Secure Means Safe When It Comes to Metallic Balloons for Moms, Grads and Proms
May 04 2015 - 5:00PM
Business Wire
If there’s a season for everything, May begins the usual peak
months for power outages caused by metallic balloons. And this
year, those outages are already up 55 percent and at an all-time
high for the first three months of any year.
With this happening even before the traditionally most active
months for balloon-related outages around Mother’s Day, graduations
and proms, Southern California Edison (SCE) urges its customers to
always keep those balloons secured to a weight as required by
California law and to never release them outdoors. This is
especially vital since SCE has had 182 outages through March
compared to 118 last year at that point.
“Keep them indoors if possible, but the best way to prevent them
from floating dangerously away outdoors is by keeping them tied to
that weight or something else sturdy,” said Don Neal, SCE director
of Corporate Environmental, Health and Safety. “Not doing so can
lead to serious injuries, property damage and outages.”
Injuries and property damage can potentially occur when the
balloon contact leads to downed power lines.
May and June have long been the worst months for balloon
outages, with 35 percent (230) of SCE’s 656 balloon outages last
year occurring in these months. Since 2010, SCE has consistently
suffered about one-third of its balloon outages in May and June —
twice the number on average than the next two months.
During National Electrical Safety Month, SCE recommends some
tips for handling metallic balloons:
- Do not attempt to retrieve a balloon —
or any foreign object — tangled in power lines. Instead, call SCE
at 800-611-1911 and report the problem.
- Never tie a metallic balloon to a
child’s wrist. If the balloon comes into contact with electricity,
it will travel through the balloon and into the child, possibly
causing serious injury or even death.
- Never attach streamers to any balloon —
latex or metallic.
- When done with them, puncture the
balloons or cut the knot to keep them from floating away.
- If you see a downed line or dangling
wire — even if it appears not to be live — don’t touch or approach
it and call 911 immediately.
More on metallic balloon safety can be found at
on.sce.com/staysafe. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
About Southern California Edison
An Edison International (NYSE:EIX) company, Southern California
Edison is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, serving a
population of nearly 14 million via 4.9 million customer accounts
in a 50,000-square-mile service area within Central, Coastal and
Southern California.
Southern California EdisonMedia Contact:Paul Netter, (626)
302-2255
Edison (NYSE:EIX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Edison (NYSE:EIX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024