Thousands Left Without Power Due To Balloon

By Amy Perry in News on May 17, 2010 9:00PM

We've all seen balloons float harmlessly around our neighborhood, riding a breeze. But we've never thought how thankful we should be that we don't see more Mylar balloons floating around. According to ComEd officials, a Mylar balloon was responsible for the power outage last night to 3,825 customers on the Northwest Side. The balloon got tangled in the power line near Laramie Avenue and Belden Street.

It isn’t the first time a Mylar balloon has been responsible for an outage. Over the past four years, those balloons have been the result of close to 200 power outages affecting more than 100,000 ComEd customers. Just last year, 28,000 customers were affected. The metallic Mylar balloons cause a surge of electricity when they touch or float into substation equipment which can cause equipment to short circuit, leading to power outages, fires or possible injuries which could occur from melting wire falling on the sidewalk. In California, there is a law restricting the use of metallic balloons and metallic ribbon.

ComEd has listed tips for consumer to follow when using and disposing of Mylar balloons.

• Keep balloons tethered at all times and attached to a weight.
• When disposing of Mylar balloons, make sure to puncture them to ensure lingering helium doesn't cause them to float around if a garbage container is overturned.
• If a balloon or other toy becomes entangled in an overhead power line, don't attempt to retrieve it. Call ComEd at (800) 334-7661.
• Always assume power lines are live and keep yourself, your equipment and all other items at least 10 feet away.