Each year, stray mylar balloons cause power disruptions that impact thousands of homes and businesses. Careless handling of these balloons can cause bodily injury and damage to equipment. Special care should be taken at graduations, picnics, and other outdoor events where balloons are used. Just one balloon can cause a short circuit, which can trigger an explosion or melt an electrical wire, potentially resulting in costly utility repairs, customer inconvenience, and hazardous conditions.  Always keep yourself, your equipment and all other items, at least 10 feet away from power lines. If a balloon or any object becomes entangled in an overhead power line, don’t climb the pole or make any other attempt to retrieve the object. Instead, call your local electric utility.

To reduce the risk of these incidents, please follow the following safety tips:

• Always attach a weight to metallic balloons.
  
• Never release a metallic balloon outdoors.
  
• Keep metallic balloons away from power lines.
  
• Never use metallic ribbon with balloons.
  
• Always deflate metallic balloons and dispose of them properly when no longer in use.
  
• Never release large/oversized latex balloons or large bunches of latex balloons. They can strike power lines when released or when they fall back to the ground.