North Carolina remains vulnerable to fuel shortages because it’s too reliant on a pair of pipelines for gas and energy, industry leaders and experts told lawmakers.
The point is made even more crucial because of a recent rise in both the number and sophistication of cyberattacks, such as the one that recently crippled the Colonial Pipeline, leading to widespread gas shortages on the East Coast.
North Carolina relies on the Colonial Pipeline for gas and the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line for natural gas.
“When you depend on one source, as we’ve seen in the last few days, you run that risk, and the risk is enhanced because of cyber security attacks such as we’ve had now,” said Edward Finley, who was appointed as chair of the N.C. Utilities Commission under former Democratic governors Mike Easley and Bev Perdue.