StarBulletin.com

Bill advances to end weekly reports from oil companies on isle gas prices


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POSTED: Sunday, March 21, 2010

QUESTION: What ever happened to the oil industry monitoring reports that were mandated by the Legislature?

ANSWER: The Petroleum Industry Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting requirements—the last remnants of the Legislature's failed attempt at regulating gas prices—are on the verge of extinction.

A proposal to end the so-called PIMAR program for the state's oil industry is working its way through the Legislature.

Since September 2007, oil refiners, distributors, retailers and all other participants in the state's petroleum industry have been required to file extensive weekly reports with the Public Utilities Commission detailing transactions, prices and costs of doing business.

The PIMAR program was required as an alternative to the “;gas cap”; price regulations, which tied the maximum price for wholesale gas sales to an average of three mainland markets. That system, implemented just as Hurricane Katrina ravaged Gulf Coast oil facilities, proved to be too volatile, often placing Hawaii's average above that of the mainland.

The aim of PIMAR was to have the PUC examine the filings and produce weekly reports to give the public better insight into how gasoline prices are set.

Weekly reports posted on the PUC's Web site have been criticized as unhelpful because much of the information has been redacted. The PIMAR law stated the reports could not unveil data that could be considered confidential, competitive information.

House Bill 2631, which has passed the House and is advancing in the Senate, would replace the weekly reports with less-extensive monthly reports.

According to the Senate committee report, “;Since the Petroleum Industry Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Program has served its purpose in evaluating the Hawaii petroleum industry and because it is extremely time consuming and onerous for both the Public Utilities Commission and the petroleum industry reporting entities, it is time to repeal it.”;

Gov. Linda Lingle appears to support the legislation. She introduced a similar measure to indefinitely suspend the reporting requirements until the Legislature decides to reinstate them.

In her justification for the proposal, Lingle stated, “;This expensive and time-consuming monitoring system is no longer a high priority during these trying economic times. The petroleum industry is severely burdened and hampered by the detailed and time-consuming requirements of the PIMAR system.”;