Pipeline shutdown affects fuel supply

More than 1,000 gas stations in the Southeast have reported running out of fuel this week. Analysts say the sporadic shortages are due to panic-buying among drivers after news that a cyber attacked forced the shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline, which delivers almost half of the fuel consumed on the East Coast.

How significant is the shortage? Government officials acted swiftly to waive safety and environmental rules to speed the delivery of fuel by truck, ship, or rail. But motorists may still feel a crunch because it takes a few days to ramp up operations. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told reporters at the White House Tuesday that it could take a few days to restart the pipeline, which has never been shut down before. Experts don’t expect a significant increase in gas prices as long as the pipeline is back up and running soon, as expected.

Dig deeper: Listen to Katie Gaultney’s report on The World and Everything In It podcast about what’s driving up gas prices.