Balloon causes power cut in district

A FOIL balloon which caused a short power cut in the Cookstown area on Sunday (14 February) has urged NIE to remind parents and children of the hazards of playing near electricity lines.
By The Newsroom
Published 15th Feb 2010, 13:40 BST
Updated 16th Feb 2010, 16:07 BST

The balloon wrapped itself around an electricity transformer on an 11,000 volt overhead line causing a short circuit and leaving 520 customers without electricity supply.

The incident was reported just before 9am on Sunday morning and Northern Ireland Electricity emergency crews responded immediately to remove the balloon and restore power to customers within an hour and a half.

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Fiona McClintock, NIE Customer Relations Manager for the Cookstown area, said it was fortunate that they were able to restore supplies to customers quickly and even more fortunate that no-one was hurt in this incident.

“We would remind all parents and children to always look up and look out when playing near overhead electricity lines. In particular, when playing with kites, balloons or other airborne toys,” she added.

As part of its safety outreach programme, NIE recently spoke to over 500 school children in the Cookstown area about how to be safe around the electricity network.

For more information, visit www.niesafety.co.uk.