They say that if you love someone, you should set them free, but the same can’t be said about mylar balloons! Every year, around Valentine’s Day and other highly celebrated occasions, hundreds of foil helium-filled balloons come into contact with overhead power lines across Chicagoland causing
tens of thousands of outages. In 2024, nearly 300 outages caused by mylar balloons affected approximately 65,000 ComEd customers, 72 percent of which were Chicago residents.
“ComEd is committed to delivering the best-in-class reliability customers deserve and have come to expect,” said Inamullah Sharif, senior engineer in ComEd’s reliability team. “ComEd continues to make investments and improvements to our electric grid, but we still see outages caused by mylar balloons. That’s why we lean on our customers to celebrate and dispose of them responsibly.”
When in contact with power lines, the metallic properties of mylar balloons can cause a power surge, which in turn can cause the equipment to short-circuit and lead to power outages. Don’t go breaking hearts this Valentine’s Day weekend by keeping the following tips in 
mind:
- Keep mylar balloons indoors. If outside, maintain the balloons secured at all times, attached to weights.
- After using, deflate the balloons completely and dispose of them responsibly.
- Always assume power lines are live and keep yourself and your belongings at least 10 feet away from power lines.
- NEVER touch a power line. Do not attempt to retrieve a balloon that is near to or entangled in an overhead power line. For assistance, call ComEd at 1-800-EDISON-1 (800-334-7661).
ComEd wishes its customers a very happy and safe Valentine’s Day. And remember, don’t turn off the lights on love and friendship — use mylar balloons responsibly!
