Several gas stations in the Triangle are struggling to keep the pumps open following a cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline.
A BP station and a Shell station on Olive Chapel Road in Apex were out of fuel on Tuesday morning. Bags were seen on pumps, which were labeled with “out of gas” notices.
The White House is monitoring supply shortages in parts of the Southeast and President Joe Biden is directing federal agencies to bring their resources to bear. On Monday, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper signed an Executive Order declaring a state of emergency in North Carolina. The order suspends motor vehicle fuel regulations to guarantee the state has adequate fuel supply.
The pipeline delivers about 45% of the fuel consumed on the East Coast and had to halt operations last week after revealing a ransomware attack that it said had affected some of its systems. Colonial is a primary fuel pipeline for North Carolina.
In addition, the pipeline’s website appeared to be down on Tuesday morning.
The owner of the BP station told WRAL the suppliers don’t know exactly when they’ll be able to get gas to his business.
Experts are advising drivers not to “panic-buy” in light of the shortage. The good news is the operator of the pipeline said it hopes to have services mostly restored by the end of the week.
The average price in our area is $2.79 a gallon. The cheapest price in Wake County, according to gasbuddy, was $2.55 a gallon at a Speedway in Fuquay-Varina.
AAA is advising drivers to complete their errands in one trip, avoiding rush-hour traffic and limit the use of air conditioning to conserve gas.