Gas prices on Maui
top $3 a gallon

The statewide average hits
$2.76 a gallon; Honolulu's
average is up to a record $2.67

MAKAWAO, Maui » The cost of filling up the tank in Hawaii got a little more expensive yesterday as the average prices of a gallon of unleaded gasoline hit new highs around the state.

The price of regular unleaded has already topped $3 a gallon at some stations on Maui.

The Minit Stop in Makawao became one of the first gas stations on the Valley Isle this week to raise its price above $3 for a gallon of self-serve regular unleaded gasoline.

"It's disgusting," said Kui Gonsalves, who paid $3.03 per gallon to fill his Toyota on Tuesday morning. The price at the Makawao Minit Stop dipped a penny to $3.02 yesterday.

In Kahului, Aloha Shell was selling regular unleaded yesterday for $3.01.

According to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report, the average price of a gallon of regular on Maui hit a record $2.97 yesterday.

The statewide average also hit a record of $2.76, in Honolulu a record $2.67 and in Hilo a record $2.81.

While Hawaii's gas prices are among the highest in the nation, the statewide average yesterday was not the top price. That distinction belonged to California, where the statewide average for a gallon of regular unleaded yesterday was $2.77, and Santa Barbara motorists were paying an average of $2.89. The national average yesterday was $2.56, according to AAA.

Veronica Gomes of Maui purchased her big Ford Expedition four years ago but said even if she had known what prices would be today, she still would have bought the sport utility vehicle. On Tuesday she paid $20 at the Makawao Minit Stop for 6.193 gallons, which she figured would "get me a quarter of a tank."

"It's the family car," she said.

The record prices come two weeks before the state is set to implement its first-in-the-nation price cap on gasoline.

The new law, which goes into effect Sept. 1, allows the state Public Utilities Commission to set a maximum wholesale price at which gasoline can be sold in Hawaii, based on the weekly average of spot prices in Los Angeles, New York and the U.S. Gulf Coast.

The law would not put a cap on retail prices.

Motorists who use premium unleaded have been paying more than $3 per gallon on Maui since early May. The average price for premium was $3.20 yesterday, while the average price for midgrade unleaded was $3.12.

Paul Hanada, who owns Aloha Shell, said he is noticing that some customers who previously bought premium are now buying midgrade, but hardly any are switching from the higher grades to regular.