With Valentine's Day just days away, some folks might opt to get their Valentines helium-filled foil balloons as a gift. FirstEnergy is reminding those folks how to handle those balloons safely and responsibly.

FirstEnergy says the metallic coating on foil balloons, like the ones pictured above, conducts electricity. When released outdoors, they can hit power lines or electrical equipment, causing power outages.

While there has been a decrease in outages caused by these balloons in recent years, February is usually the time of the year outages like this increase. Last year, these balloons were the cause of 96 outages across FirstEnergy's service area.

According to a press release, 16 of those outages were reported by Ohio Edison, and four were reported by Penn Power.

To further decrease incidents like this in 2026, FirstEnergy is offering the following tips on how to handle these balloons safely.

- Keep the balloons away from overhead electrical lines

- Securely tie the balloons to a weight heavy enough to prevent them from floating away, and leave the weight on until the balloons deflate

- Puncture and deflate the balloons when you're done with them. Never release them into the sky

- Never try to retrieve balloons, kites or toys caught in a power line, substation or electrical equipment. Instead, call FirstEnergy immediately to report the problem

- Stay far away from downed or low-hanging wires and always assume they are energized and dangerous. Call 911 to report low-hanging or downed wires