SALT LAKE CITY — Those bright, shiny balloon bouquets offer a festive touch for any celebration. However, their lighter-than-air quality can get out of hand, literally, and have unintended consequences for the power grid.
“Mylar balloons may seem like small, harmless things,” said Curt Mansfield, Rocky Mountain Power’s senior vice president of power delivery. “But when Mylar balloons touch power lines, the metal material is conductive. This causes power fluctuations and outages.”
Every year, Rocky Mountain Power experiences outages related to Mylar balloons, which impact customers and the power grid. Balloon-related outages often cause damage to equipment, requiring costly repairs.
“These outages are easily preventable,” Mansfield said, “We’re just asking people to be more careful about how they handle balloons in an effort to keep customers from being inconvenienced.”
There are steps you can take to help minimize the potential dangers: