White House downplays any supply challenge from pipeline attack

The White House said Monday that a cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline, the largest oil supplier in the Northeast United States, has not yet resulted in supply shortages but that officials are monitoring for potential disruptions in the future.

"Right now there is not a supply shortage. We are preparing for multiple possible contingencies ... and considering what additional steps may be useful to mitigate any potential disruptions to supply," White House homeland security adviser Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall told reporters at a briefing Monday.

Sherwood-Randall said later that the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration is analyzing potential supply disruptions and impacts to fuel prices.
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“We’re working with other agencies to consider how if necessary we can move supplies to a place where it might be needed if it turns out there is a shortfall,” she added.

She also noted that the federal government has already taken steps to mitigate potential disruptions, citing the hours-of-service waiver issued by the Department of Transportation on Sunday that provides more flexibility for drivers transporting gasoline, diesel and jet fuel across 17 states and Washington, D.C.

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