Up, up and away. With the state’s gas cap law looming Sept. 1, Kaua‘i’s gas prices showed no signs of leveling off as of Friday. Gas prices on the Garden Island surged, in some places by as much as 13
Up, up and away. With the state’s gas cap law looming Sept. 1, Kaua‘i’s gas prices showed no signs of leveling off as of Friday.
Gas prices on the Garden Island surged, in some places by as much as 13 cents a gallon, over last week’s survey, according to Kaua‘i gas-price watcher Martin Rice
According to Rice who surveyed all 20 of Kaua‘i’s gasoline stations, the across-the-board averages were nine cents a gallon above last week’s survey. The average price of regular on Kaua‘i is $2.93 a gallon, $3.14 a gallon for premium and $3.17 a gallon for diesel.
Gas prices at the Shell station in Kilauea shot up 13 cents a gallon in one week, Rice reported.
The average price of regular unleaded gasoline as of the week ending Aug. 12 was $2.84 a gallon and $3.05 a gallon for premium, according to Rice’s survey.
Nationally, prices averaged $2.59 a gallon Thursday, up another two cents in a single say, according to American Automobile Association’s (AAA) daily fuel tracking survey.
Jeff Spring, Hawaii spokesman for AAA Hawaii said he thought the continued rise of gasoline prices had more to do with the price of oil than they did to price gouging in anticipation of a gas gap.
“Until oil prices go down, gasoline prices will not go down,” said Spring.
He said the nationwide demand for gasoline would remain high till Labor Day and then likely tail off a bit. He said this was not likely to be the case in Hawai‘i where tourism drives the demand for gasoline.
Spring said because of demand, AAA was planning on monitoring prices in Kauai within the next couple of months. Spring said if all goes as hoped for. AAA would monitor 16 stations on Kaua‘i.
AAA currently monitors prices in Hilo, Honolulu and Wailuku.
“Surprisingly, there’s been very little outcry by the mighty oil industry about Hawai‘i’s pending gas cap law,” Rice said. ” It’s as if they know that (Gov. Linda) Lingle will invoke her emergency powers and declare the law invalid, which she can do after its implementation.”
As for Rice’s survey, Kaua‘i’s best prices will no longer include the popular four cents-off Tuesdays at the Hanama‘ulu Shell or the five cents-off Sundays at the Lihu‘e Chevron. Rice said this was likely due to the volatility of prices.
Kaua’i’s best gasoline prices as of Thursday for regular unleaded gasoline were $2.879 Hanama’ulu Shell; $2.889 Aloha Fuels, Kapahi; $2.899 Shell stations at Wailua and Puhi; and $2.919 Kapa‘a Shell, Kukui Grove 76 and the Chevrons in Kapa‘a, Lihu‘e, Koloa and on Rice Street.
The best premium gasoline prices were $3.079 Hanama’ulu Shell; $3.089 Aloha Fuels, Kapahi; $3.099 at the Shell stations at Wailua and Puhi and $3.119 Kapa’a Shell, Kukui Grove 76 and the Chevrons in Kapa‘a, Lihu‘e, Koloa and on Rice Street.
The best diesel prices are $3.099 per gallon at Aloha Fuels, Kapahi; and $3.149 per gallon at Kalaheo Chevron, Rice reported.
According to HawaiiGasPrices.Com. a grassroots gasoline watchdog Web site that oversees fuel cost prices at selected statewide stations and has fairly through listings for Kaua‘i (Rice is a regular contributor) the highest price for regular gasoline on Kaua‘i is $2.98 at the Chevron in Princeville
Hawai‘i joined several states, among them California and Nevada, selling regular unleaded gasoline for more than $3 per gallon.
Three stations on Maui — one in Makawao, and two in Lahaina — hit the $3 mark last week. They were joined later in the week by two Big Island gas stations, according to HawaiiGasPrices.Com.
Jason Toews, spokesman for GasBuddy Organization, an online service that allows consumers to share information about low-priced fuel while providing real-time gas prices by location, said earlier this summer based upon rising crude oil prices he would not be surprised to see Hawai‘i hit the $3 per gallon mark.
The price of crude oil per barrel Friday morning was $64.18 Oil accounts for half the price of gas, according to industry reports.
Tesoro Corp., which owns one of Hawai‘i’s two oil refineries reported revenues soared past $4 billion in the second quarter of 2005 but profits fell due to refinery costs, according to a published report. Chevron, Hawaii’s other refinery and the second-biggest oil and gas company in the United States, reported on July 29 a 10 percent drop in net income, to $3.7 billion, in the second quarter, due to refinery down-time for maintenance and repairs, according to Financial Times.
However, revenue was up $11 billion for that quarter because of higher prices for crude oil, natural gas and refined products, and overall results were better than analysts had forecast, Financial Times reported.
Here are some suggestions from HawaiiGasPrices.Com to improve gas mileage:
- Avoid High Speed. As your speed increases, your aerodynamic drag increases in an exponential fashion. Driving 62 mph (100 km/h) versus 75 mph (120 km/h) will reduce fuel consumption by about 15 percent.
- Do not accelerate or brake hard. By anticipating the traffic and applying slow steady acceleration and braking, fuel economy may increase by as much as 20 percent.
- Keep tires properly inflated. Keep tire air pressure at the level recommended by your vehicle manufacturer. A single tire under inflated by two PSI, increases fuel consumption by one percent.
- Use air conditioning sparingly. When the air conditioner is on it puts extra load on the engine forcing more fuel to be used by about 20 percent. The defrost position on most vehicles also uses the air conditioner.
- Keep windows closed. Open windows, especially at highway speeds, increase drag and result in decreased fuel economy of up to 10 percent.
- Service vehicle regularly. Proper maintenance avoids poor fuel economy related to dirty air filters, old spark plugs or low fluid levels.
- Use cruise control. Maintaining a constant speed over long distances often saves gas.
- Avoid heavy loads. Remove the sand bags from your trunk in the spring and pack lightly for long trips.
- Avoid long idles. If you anticipate being stopped for more than 1 minute, shut off the car. Restarting the car uses less fuel than letting it idle for this time.
- Purchase a fuel efficient vehicle. When buying a new vehicle examine the vehicle’s rated fuel efficiency. Usually choosing a small vehicle with a manual transmission will provide you with great fuel economy.
