Skip to main content
Edison International Edison International
Energized
  • Home
  • Stories
    • All Stories
    • People
    • Safety
    • Giving Back
    • Technology
    • Environment
    • The Grid
    • Good to Know
    • Spotlight
  • Videos
    • All Videos
    • People
    • Safety
    • Giving Back
    • Technology
    • Environment
    • The Grid
    • Good to Know
  • Connect
      social media
      • View/Upload Photos
      • About Us
  • Resources
    • Edison.com
    • SCE.com
    • Newsroom
    • Clean Energy
    • Wildfire Safety
    • Leading the Charge
  • Subscribe
    • All Stories
    • People
    • Safety
    • Giving Back
    • Technology
    • Environment
    • The Grid
    • Good to Know
    • Spotlight
    • All Videos
    • People
    • Safety
    • Giving Back
    • Technology
    • Environment
    • The Grid
    • Good to Know
      social media
      • View/Upload Photos
      • About Us
    • Edison.com
    • SCE.com
    • Newsroom
    • Clean Energy
    • Wildfire Safety
    • Leading the Charge

Cities Approve Bans to Deflate Metallic Balloon Problem

SCE supports the ordinances by Glendale and Hermosa Beach that aim to curtail an unnecessary public safety threat and cause of power outages.
Skip to content
Stories : Safety
Download Photos Download All
中文 한국어 TIẾNG VIỆT ESPAÑOL
Celebrations Go Virtual but Metallic Balloon Hazards Remain All Too Real

Celebrations Go Virtual but Metallic Balloon Hazards Remain All Too Real

From in person to virtual, celebrations from Mother’s Day to proms to birthdays have continued during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, despite the virtual celebrations ...
View Story
Big or Small, Metallic Balloons are Not Something Special in the Air

Big or Small, Metallic Balloons are Not Something Special in the Air

The lettered metallic balloons were stacked perhaps 10-feet tall, the troubleman removing them from power lines was 5 foot 8. And the continuing problem? Well, it’s much bigger than either of them.
View Story
June Gloom Applies to Metallic Balloon Outages Too

June Gloom Applies to Metallic Balloon Outages Too

How likely is it — 3 1/2 months apart — for the very same customers at nearly the very same time of day to experience power outages caused by adrift metallic balloons?As it ...
View Story
Share LinkedIn
Share Facebook
Tweet Twitter
Email
Print
Subscribe
G20-208 Metallic Balloon Infographic
Celebrations Go Virtual but Metallic Balloon Hazards Remain All Too Real

Celebrations Go Virtual but Metallic Balloon Hazards Remain All Too Real

From in person to virtual, celebrations from Mother’s Day to proms to birthdays have continued during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, despite the virtual celebrations ...
View Story
Big or Small, Metallic Balloons are Not Something Special in the Air

Big or Small, Metallic Balloons are Not Something Special in the Air

The lettered metallic balloons were stacked perhaps 10-feet tall, the troubleman removing them from power lines was 5 foot 8. And the continuing problem? Well, it’s much bigger than either of them.
View Story
June Gloom Applies to Metallic Balloon Outages Too

June Gloom Applies to Metallic Balloon Outages Too

How likely is it — 3 1/2 months apart — for the very same customers at nearly the very same time of day to experience power outages caused by adrift metallic balloons?As it ...
View Story
View Comments
Leave a Comment
  • We welcome your feedback and comments. We ask that you please keep them constructive, civil and respectful. If you wouldn’t say it in front of your mother, then there is a good chance it falls outside of our guidelines. Please read our comment policy here.
Stories : Safety
Download Photos Download All
中文 한국어 TIẾNG VIỆT ESPAÑOL

Cities Approve Bans to Deflate Metallic Balloon Problem

SCE supports the ordinances by Glendale and Hermosa Beach that aim to curtail an unnecessary public safety threat and cause of power outages.
Paul Netter
Paul Netter
ENERGIZED by Edison Writer
@SCE_PaulN
Contributors
Infographic: Larry Tsuei
Photo Credit: Ernesto Sanchez and Jeff Seale
Published on November 12, 2020
Share LinkedIn
Share Facebook
Tweet Twitter
Email
Print
Subscribe

Malibu proposed and tabled it, but Glendale and Hermosa Beach have actually done it.

The two latter Southern California cities have banned the sale of metallic balloons — with Hermosa Beach going further by banning even the possession of the shiny but problematic-when-released gifts.

The reason for Glendale’s ordinance?

“Because of the hazards imposed on our electrical system, because of the possibility of fires, the explosions, our linemen who have to repair [it], and it’s a very dangerous job,” Glendale City Councilwoman Paula Devine, who voted for the ban, told the Los Angeles Times recently.

