FirstEnergy warns foil balloons cause outages, urges safety; raises quarterly dividend

FirstEnergy issues Valentine’s Day safety alert on foil balloons

Metallic foil balloons present a serious electrical hazard, FirstEnergy warns, as Valentine's Day approaches and balloon-related outages rise across its service territory. The utility says the metallic coating on helium-filled foil balloons conducts electricity and, when released outdoors, can contact overhead power lines or equipment, shorting systems, sparking fires and causing outages that may affect thousands of customers. FirstEnergy urges consumers and retailers to secure balloons with weights, avoid releasing them, and prefer non-conductive or air-only decorations.

The company reports that foil balloons caused 96 power outages last year across its operating companies, and notes a downward trend after community outreach and safer-handling campaigns reduced incidents from 132 in 2020 to 96 in 2025. FirstEnergy provides a breakdown by operating company, with Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) seeing 24 incidents; Ohio Edison 16; Met-Ed 12; The Illuminating Company 9; Penelec 9; Toledo Edison 7; and West Penn Power, Mon Power, Potomac Edison and Penn Power recording between four and five each. Chad Stoneking, Director of Safety Operations, emphasizes that Valentine's Day is one of the peak days for balloon purchases and calls on residents to tie balloons to heavy weights, trim ribbons and supervise children.

FirstEnergy outlines the operational impact of balloon contacts, saying metallic film can create conductive paths that trip transformers and damage components, requiring crews to respond and replace equipment to restore service. The company asks customers to report downed lines immediately and notes that reducing balloon-related contacts helps protect public safety and maintain reliability across its distribution network.

Dividend increase and corporate message

Separately, FirstEnergy's board declares a quarterly dividend of $0.465 per share payable June 1, 2026, up 4.5% from the prior quarterly payout and implying a $1.86 annual rate for 2026 pending future approvals. The company links the increase to progress on a long-term transformation focused on system reliability and resiliency, citing Chairman, President and CEO Brian X. Tierney on the company's momentum.

Company footprint and cautions

FirstEnergy highlights its role as one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric distribution systems, serving more than 6 million customers in six states and operating about 24,000 miles of transmission lines in the Midwest and Mid‑Atlantic. The utility includes standard forward‑looking cautions that dividend decisions remain subject to board discretion, regulatory developments, market conditions and operational performance.