The California Municipal Utilities Association is proposing legislation to ban the sale of helium-filled foil balloons in that state. The reason — power outages caused by foil balloons floating into power lines.

Many popular products are capable of causing injury and damage when used in an irresponsible manner. Vehicles, guns, knives, and alcohol immediately come to mind. The most rational method to reduce losses from the misuse of these products is first, education, and second, the enforcement of laws which address their misuse. Should kitchen knives be banned because they are often used as assault weapons? Does it make sense to ban the use of large foil balloons for professional indoor displays because toy foil balloons have floated up into power lines?

Naturally, power companies realize their lines are vulnerable to damage from outside forces and they have factored the cost of repairs into their fee structure. Foil balloons have been in wide use for almost thirty years, so one would think the cost of removing aberrant balloons from power lines was calculated and apportioned long ago. Nevertheless, in the scheme of things, balloons represent a minuscule problem for utilities. Using Wisconsin* as a guide (see chart below) most power outages are the result of falling and growing trees, lightning, wild weather, wild animals, wild traffic, and worn out equipment. Balloons didn’t make the chart. It would not be rational to ban vehicles, cut down all trees near power lines, or rid the grid of wildlife. It certainly isn’t rational to ban a product that presents a far lesser threat which provides a living wage for hundreds of Californians. Our message to the California Municipal Utilities Association is this — educate your customers about the hazards of releasing foil balloons, don’t ban them.

Click here for complete details about the proposed bill’s language.

If you live in California and would like to address this issue with your Senator, click here.

*An online search failed to uncover reliable data about the balloon threat in California, although there was no shortage of sensationalized editorials.