Keep those Valentine's Day sparks romantic: Use metallic balloons inside, away from power lines

Valentine's Day is Sunday. Candlelight dinners for two will be shared, gifts given and received, flowers and balloons delivered. Yes, love is in the air, and happy couples are creating sparks of romance. And that's fine, though PG&E is asking that people keep those sparks, in a word, grounded. Power outages caused by metallic balloons increased nearly 30 percent in 2020. That included 10 outages in PG&E's Sierra Division – three in Auburn, two in Lincoln and one each in Penryn, Loomis, Grass Valley, Rough and Ready, and El Dorado Hills. In Auburn, 1,440 customers were impacted 102,384 outage minutes total. Some balloons are made with mylar, also known as BoPET (biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate), "a polyester film made from stretched polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and is used for its high tensile strength, chemical and dimensional stability, transparency, reflectivity, gas and aroma barrier properties, and electrical insulation," according to www.sorbentsystems.com. In short, flyaway metallic balloons "can melt the wires and cause a power outage," said Megan McFarland, a spokesperson with PG&E. "They can lead to fires in the lines." McFarland said PG&E recommends customers use metallic balloons indoors and secure them with a weight. "When used correctly, (metallic balloons) are safe, but that's why we want people to use a weight and use them indoors," she said. In addition to keeping metallic balloons inside and secured with a weight, PG&E also recommends people not bundle the balloons and to leave balloons and other items caught in a power line alone. Metallic balloons caused 453 outages and interrupted power to more than 250,000 homes and businesses last year, according to a PG&E news release. The top five cities for balloon-related outages were Bakersfield, San Jose, Oakland, Stockton and San Francisco.