PITTSBURGH GAS TRACKER: Pennsylvanians can expect minimal impact after pipeline cyberattack

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Colonial Pipeline restarted operations late Wednesday afternoon following last week’s cyberattack, which forced the system offline.

With most of the pipeline offline since last Friday, gas prices across the Northeast jumped in the past few days.

Despite assurances from federal officials that gas supplies remained at reasonable levels, long lines were reported Wednesday at some stations in the Pittsburgh area.

“I noticed a lot of people bringing cans down and filling them up, which they normally don’t,” said Butch Loftus, owner of Loftus Sunoco in Ambridge. “Hopefully, we don’t run short on fuel for our customers,” he said.

In a tweet on Wednesday, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf wrote: “There is no need for anyone to stockpile gasoline. Widespread panic buying could result in unnecessary perceived shortages.”

Experts anticipate the most wide-ranging effect of the pipeline closure will be paying more at the pump. Nationwide, the price per gallon rose by 2 cents on Tuesday.

“AAA has been projecting this week that gas prices could go up another 3 to 7 cents a gallon,” said AAA spokesperson Lynda Lambert.

AAA East Central reported the average price for a gallon of regular is up to $3.09 in western Pennsylvania.

“The worst thing you could do is panic. It’s like toilet paper shortages shortages last year. If you panic, it’s going to make the problem much worse,” said Lambert.

She likened the situation to last year when people were panic-buying toilet paper and cases of water.

“If you panic, it’s going to make the problem much worse,” she said. “There is no gasoline shortage in the United States. We have plenty of gasoline. This is a distribution and delivery issue.”

Despite that, there were long lines at some Pittsburgh-area gas stations. The CostCo in Robinson Township implemented a two-container limit.

The Colonial Pipeline has been offline since late last week as company officials tried to stop malware from spreading throughout its computer network. They hoped to have it running again by Friday.

>>>RELATED: Panic buying causing gas shortages after Colonial Pipeline cyberattack

Fearing that the attack could leave their tanks on empty, people up and down the East Coast have been scrambling to fill up their vehicles and any spare gas cans they have. Gas stations in a number of states have run dry, as long lines of cars could be seen. In some North Carolina cities, nearly 60% of stations reported being out of gas. Half of all gas stations in Atlanta, Georgia also reported having no gas, with drivers “consuming an entire truck” delivery in four hours.

Pennsylvania Gas Tracker

While the impact to our region is expected to be minimal, Channel 11 wants to make sure you are still able to find gas. Scroll below to use the Gas Buddy Gasoline Availability Tracker to find fuel where you are. If you’re using our app, CLICK HERE

Gas shortage: GasBuddy activates tracker for several Southern states (NCD)

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