El Paso Electric ‘Mylar Balloons Are Causing Power Outages’
There have been a rash of random power outages in the past few weeks, and El Paso Electric says the cause is Mylar ballons. Mylar balloons are the shiny, printed balloons that, apparently, wreak a lot of havoc on eletric company equipment.
EP Electric says they maintenance their equipment in February to help get ready for summer when there seems to be a higher incidence of Mylar balloons either being released or getting away from their owners. From their website:
1. Keep metallic and all other types of balloons indoors and away from overhead power lines.
2. Even non-metallic balloons can become entangled in lines and cause an outage.
3. Always attach a weight to metallic balloons. Keep them tethered at all times.
4. Never use balloons, kites, drones and other toys near overhead power lines.
5. Always deflate metallic balloons and dispose of them when no longer in use.
6. Never release large/oversized latex balloons or large bunches of latex balloons. They can strike power lines when released or when they fall back to the ground.
7. Always assume power lines are live.
8. Always keep yourself, your equipment and all other items, including toys, at least 10 feet away from power lines.
Summer is a really bad time to be without electricity. Being without air-conditioning for even a couple of hours in the El Paso heat is really inconvenient. Be careful with Mylar balloons so none of us has to deal with power outages.