Chocolates, flowers and helium-filled metallic balloons are popular Valentine’s Day gifts. Hold tight to those balloons on Feb. 14, though, as they can be a headache for energy companies.

A seemingly harmless celebration turned into a blackout Tuesday night when Mylar balloons hit power lines, cutting ...

How do foil balloons cause power outages? Catlett said the metallic coating on the surface of foil balloons renders them conductive. "If a balloon's released into the air, and it gets stuck in the ...

On the surface, metallic balloons and confetti guns are seemingly innocent parade accessories. But they can cause major electrical issues when they meet power lines. New Orleans councilman Oliver ...

Foil balloons cause power outages when released outdoors because their metallic coating conducts electricity and poses a risk to the electric system. A video discussing the hazards posed by foil ...

The lights are back on for more than ten thousand customers in Nevada.But it was a different story on Sunday, when people lost power because some mylar balloons ...

By collecting and amplifying weak radio signals bounced off large metallic balloons high in the atmosphere, it could send signals across long distances. Within a few years, the Telstar satellite ...