The explosions that often occur when metallic balloons land on electrical equipment are perhaps the greatest hazard because they create several problems that include bringing down power lines. Consequently, those downed power lines become a major threat to public safety and property.

To prevent their release, metallic balloons should always be tied to a weight as required by a 1990 California law.
To prevent their release, metallic balloons should always be tied to a weight as required by a 1990 California law.

However, the most prolific and continuing problem posed by adrift metallic balloons are the disruptive power outages caused by them. For example, Southern California Edison has experienced more than 1,000 of these outages every year since 2017 — peaking with a record 1,128 in 2018 that the company is on pace to surpass this year with 968 through September.

SCE supports the Glendale and Hermosa Beach bans.

“Metallic balloons are a longtime and increasing public safety threat that cause hundreds of avoidable power outages every year,” said Robert Torres, SCE’s principal manager of Public Safety “These bans will help protect residents and businesses from unnecessary hazards and outages. We commend both cities’ leadership for acting on this public safety issue.”

It’s a public safety issue that has only grown worse during the COVID-19 pandemic. After a comparative lull of 80 and 50 outages in March and April, SCE experienced an all-time, one-month high of 222 in June despite virtual graduations.

If that isn’t discouraging enough, the company then experienced a record number of the outages in July (129) and August (124), a more than 50% increase in the typical outages in those months.

Metallic balloon bans could eliminate the potential hazards and power disruptions of scenes like these balloons tangled in electrical equipment.
Metallic balloon bans could eliminate the potential hazards and power disruptions of scenes like these balloons tangled on an Arcadia power pole.

Yet it is a problem — in addition to the balloons’ threat to animals and contribution to pollution — that bans could address in a way that previous laws have not.

A 1990 California law prohibits the outdoor release of metallic balloons and requires all stores and vendors to always sell properly weighted balloons and a 2018 state law requires that metallic balloons made by in-state manufacturers contain a printed warning about the risk of releasing them.

Glendale and Hermosa Beach have gone a big step further with their bans, though the sale of metallic balloons filled with air — not helium — and attached to a pole or other structure will still be allowed in Glendale. A violation is punishable by either a fine of up to $1,000, up to 180 days of jail time or both. Glendale’s ordinance, though, does not prevent possession of the balloons.

In Hermosa Beach, however, the sale as well as the use or distribution of metallic balloons on public property, like parks and beaches, was banned, effective June 30. Additionally, unlike Glendale, which still permits the sale of latex balloons, Hermosa Beach not only prohibits them from use or distribution at city functions or city-sponsored events but also prohibits their release anywhere within city limits.

Stores and vendors should only sell properly weighted balloons, which would help prevent the more than 1,000 outages SCE has experienced every year since 2017.
While banning the sale of helium-filled metallic balloons, Glendale makes an exception for air-filled metallic balloons affixed to a post or decorative structure.

A violation in Hermosa Beach is punishable by a $100 citation for the first offense, $200 for the second, $500 for the third and potentially a misdemeanor for the fourth that could lead to jail time.

Devine believes it was past time to take a stand.

“I think we can be the leader on this issue,” the councilwoman told the Glendale News-Press. “It happens in every city in California, and to not have legislation to ban this product is alarming to me.”

That leadership is welcomed by SCE.

“Despite state laws, public service announcements and awareness campaigns, metallic balloons continue to be released,” said Torres. “The safety of the public and our workers are our top priority, so we thank these cities for passing ordinances to protect them while also enhancing the safety and reliability of the grid."

Tags: metallic balloons safety, city ordinance
G20-208 Metallic Balloon Infographic

Connect with us

Edison International

Visit SCE

  • Pay My Bill
  • Report an Outage
  • Turn On/Off Service

Family of Websites

  • SCE.com
  • EdisonEnergy.com
  • energized.edison.com
  • CAREERS
  • PRIVACY NOTICE
  • WEBSITE TERMS OF USE
  • CA Consumer Privacy Act Policy
  • © 2023 Edison International
Edison Energy and its subsidiaries are not the same company as Southern California Edison, the utility, and they are not regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission.

Download and Use Policy

This Site is owned by Edison International. Unless otherwise indicated, all of the content featured or displayed on this Site, including but not limited to, text, graphics, data, photographic images, moving images, sound, illustrations, computer code, trade marks and logos and the selection and arrangement thereof (referred to in this section as the "Content") is owned by Edison International, its licensors or its third-party image partners and all rights in relation to the Content are reserved. All Content is protected by copyright, trade dress, moral rights, trade mark rights and other laws relating to the protection of intellectual property. You may use the Content for your personal, or news-related, non-commercial use, but you may not otherwise reproduce, modify or in any way commercially exploit the Content.

Accept   Decline