Pipeline Cyberattack Leads to Highest Gas Prices Since 2014
A recent cyberattack caused the Colonial Pipeline, the largest fuel pipeline in the U.S., to shut down for six days. Although the pipeline system is now back up and running as normal, the shutdown led to the highest gas prices since October 2014, and it will take some time for prices to fully recover.
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What are the effects of the cyberattack?
The Colonial Pipeline measures 5,500 miles and spans from Texas to New Jersey. When it shut down, barrels upon barrels of gasoline and diesel fuel were unable to reach their destinations. If that wasn’t bad enough, many drivers went to gas stations and panic-bought excessive amounts of fuel, leading to higher prices and more empty pumps.
According to Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, “A rough guess would be 90% of the damage was inflicted by panic-buying and hoarding.”
On May 17, with 11,667 gas stations still out of fuel, the national gas price average reached $3.04. This is 8 cents more than the average from the week prior and the highest it’s been in over six years. Although the price has continued to remain high this week, it should be recovering soon.
De Haan said, “As the pipeline situation improves, those price increases in the Southeast of over 15 cents a gallon — those will be coming down and pressure the national average down.”
By Memorial Day, GasBuddy estimates that the national average will decrease to $2.98. Even though this is still $1.02 higher than on Memorial Day last year, it’s important to keep in mind that demand for fuel was down in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, driving down the cost.
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With much of the country gearing up to take road trips during the upcoming holiday weekend and throughout the summer, it seems promising that gas stations will soon have enough fuel and reasonable prices to meet rising demands again.
Amanda Drago lives in West Chester, Ohio with her wonderful family, which includes her adorable dog, Coco. Amanda recently graduated from Miami University with degrees in both marketing and creative writing. However, if she was ever forced to change career paths, she imagines that she would train dogs for movies. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, writing, and watching Netflix. She also has a special place in her heart for theatre and purchases tickets to as many shows as she can. See more articles by Amanda.