971 SCE Customers Impacted By Mylar Balloon

A Mylar balloon caused a power outage that initially impacted 971 Southern California Edison customers Saturday around 1:56 p.m., said David Song, SCE spokesman.

Power was restored to all customers by 2:52 p.m., he said. SCE's online power outage center had reported that 153 customers were affected, with a power restoration estimate of 6:30 p.m. as of 4:23 p.m.

Mylar, aka metallic balloons, are filled with helium and can float into power lines, causing power surges and outages. Such balloons should be weighted down and never released outside, said Song.

Vendors/retailers who sell the balloons are required to have weights tied to the balloons to prevent them from floating into power lines, he said.

February and June are the two months SCE encounters the most trouble with issues caused by Mylar balloons coming into contact with power lines.

"While we encourage people to celebrate special occasions with Mylar balloons, we ask them to be mindful to take proper measures to keep these metallic balloons from impacting power lines," said Song, "since they do pose a reliability and safety issue."

In the last several years, SCE has experienced close to 2,000 power outages caused by balloons. In 2012, there were 583 balloon-related outages, with a 110 percent increase in outages in February compared to January. The number of outages in 2012 was the highest since 2007.

SCE recommends some simple safety tips for handling metallic balloons:

• Keep metallic balloons indoors, and never release them outside.
• Helium-filled metallic balloons can drift and come in contact with high-voltage lines and cause power outages, so be sure to attach a weight heavy enough to prevent them from floating away.
• Never attach streamers to any balloon — latex or metallic. If you buy and fill your own balloons with helium, be sure to tie them securely to a weight heavy enough to prevent them from drifting away.
• Do not attempt to retrieve a balloon or any foreign object tangled in power lines. Instead, call SCE at 800-611-1911 and report the problem.

More information on metallic balloon safety can be found at www.sce.com/metallicballoons.

• Previously: Metallic Balloons Spark Hermosa Power Outage