Efforts underway to assure supply after cyberattack

As the shutdown of a major fuel pipeline entered into its fifth day, efforts are under way to stave off potential fuel shortages, though no widespread disruptions were evident.

The Colonial Pipeline, which delivers about 45% of the fuel consumed on the East Coast, was hit by a cyberattack on Friday. The attack raised concerns, once again, about the vulnerability of the nation’s critical infrastructure. Ransomware attacks are typically carried out by criminal hackers who scramble data to paralyze their target’s networks. Large payments are demanded to decrypt it.

There were reports of gas stations in the Southeast running out of gasoline, according to Gasbuddy.com, which tracks outages and prices. In Virginia, 7.5% of the state’s 3,880 gas stations reported running out of fuel. In North Carolina, 5.4% of 5,372 stations were out, the company said.

Colonial Pipeline, headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, restored some fuel delivery Tuesday, but the main artery of the pipeline remained shut down. Colonial said Monday that it anticipates most of its service will be restored by the end of the week.

U.S. officials sought to ease concerns about rising prices, stressing that widespread disruptions have not yet occurred. The White House said late Monday that it was monitoring supply in parts of the Southeast and that President Joe Biden had directed federal agencies to bring their resources to bear.

There is action at the state level as well. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp suspended state taxes on motor fuels through Saturday.

Georgia collects a gasoline tax of 28.7 cents per gallon and a diesel tax of 32.2 cents per gallon.

“It will probably help level the price at the pump off for a little while,” Kemp told reporters at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport in Chamblee, an Atlanta suburb.

However, Kemp urged people not to hoard gasoline, saying he expected the situation to be resolved soon.

“You don’t need to go out and fill up every 5-gallon can you’ve got,” Kemp said.

Scattered gas stations in metro Atlanta were out of fuel Monday and Tuesday, but most were operating normally. In Georgia, nearly 4% of 6,368 stations had run out of fuel, Gasbuddy.com said.

In Florida, just 2% of the gas stations had run out of fuel. Nevertheless, consumers in some areas faced long lines.

Dave Gussak drove from one station to the next in Tallahassee, Florida in search of gas without success, he said. After putting a number of miles on his vehicle, he said he saw a line nearly a mile long at the gas pumps outside of a Costco store.

Gussak eventually passed a station with gas on the way to Florida State University where he works. “This is insane,” said Gussak.

Irena Yanava’s tank was about half full, but she wasn’t about to take chances as she sat in her car at the same Tallahassee gas station. She had heard stories from friends about their search for gas. “I was just driving by and I saw that there was a line here of cars, and I know that I’ll be needing it soon, so why not?” she said.

Citgo’s Fairfax, Virginia terminal ran out of premium grade reformulated gasoline and its Richmond, Virginia terminal was out of unleaded regular, according to the American Automobile Association, citing a shipper bulletin,