From Grads to Dads, Don’t Let Metallic Balloons Ruin the Party
From Grads to Dads, Don’t Let Metallic Balloons Ruin the Party
With Father’s Day approaching and graduation season here, as well as COVID-19 restrictions lifting, there are so many reasons to celebrate. Do not be the one to ruin the party by not practicing metallic balloon safety.
In just the first four months of this year, metallic balloons have caused over 350 outages, disrupting service to nearly 93,000 customers in Southern California Edison’s service area.
If loose balloons come in contact with power lines, they can damage equipment, down power lines and cause outages. These results represent extremely dangerous risks to public safety.
“The past year has been tough for so many, and we have many things to celebrate,” said Andrew Martinez, SCE vice president of Safety, Security & Business Resiliency. “But unfortunately, as a result, we are seeing a big increase in metallic balloon-related outages. There are 132 more of these types of outages than at this time last year. All of these can be avoided.”
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.
If your celebration activities include metallic balloons, practice these tips to keep everyone safe:
- Metallic balloons should always be tied to a weight.
- Stores and vendors should only sell properly weighted balloons.
- Keep the balloons indoors when possible.
- Cut the knot or puncture balloons before disposing of them.
- Metallic balloons should never be released outdoors.
- Never try to retrieve balloons tangled in power lines or electrical equipment. Call 911 instead.