Valentine's Day Advisory: Metallic Balloons Can Spark Outages

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA — With the arrival of Valentine's Day, Pacific Gas & Electric Company reminded customers that sparks — and not just the romantic kind — can fly on Feb. 14 if helium-filled metallic balloons are not properly secured and come into contact with power lines.

Metallic balloons sparked 186 power outages last year in the Bay Area, impacting nearly 80,000 customers. On average, each customer outage caused by a balloon lasted about 83 minutes.

"Metallic balloons conduct electricity and if they float into powerlines, they can disrupt electric service to an entire neighborhood, cause significant property damage and potentially result in serious injuries," PG&E Spokesperson Tamar Sarkissikan said. "We really hope to get the word out and help prevent some outages this year."

"Balloons are a fun way to liven up Valentine’s celebrations, but if they aren’t tied down with a weight, it’s easy for them to float into overhead power lines and disrupt service to entire communities," said Ron Richardson, vice president of electric distribution operations at PG&E. "Keep your holidays and hometowns safe by ensuring metallic balloons are secured by a weight."

Aiming for a significant drop in the number of balloon-caused outages and to help ensure everyone can safely enjoy their Valentine's Day, PG&E offered customers these safety tips for metallic balloons:

• "Look Up and Live!" Use caution and avoid celebrating with metallic balloons near overhead electric lines.
• Make sure helium-filled metallic balloons are securely tied to a weight that is heavy enough to prevent them from floating away. Never remove the weight.
• When possible, keep metallic balloons indoors. Never permit metallic balloons to be released outside, for everyone's safety.
• Do not bundle metallic balloons together.
• Never attempt to retrieve any type of balloon, kite or toy that becomes caught in a power line. Leave it alone, and immediately call PG&E at 1-800-743-5000 to report the problem.
• Never go near a power line that has fallen to the ground or is dangling in the air. Always assume downed electric lines are energized and extremely dangerous. Stay far away, keep others away and immediately call 911 to alert the police and fire departments. Other tips can be found at pge.com/beprepared.