PSE urges customers to be safe with Mylar balloons and kites
Balloons and kites tangled in power lines can cause outages
BELLEVUE, Wash. (May 1, 2009) – With Mother’s Day and graduation celebrations approaching, Puget Sound Energy reminds customers to be safe with their helium-filled Mylar balloons. Stray balloons can drift into high-voltage power lines, create safety hazards, cause short circuits, damage customer equipment and interrupt service. Kites caught in overhead lines may produce similar hazards.
“Safety is our primary concern,” said Sue McLain, senior vice president of Operations for PSE. “Mylar balloons and kites caught in power lines can act as conduits for electricity and be very dangerous.”
Mylar balloons that drift into PSE power lines account for several outages per year. In extreme circumstances, the metallic balloons have even been known to cause power lines to fall to the ground.
“These outages and safety hazards are preventable,” said McLain. “So, while we want our customers to enjoy celebrating with their families, we also encourage them to keep their metallic balloons and kites away from power lines for their own well-being.”
PSE offers the following advice for handling metallic balloons and kites:
- Keep metallic balloons indoors; never release them outside.
- Never fly kites near electric lines, in the rain or during an electric storm.
- Never use a kite made with wire or metallic materials, including Mylar.
- Securely tie helium-filled balloons to a weight heavy enough to prevent them from floating away.
- Do not attempt to retrieve a balloon, kite—or any foreign object—tangled in power lines. Instead, call PSE at 1-888-225-5773 and report the problem.
- Never go near a downed or dangling wire. Assume that the electric line is live. Stay away and warn others to stay away. Call 9-1-1 to alert local emergency response until PSE can arrive.
Media contact
Nina Huang, 1-888-831-7250
About Puget Sound Energy
Washington state’s oldest and largest energy utility, with a 6,000-square-mile service area stretching across 11 counties, Puget Sound Energy serves more than 1 million electric customers and nearly 750,000 natural gas customers. PSE, a subsidiary of Puget Energy, meets the energy needs of its growing customer base primarily in Western Washington through incremental, cost-effective energy conservation, procurement of sustainable energy resources, and far-sighted investment in the energy-delivery infrastructure. PSE employees are dedicated to providing great customer service to deliver energy that is safe, reliable, reasonably priced, and environmentally responsible.