Will Kentucky Be Affected by Colonial Pipeline Hack?

Count me among those who did not "panic-buy" when the news came about the Colonial Pipeline cyber hack.

And that's because I was sitting on empty and driving on fumes AND on my way to fill up when I heard the news that the east coast pipeline had been hacked.

But I did worry about what would happen in the wake of this news. We all saw what happened last March at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. I mean, how long did we go before we saw toilet paper, Lysol, and hand sanitizer back on the shelves? How many people STILL have those products that they bought 15 months ago?

It's human nature, really, to react in such a way. We're also all aware of what happens when a winter storm watch is issued. Bread, milk, and eggs begin to disappear. I always call those watches "French toast alerts."

Get our free mobile app

But the question is, "Will Kentucky be affected by the Colonial Pipeline hack?" It's an east coast supplier but it's a big one. So folks have likely been alarmed about the possibility of not being able to fill up their tanks.

If you go to Google and search "Kentucky gas stations" and then click "News," you'll get a litany of headlines about gas shortages and stations running low and panic buying. And WYMT out of Hazard, Kentucky has a report about people filling up multiple jugs with gasoline. I've also seen pictures on Facebook of folks putting a lot of jugs of gasoline in their vehicles.

I'm no expert, clearly, but it seems like a shortage in Kentucky might stem from consumers buying more gas than they need instead of the actual Colonial Pipeline crisis.

And speaking of that pipeline, you should check out the company's system map that shows us where the pipeline is and where its sublines run. It looks as if Colonial doesn't even service our area.

Also, the folks at Colonial Pipeline are working their butts off to get back online as soon as possible and appear to be taking all the necessary measures to mitigate the shortage.

Look, I understand the concern. And, yes, this is a much bigger deal than toilet paper and Dawn dishwashing liquid.

But, from everything I've read and seen, if we step back and get the gas that we need right now, we'll be fine.