The state does not know how much money oil companies make in Hawai'i, despite an eight-month-old law that requires oil companies to disclose their finances.

Legislators adopted a law in May requiring Hawai'i's oil industry to reveal crude-oil and gasoline costs and sources, refinery operating expenses, marketing and distribution expenses and corporate overhead expenses.

Lawmakers hoped the increased transparency would discourage unfair pricing after the suspension of Hawai'i's controversial gasoline price caps, which regulated wholesale prices from September 2005 to May.

But the agency charged with collecting data from oil companies hasn't gotten the program started yet.

"We have so many other obligations," said Lisa Kikuta, spokeswoman for the Public Utilities Commission, which is responsible for the new program. "So it's been (going) slower than we would like, but it's on our radar, and it still is a high priority."

Kikuta could not predict when the new oil-industry-monitoring program would be in place.

The lack of oil-industry data plus a recent dip in gasoline prices make it unlikely the Legislature will bring back the price caps this year.

Sen. Ron Menor, D-17th (Mililani, Waipi'o), a key supporter of the cap, and other oil industry critics hoped the financial data would prove the industry makes "excessive" profits in Hawai'i and give momentum to renewed efforts to regulate prices.

"The commission is really, in my mind, allowing the oil companies to get off scot-free by allowing them to charge excessive prices in Hawai'i without having to justify why they're charging such excessive prices," said Menor, chairman of the Energy and Environment Committee.

"Realistically, many of my colleagues are uncomfortable with taking any far-reaching action without hard data."

CLASSIFIED INFORMATION

Local oil industry officials have said they are willing to cooperate with the new law but are concerned about keeping their information confidential.

"Tesoro Hawaii is not opposed to transparency, but we are opposed to further financial disclosure if it puts our business at risk," said Tesoro Corp. spokesman Nathan Hokama. "We are even more concerned that if competitively sensitive data is released beyond government agency circles — inadvertently or otherwise — this would severely compromise our ability to do business in Hawai'i.

"Closely held information regarding crude oil costs and sources, marketing decisions, and profitability would enable competitors to create distinct market advantages for themselves."

High gasoline prices and gasoline price controls were among the biggest issues tackled by the Legislature last year.

Lawmakers created the price cap law to address concerns that the oil industry charged inflated prices and earned excessive profits in Hawai'i. Such suspicions will linger until the state determines how much money oil companies make in Hawai'i, said Rep. Kirk Caldwell, D-24th (Manoa), who pushed to suspend the price cap.

"When prices go up on the Mainland, they go up here," Caldwell said. "Then when Mainland prices go down, our prices stay high. What's going on there? The market system does not seem to be working properly."

Hawai'i drivers typically pay the highest gasoline prices in the nation. Those prices are partially caused by the state's isolated, small market, which isn't subject to the same fluctuations in supply and demand that force Mainland prices to move. That means Hawai'i prices tend to remain stable and lag behind the Mainland — heading both up and down. The high cost of doing business in the Islands and high taxes also play a part.

HAWAI'I'S HIGH PRICES

Between February 2003 and September 2006, Honolulu gasoline prices were an average of 36 cents a gallon higher than the national average. As of Thursday, the average price of regular gasoline in Honolulu was $2.74 a gallon, versus a national average of $2.33 — a 41-cent gap — according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report. That's down from a 65-cents-a-gallon gap between Honolulu prices and the national average in October.

While high gasoline prices may not be a big issue right now on O'ahu, many Neighbor Island communities continue to pay more than $3 a gallon at the pump, said Rep. Hermina Morita, D-14th, (Kapa'a, Hanalei), chairwoman of the Energy and Environmental Protection Committee.

"I think (high prices) are definitely an issue," she said. "The Neighbor Islands are really eating it."

Morita said the solution is enabling the PUC to implement the oil-industry-monitoring law rather than putting gasoline price caps back in place. That includes appropriating more money to the PUC and possibly giving the agency broader hiring-discretion.

"We haven't given transparency a fair shot," Morita said. "To me, you have a whole spectrum of options, and gas cap was to the far right — that was an extreme."

EXAMINING DIESEL, TOO

Sen. Brian Taniguchi, D-10th (Manoa, McCully), said the Legislature likely will focus on the PUC and ways to get more data on the inner workings of the oil industry. The Legislature also might probe Hawai'i's high diesel gasoline prices, he said. The average price for diesel Thursday was $3.42 a gallon in Honolulu, which was 73 cents a gallon higher than the national average, according to AAA.

"Those prices don't seem to have come down as much as regular gasoline prices," said Taniguchi, chairman of the Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Affordable Housing Committee. "We might want to take a look at that."

However, "I think it might be a bit premature to talk about implementing some kind of price cap," Taniguchi said.

While lawmakers debate how to lower pump prices, some consumers are taking their own steps to cut their transportation costs.

Lawrence Miljkovic, a welding instructor in Mo'ili'ili, said he now commutes to his job in Kalihi via a moped.

"I'm spending about $12 a month on gasoline, compared to $80 a month when I was driving my station wagon," he said. "I think everyone on the island should have a moped.

"When they're commuting, they could use their moped 90 percent of the time."

Reach Sean Hao at shao@honoluluadvertiser.com.