FirstEnergy issues warning after balloon causes power outage in Cleveland

CLEVELAND (WJW) – FirstEnergy is issuing a warning after a foil balloon knocked out power to hundreds of people in Cleveland.

“Our lineman were called to the Mount Pleasant neighborhood on the east side of Cleveland and they found that an outage was caused by foil balloons that were caught in the power lines,” said Hannah Catlett, a FirstEnergy spokesperson.

According to FirstEnergy, the balloon knocked out power for 600 customers for an hour on Thursday.

So, what is it about them that can wreak havoc on the electric grid?

“The balloons are coated in a metallic foil and that conducts electricity. When they get caught in the lines, it causes damage to the equipment and that can cause an outage,” said Catlett.

According to FirstEnergy, February is when these incidents tend to increase because balloons are often accompanied by flowers and chocolates.

“Those balloons are really popular around Valentine’s Day so they kick off a dramatic increase for us, especially around this time of year,” said Catlett.

FirstEnergy says crews responded to 108 balloon-related power outages last year.

This year, the company is reminding people to handle foil balloons safely to reduce the potential for future power outages.

“It’s a good idea to buy a weight for the balloons. When you are done with the balloon, puncture it, deflate it and dispose of it. We don’t want to see people letting those balloons loose just to get rid of them,” said Catlett.

FirstEnergy says if a balloon is caught in a power line, don’t try and free it. Give them a call instead.