Utilities have little love for Mylar
This Valentine’s Day, if love is in the air, sparks may fly and dinners might have to be enjoyed by candlelight, but not in a good way. That could be a scenario caused not by soaring hearts, but by soaring metallic balloons knocking out the power.
Officials from utilities across the state are reminding romance-minded Californians to keep hold of their silvery, helium-filled balloons — popular gifts for the Valentine’s holiday — or to tether them to weights so they don’t float into overhead power lines.
The balloons conduct electricity and can get tangled in the lines, causing power surges, outages and equipment damage. According to a Burbank Water and Power statement released this week, one in five outages in Burbank is caused by the foil-covered nylon balloons.
“We work hard to maintain equipment so that Burbank residents and businesses receive unparalleled service,” the utility’s statement said. “But we need everyone’s help to keep party balloons in check.”
Between January 2012 and December 2014, the utility provided better than 99.99% average service availability, according to a recent staff report, but in that time there were at least five sustained outages caused by metallic, or Mylar, balloons.
They were also the culprits in outages throughout the state last year, according to Valentine’s Day-specific announcements this month from both Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and Southern California Edison.
The foiled balloons were to blame for more than 300 outages experienced by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. customers last year, the company said. Southern California Edison tallied more than 650 Mylar-caused outages. In Los Angeles, a Department of Water and Power official said the metallic balloons were confirmed causes in 135 outages.
Christopher Capra, a spokesman for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, said more than a third of the district’s 51 balloon-caused outages last year happened on or around Valentine’s Day.
A state law requires helium balloons, whether sold individually or in bouquets, be anchored to a weight and prohibits them from being sold with metallic ribbons or streamers attached. It also requires balloons be affixed with warnings about the dangers when a Mylar balloon comes in contact with power lines.
In 2008, the Burbank City Council asked then-state Sen. Jack Scott to propose legislation banning Mylar balloons after eight balloon-related outages in 2007. Averaging 77 minutes per customer, the outages affected 4,648 customers and resulted in more than $10,000 in damage to the city and residents.
In order to gain passage, the proposed legislation was amended from an outright ban to an increase in fines for violation of the existing state law. It was vetoed by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Industry groups had opposed the bill. One such group, the Balloon Council, currently warns on its website that metallic balloons should never be released outdoors and latex rubber balloons should not be released with strings or ribbons attached.
The site also recommends balloons be popped or deflated when they’re done being used so they don’t become electrical hazards or roadside litter. It says the deflated balloons can be framed for decorations or used as wrapping paper.