Getting balloons for your grad? If they’re Mylar, Evergy wants you to hang on to them

Mylar balloons are the perfect graduation decoration, but the bane of existence for energy providers.

Runaway balloons can damage power lines and cause power outages, especially during high-demand times like graduation party season.

Evergy puts out an annual safety video about the harm these balloons can cause. They also host about 100 face-to-face safety discussions with construction groups, first responder emergency organizations and agriculture groups.

“Actually, we do it throughout the year,” said Tim Boswell, public safety manager. “There is a heavier emphasis on this time of year because of graduations and all the celebrations that are occurring in the month of May.”

Boswell is featured in this year’s video, showing, in a controlled environment, what happens when Mylar comes in contact with active power lines.

Because of the metallic outer coating, electricity can travel through the balloon. In the video, he shows the tracks of electricity on the balloon; the paint comes off where the current travels. He uses Mylar balloons in the safety demonstrations to show workers how electricity will move and spark if not handled correctly.

“These things are extremely conductive,” he said. “That includes any of the string, the yarn, the webbing, the ribbon that is attached to them. And because they’re conductive. not only can they be harmful if you’re holding them and potentially come into something that is energized, but if you lose control of that the wind has a tendency to take them where they’re, oftentimes, not anticipated to go.”

“They can cause an arc or an arc flash,” he continues. “As a result of those arcs, it produces a great deal of heat, and that heat can damage equipment and cause outages for our customers.”

The outage could affect 100 to 1,000 people depending on the damage and which lines are hit. Sometimes they only cause a fuse to blow, and it can be fixed by throwing a switch, but they could also cause wires to fall to the ground or damage transformers.

“The high school and college graduates that are celebrating those milestones this time of year, we’re their cheerleaders too,” Boswell said. “We just absolutely do not want that to be spoiled as a result of a potential serious event, or you got several 100 people at your reception or your graduation and all of a sudden you lose power.”

Boswell emphasizes that the video is asking Wichitans to securely tie or weigh down the balloons — not asking anyone to try to retrieve them if they get loose. Trying to take down a balloon that is stuck in a tree, power pole, or on the edge of a roof can cause more damage to the person and energy systems.

“Leave them alone,” Boswell said. “If that tree is near a power line, we don’t want you to climb up on the roof with a ladder and try to get them out and expose yourself to that hazard.”

The best thing a person can do after spotting a runaway balloon is to call the utility company to send someone to safely remove it, he said.

“The reason that we always share it (the video) is, again, for safety and just a reminder that it is a preventable outage,” said Kaley Bohlen, the communications manager. “While some outages aren’t always preventable, an outage caused by a Mylar balloon is ultimately preventable if we keep ahold of them.”

To keep track of the outages currently happening across the city, Evergy has a power outage map updated in real time on their website. There is also a link for people to report power loss, so someone can be sent to assess the problem.

This story was originally published May 17, 2023 at 12:00 PM.