Valentine’s Day is known for flowers, chocolates and big declarations of love – but it’s also one of the busiest times of year for power outages caused by metallic balloons.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) says it typically sees a spike in outages around the holiday when helium-filled metallic balloons drift into overhead power lines. With Valentine’s Day approaching, the utility is reminding customers to always secure metallic balloons with a weight – as required by California law – and never release them outdoors.
Unlike latex balloons, metallic balloons are highly conductive and can remain inflated for weeks. That means they can travel long distances and collide with power lines days or even weeks after a celebration ends. When that happens, they can cause instant outages, damage electrical equipment and create dangerous conditions for the public and first responders.
In 2025, metallic balloons were responsible for nearly 350 outages across PG&E’s Northern and Central California service area, disrupting power to approximately 165,000 customers. In the Bay Area alone, metallic balloons caused nearly 150 outages, impacting tens of thousands of customers. Many of those outages affected homes, businesses, traffic signals, schools and hospitals. PG&E says the outages are entirely preventable.
“Metallic balloons that contact power equipment can trigger outages affecting entire neighborhoods,” said Jake Zigelman, PG&E’s Bay Area Vice President. “We see an increase during Valentine’s Day, which can dampen celebrations. It’s easy to prevent these outages by securing metallic balloons with weights and never releasing them outdoors — or simply sticking to flowers and chocolates.”
State law requires metallic balloons to be tied to a weight, but PG&E says simple precautions can go a long way, especially during holidays when balloon use peaks.
PG&E offers the following safety reminders:
• Avoid using metallic balloons near overhead power lines.
• Always secure helium-filled metallic balloons to a weight heavy enough to prevent them from floating away. Never remove the weight.
• Do not release balloons when finished. Puncture them or cut the knot and dispose of them properly.
• Never attempt to retrieve a balloon or any object tangled in power lines or inside a substation. Call PG&E at 1-800-743-5000 to report the issue.
• Stay away from any downed or dangling power lines. Assume they are energized and dangerous. Keep others away and call 911 immediately.
PG&E says taking a few extra precautions can help ensure Valentine’s Day celebrations don’t end in the dark.
The people that buy these balloons are not the type that would ever read any announcement like this. Obviously any common sense is missing. 😲
Easy solution, call in the Regulators, follow up with Sacramento taxing Balloons into oblivion, Job done the California Way
How about we have PG&E provide protection for “their” equipment instead of worrying about what the tax paying citizens are purchasing!?! Seriously PG&E can kiss our asses.