Ameren Spokesperson Warns About Power Outages Caused by Balloons

Our Daily Show Interview! Ameren Illinois- Pole Recycling & Mylar Balloons

RIVERBEND - Ameren is urging residents to celebrate thoughtfully this summer to mitigate power outages.

Brian Bretsch, a spokesperson for Ameren Illinois, shared that the company often sees power outages due to released balloons. Though Bretsch emphasized that Ameren wants people to celebrate and have fun, they’re asking folks to dispose of balloons properly and avoid releasing them.

“Ameren is not the balloon police,” Bretsch joked. “We do want you to celebrate. We just want you to properly dispose of your balloons, especially the Mylar ones. The issue with the Mylar balloons is there’s a metallic coating on the balloons. When they’re released, if they come in contact with the power lines or anywhere on a substation, that metal property on the balloon can come in contact with an energized area. It can go around the balloon, spark, and then if it pops and the debris goes into our system, then it can cause an outage.”

Bretsch noted that these outages happen frequently across the United States, especially during this time of year when people are celebrating graduations and other milestones outside. Rubber balloons can also cause damage, but the Mylar balloons are especially harmful to Ameren’s systems.

“When those metallic properties explode onto a system, it’s like removing gum from a child’s hair,” Bretsch said. “We really have to go in and get everything out of there, because even if we leave just the smallest little metallic material, as soon as we reenergize that, that could arc back and forth and that leftover property can cause another outage all over again even though we’ve already removed the balloons and we think that we’ve got it all and we didn’t. So it does make a tremendous mess.”

Not only can the balloons cause an outage, but these outages can be dangerous for the linemen who have to clean up the mess. Bretsch explained that the linemen must go into the energized zone to clean and restore power. This always carries a degree of risk.

In addition to power outages, released balloons can cause issues for wildlife. Bretsch ultimately encourages people to keep their balloons tethered. If you’re having a backyard celebration and you tie a balloon to a child’s arm, be aware of where the service drop comes in from the pole and make sure the child stays away from this area.

“We want people to celebrate,” Bretsch added. “Do keep the balloons tethered. Do pop them because, whether they’re rubber or metallic, they do cause issues for Ameren and the system. Also later, when they come down, if they land in areas of water or whatever, there’s all kinds of wildlife that gets entangled or eats something that they’re not supposed to. It really does have some other issues.”

For more information about Ameren’s local initiatives, visit AmerenIllinois.com.

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