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Drivers race to
beat cap increase
Gas prices could rise today by
as much as 48 cents at sites
on Oahu
Mary Blewitt was beating the gas cap yesterday, filling up her Honda Civic before today's expected rise in gas prices.
Regular unleaded gas could hit $3.62 a gallon on Oahu, based on price caps published Wednesday. Anticipating the increase, residents islandwide flocked to gas stations yesterday to fill up for the week and hope for lower prices soon.
"I'm beating the next hike," said Blewitt, who was getting $3.14-a-gallon gas at Lex Brodie's on Queen Street. Carole DeVito of Diamond Head was also filling up before the expected hike today.
"I've been thinking about getting a hybrid," she said with a laugh as she sat in her Lexus. DeVito spent $26, which pays for about a half a tank.
Gas prices across the country have been shooting up in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Though Hawaii gets its oil from Alaska and Asia, the "gas cap" is based on the weekday average of spot prices in New York, Los Angeles and the Gulf Coast, which was affected by the storm.
The caps published Wednesday use a base line of $2.59.
If wholesalers charge up to the maximum allowed and retailers maintain their usual markups, Oahu drivers could pay as much as 48 cents more for gas today than they did yesterday.
Motorists on Maui could be charged $3.78 a gallon, and gas could go as high as $3.69 in Hilo.
The average price for unleaded gas on Oahu yesterday was $3.13 a gallon. Hilo drivers were paying $3.32, while gas on Maui was $3.38, according to AAA's Fuel Gauge Report.
The state average was the fourth highest in the nation at $3.21 a gallon, behind Maryland and New York. Washington, D.C., topped the list at $3.33. The auto club bases its index on transactions from the previous day.
Meanwhile, the state does not know whether fuel companies are doing right by Hawaii motorists, because wholesale prices are kept secret. A bill in the last legislative session, which was backed by Gov. Linda Lingle, would have both wholesale price reporting and a repeal of the new law capping wholesale prices. It did not even get a hearing.
Lingle has long opposed the law, which was designed to make sure Hawaii drivers, who have historically paid the highest gas prices in the nation, are being charged fairly. The gas cap's chief architect, Sen. Ron Menor, notes that a monitoring system was built into the measure.
The Public Utilities Commission has the power to periodically monitor wholesale prices to make sure companies do not exceed the cap, but the commission keeps that information confidential.
However, Menor told the Associated Press that he hopes the commission would tell the public if wholesalers are routinely charging up to the limit of the cap.
Meanwhile, some motorists say the high gas prices could change their driving and spending habits. At a Tesoro gas station on King Street yesterday, McCully resident Aki Sinoto was filling up his wife's Chevrolet van, thinking about his Land Rover at home and wishing they had both thought more about fuel economy when they bought the vehicles.
Gas at the station cost $3.22 a gallon.
"We both have gas guzzlers," said Sinoto, grimacing as he watched the numbers on the gas gauge rise. He spent $50 to fill up the van.
"If it keeps going up, we'll have to look at how we're spending money," he said.
In a nearby pump, Mark Roscom put $11.49 in his car to fill it up. It was not empty, he said, but he did not want to risk paying more today for gas.
"Everyone is hurting," he said, "but I deal with it."
GAS CAP HELPHow to contact the state about Hawaii's gas cap law:Public Utilities Commission www.hawaii.gov/budget/puc/gaspricecaps
Commerce and Consumer Affairs
Business, Economic Development & Tourism
AAA Fuel Gauge Report: www.fuelgaugereport.com
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Isle gas a bargain
in global terms
International drivers are paying
as much as $6.64 a gallon
Even with the specter of isle gas prices climbing to $3.62 a gallon today, that is still cheap compared with other parts of the world.
"When we say that gasoline is too expensive, the rest of the world thinks something is wrong with us," said Fereidun Fesharaki, a senior research fellow on energy policy and planning at the East-West Center.
Even as gasoline prices set new records nationwide in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Fesharaki and other East-West Center experts said demand in other countries has driven prices even higher overseas.
In the United Kingdom, motorists were paying the equivalent of $6.64 a gallon for regular unleaded this week, higher than the $6.31 a gallon being paid by drivers in France, according to Tomoko Hosoe, a research program specialist at the East-West Center.
In Japan, prices averaged $4.86 a gallon, while Canadians paid an average of about $4.03, she said.
Compare that with the national average in the United States for regular unleaded, which was $3.02 a gallon Friday, down from the record $3.06 set last Monday, according to AAA's Fuel Gauge Report.
In Hawaii, Friday's statewide average for regular unleaded was $3.22 a gallon, the fourth highest in the country. Averages also reached record highs last week in Honolulu ($3.19), Hilo ($3.32) and Wailuku ($3.39), the auto club said.
Some of the highest prices in the state were on Lanai, where regular unleaded was reportedly selling for $4.20 a gallon. Prices in Lahaina on Maui also hit the $3.50 mark.
Sen. J. Kalani English (D, East Maui-Lanai-Molokai) said his district has traditionally had some of the highest prices in the state, adding that he had not heard many complaints from constituents last week.
"People understand that gas is an expensive thing," English said. "At this particular point, we have to look at it from a global perspective -- we're still very competitive compared to the rest of the world."
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