U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday said that U.S. motorists can expect filling stations to begin returning to normal this weekend even as shortages gripped some areas amid restart of the top U.S. fuel pipeline after it was shut by a ransomware attack.
The Colonial Pipeline, which carries 100 million gallons per day of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, will take some time to fully recover and could still suffer “hiccups,” he said. Colonial began supplying some fuel to most regions along its 5,500 mile (8,850 km) route.
The shutdown caused gasoline shortages and emergency declarations from Virginia to Florida, led two refineries to curb production, and spurred airlines to reshuffle refueling operations.
The pipeline resumed computer-controlled pumping late Wednesday after adding safety measures.
The pipeline’s restart should bring supplies to some hard-hit areas as soon as Thursday, said U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.
Relief is coming, added Jeanette McGee, a spokeswoman for motor travel group AAA.
Motorists’ tempers frayed as panic buying led stations to run out even where supplies were available. On Thursday about 70% of gas stations in North Carolina were without fuel, while around 50% of stations in Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia had outages, tracking firm GasBuddy said.
The average national gasoline price rose above $3.00 a gallon, the highest since October 2014, the American Automobile Association said, and prices in some areas jumped as much as 11 cents in a day.
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