The Colonial Pipeline is restarting operations as of Wednesday evening, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm announced.
The company was expected to make a decision on beginning to resume operations by the end of Wednesday after a ransomware attack shut it down, Granholm said Tuesday. Still, it’s likely to take a few days for operations to fully resume, she noted.
We just got off the phone with #ColonialPipeline CEO. They are restarting pipeline operations today at ~5pm. More soon.
— Secretary Jennifer Granholm (@SecGranholm) May 12, 2021
“I have had several conversations with the CEO of Colonial, who has indicated that by close of business tomorrow, Colonial will be in a position to make the full restart decision, but even after that decision is made, it will take a few days to ramp up operations,” Granholm previously said, noting that the pipeline “has never been shut down before.”
Colonial Pipeline was down for days and is responsible for about half of America’s fuel supply for the East Coast. It transports over 100 million gallons of gasoline between Houston and New York City daily, according to its website.
The company paused operations Friday in wake of the attack, according to CNN. Colonial Pipeline’s shutdown sparked fuel shortages in the Southeast U.S., and the Biden administration said it was “monitoring” the situation. (RELATED: In Wake Of Gas Shortage, ‘Fox & Friends’ Asks Why Biden Shuttered Keystone When Energy Sec. Admitted ‘Pipe Is Best’)
Granholm said more information will be forthcoming.
This is a breaking news post and will be updated.