“This is the first step in the restart process and would not have been possible without the around-the-clock support of Colonial Pipeline’s dedicated employees who have worked tirelessly to help us achieve this milestone.”
This line from the statement implies that Colonial rebuilt the control systems instead of paying. Logically, if Colonial paid the ransom, what were the employees working on tirelessly “around-the-clock” BEFORE the first step of restarting the pipeline.
There is no guarantee whatsoever that the computers would be restored if they paid the ransom.