News Release

Sept. 30, 2004

Call PNM Immediately if a Balloon Touches Power Line

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NEWS MEDIA CONTACT Susan Sponar Telephone: (505) 241-2768

Albuquerque: PNM officials are urging hot-air balloon crews and balloon watchers to call the company immediately if they see a balloon touch a power line during the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

The number to call to report a balloon-power line incident in the Albuquerque area is 246-5700.

Crews and onlookers should not attempt to remove a balloon from a power line, as the line might be energized even after a balloon becomes entangled. Making contact with a balloon in this instance could result in electrocution for the person trying to help as well as anyone in the balloon's gondola.

PNM takes several precautions during the Balloon Fiesta to reduce the risks associated with balloons taking off and landing near power lines. These include:

• Placing emergency response crews and the company's outage response center on a heightened state of alert prior to and during scheduled balloon liftoffs;
• Positioning emergency response crews just outside Balloon Fiesta grounds to enable a quick response in the event of an incident on or near the field;
• Placing two trained coordinators on the field before every launch to answer pilots' questions and give real-time information to the PNM outage response center on which direction balloons are traveling; and
• Placing a special brochure on power-line safety in every pilot's briefing packet.