How The Pipeline Closure Could Impact Gas Prices In Tennessee

Fallout from a cybersecurity attack on one of the United States' biggest gas pipelines could affect much of the eastern coast of the country, including Tennessee. The Colonial Pipeline Company announced that it would temporarily pause operations to investigate the threat and released the following statement.

"On May 7, the Colonial Pipeline Company learned it was the victim of a cybersecurity attack," the statement read. "We have since determined that this incident involves ransomware. In response, we proactively took certain systems offline to contain the threat, which has temporarily halted all pipeline operations and affected some of our IT systems."

The temporary shutdown is expected to impact several states, as the pipeline supplies about 45% of the fuel used along the East Coast, from Texas to the New York Harbor. According to WSMV, a shutdown could impact summer travel as the pipeline supplies product for everything from gasoline to jet fuel.

Gas prices have already been on the rise recently as more people have begun traveling again following the decrease in travel last year from the pandemic. The average price of gasoline in Tennessee has risen 3 cents over the last month to $2.72 per gallon, and the potential impact from the pipeline's halted operations may cause the prices to increase even more.

"The shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline late last week will likely have implications on both gasoline supply and prices in Tennessee, and those could happen as early as this week," said Megan Cooper, a spokesperson for AAA. "The longer the pipeline is down, the greater the threat of rising gas prices. Tennesseans may see prices increase three to seven cents this week."

The impact of the pause will be determined by how long the pipeline remains offline, per WSMV. However, around noon on Monday (May 10), the company announced that it hopes to resume operations, in some capacity, later in the week.

Photo: Getty Images


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content