Motorists across the southeast lined up at their local fuel pump following rumors of gas shortages due to the Colonial Pipeline cyber-attack and subsequent halt in operations.
In an update Tuesday night, Colonial said, “Since our pipeline system was taken offline, working with our shippers, Colonial has delivered approximately 967,000 barrels (41 million gallons) to various delivery points along our system. This includes delivery into the following markets: Atlanta, Belton and Spartanburg, S.C., Charlotte and Greensboro, N.C., Baltimore, and Woodbury and Linden N.J.”
MORE: Kemp Suspends Gas Tax as Colonial Pipeline Deals with Cyber-Attack
In a press conference live-stream on Wednesday afternoon, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp reiterated the points in the executive order he signed May 11, encouraged citizens to stay calm and avoid the hoarding of supplies.
“Don’t fill up every five-gallon can you have around the house,” Kemp said. “We’ve received no indication this will be more than a short-term issue, and it’s important we have enough gasoline for our kids to get to school, employees to get to work and people to get to their medical appointments.”
Attorney General Chris Carr addressed price gouging at gas stations and said his office had already received more than 300 complaints related to price gouging.
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Carr said that while this state of emergency persists, gas stations cannot raise prices to exorbitant levels.
“No one should be taking advantage of consumers just trying to go about their day-to-day business,” said Carr.
To file a complaint, residents outside of Atlanta can call (800) 864-1123 or visit consumer.ga.gov.
Kemp did not provide any updates on the security status of the Colonial Pipeline.
“The federal government, FBI and Homeland Security are handling the security side of this,” Kemp said. He added that at the state level, the focus was the gas supply and making sure citizens have enough gas to get to work and combatting price gouging.
MORE: Major East Coast Pipeline Shut Down by Cyberattack
He reiterated that he’s received no indication from Colonial or officials in the federal government that this will extend past the short-term, and that Georgians should not unnecessarily fill up, but only get what they need and give others the opportunity to get what they need.
He assured the public that when more information is provided to him, he will be sure to inform everyone about the next steps to take.
Tyler Strong is the Business Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com.
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