Planned legislation would protect gas, electric supplies

State rep. says he will ask for $1M in additional funding for cybersecurity

(The Center Square) – Ohio drivers have yet to see gas shortages and steep price increases after the cyberattack on a major pipeline Friday, but there has been pain.

The national average for gas passed $3 a gallon Wednesday, and the state’s average price rose 4 cents overnight to $2.87 a gallon. The rising costs and long lines at the pump in other states prompted Ohio Rep. Mike Loychik, R-Bazetta, to announce plans to introduce legislation to protect the state’s pipelines and electrical grids.

Loychik said he will ask for $1 million in additional funding each year from the state’s general fund for a cybersecurity grant program.

“We’ve recently seen hackers take control of one of our major pipelines, which has led to gas shortages and price surges on Americans,” Loychik said. “It’s clear the Biden administration is not doing anything to protect our energy sector. It’s up to our state to take action to ensure our grids are protected and Ohioans are not being hurt at the gas pumps.”

A ransomware attack hit

Colonial Pipeline on Friday, disrupting the flow of nearly half the gasoline and jet fuel supplies to much of the East Coast. The FBI issued an emergency alert for 17 states and the District of Columbia to electric utilities, gas suppliers and other pipeline operators.

Colonial Pipeline, the nation’s largest fuel pipeline, is a 5,500-mile stretch of gasoline pipeline that continues to be offline. It runs from the Gulf Coast to the metropolitan New York region.

According to The Associated Press, state and federal officials are scrambling to find alternate routes to deliver gasoline in the Southeast. There is no gasoline shortage, according to government officials and energy analysts, but if the pipeline shutdown continues past the weekend, it could create broader fuel disruptions.

The White House said Wednesday the Department of Transportation is now allowing Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia to use interstate highways to transport overweight loads of gasoline and other fuels under existing disaster declarations, AP reported.