Why Is Hawaii Still Suffering From High Oil Prices When The Mainland Has Dropped? 3 Hawaii was the only state in the U.S. last week where electric rates continue to cause consumer shock and average gasoline prices topped $5 per gallon.
As crude oil and gasoline prices drop on the mainland, bringing relief to consumers after a long period of high prices, Hawaii residents and businesses face a grim alternate reality: gasoline prices haven’t dropped much, and neither has the price of electricity.
Prices for regular gasoline dropped to as low as $3.39 per gallon at the end of November, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported, while the American Automobile Association reported that Hawaii was the only state with regular gasoline averaging more than $5 per gallon. AAA’s national average price on Friday was $3.45 a gallon.
Meanwhile, electricity prices in Hawaii remain high, despite lower crude oil prices. Hawaii generates much of its electricity from oil-powered facilities.
So what’s going on?
