We Energies restoring power to 4,200 after outage caused by balloon - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
We Energies restored power to 4,200 after outage caused by balloon
We Energies restored power to more than 4,200 people after outage caused by Mylar balloon
Bridget Fogarty
A Mylar balloon left about 4,000 people in Milwaukee County without power Friday afternoon, according to We Energies spokesperson Amy Jahns.
We Energies crews located the balloon and are restoring power to customers, Jahns said in an email.
As of 6:45 p.m., power has been restored to all of Milwaukee County, according to the utility's outage map. The outages affected 4,276 We Energies customers primarily in Shorewood, Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood and near 92nd Street and Capitol Drive.
Mylar balloons are made of a metal coated, plastic-like polyethylene or nylon, have a seam and usually have a shiny, reflective surface. When one of these balloons comes into contact with power lines, it acts as a conductor, creating a short circuit and knocking out power. The short circuit from the balloon can also cause power lines to fall to the ground.
Since 2020, over 100,000 We Energies customers have faced power outages caused by Mylar balloons, Jahns said.
The utility issued a warning Feb. 14 for residents to keep Valentine's Day balloons away from power lines.
We Energies recommends that residents keep balloons inside or tied securely to a weight. It also warns residents to keep balloons away from power lines and not to touch balloons that are entangled in power lines.
Contact reporter Bridget Fogarty at bfogarty@gannett.com
Drake Bentley contributed to this report.
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