ComEd warns about mylar balloons causing outages

ComEd is warning soon-to-be party throwers and graduation celebrators to be sure to keep mylar balloons tethered to the ground.

Last year about 35,000 customers lost power after the metallic balloons came into contact with electric lines.

On Wednesday, 1,300 residences on Chicago’s South Side lost power for about four hours after a balloon shorted out a power line, according to the utility company. That was the second outage in the past two weeks caused by a mylar balloon.

ComEd is trying to get the word out before the start of the season of barbecuing and graduation parties.

In the past five years, mylar balloons have caused 173,000 customers to lose power, according to the company.

When the skin of the balloon comes into contact with a power line, it causes a surge, which short circuits the line.

ComEd is not the only entity having trouble with the balloons. Legislators in California attempted passing a law to ban the balloons for the same reason of power outages, but the bill failed in 2008.