SCE vice president of Safety, Security & Business Resiliency.
“Never release them outside and always secure them to a weight, as required by state law.”
Last year, balloon-related outages were responsible for almost 420,000 hours of interrupted service and left nearly 1.5 million customers in the dark.
Here are some tips on how to handle metallic balloons safely:
• Metallic balloons should never be released outdoors.
• Metallic balloons should always be tied to a weight.
• Stores and vendors should only sell properly weighted balloons.
• Keep the balloons indoors when possible.
• Never try to retrieve balloons tangled in power lines or electrical equipment. Call 911 instead.
• Cut the knot or puncture balloons before disposing of them.
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