For Immediate Release: September 2, 2008
DBEDT Release News 08-24

HONOLULU-The Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT) has released the first Monthly Energy Trends report on the DBEDT web site at http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt.

The Monthly Energy Trends include data on the average monthly West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange, average monthly gasoline and diesel prices for Hawai‘i, barrels of oil imported from foreign countries, fuel consumption, vehicle registration, electricity generation, consumption, and data on renewable energy used in electricity generation.

"As the most oil-dependent state in the U.S., Hawai‘i is facing a great challenge in dealing with rising in energy prices. The monthly energy data will help policy makers and the general public monitor and understand the demand and supply side of our energy. By continuing to track the data into the future, we can see how well we are progressing toward the 70 percent renewable energy target by 2030 as proposed by Governor Lingle," said DBEDT Director Theodore E. Liu. "Since this is the first monthly energy report produced by DBEDT, any comments regarding the the usefulness of the report and recommendations for improvement are welcomed."

The data are provided by the joint effort between the Research and Economic Analysis Division and the Strategic Industries Division of DBEDT. Data are available at the state level and for the six major islands. Currently, the data are available from January 2007 and the most recent month in 2008. More historical data will be added in the near future.

Key facts in the Monthly Energy Trends include:

• Crude oil price at the New York Mercantile Exchange in July 2008 averaged $133.5 per barrel, and registered an 80 percent increase from the same month a year ago.
• The statewide regular unleaded gasoline price for July 2008 averaged $4.471 per gallon, a 36 percent increase from the same period last year. The same grade of gasoline cost more on Maui at $4.694 per gallon, and cost $4.511 on the Big Island and $4.377 on O‘ahu in July 2008.
• Gasoline consumption during the first half of 2008 decreased by 7 percent as compared with the same period last year.
• Hawai‘i imported 19.4 million barrels of crude oil from foreign countries during the first half of 2008, a 15.4 percent drop from the same period a year ago.
• As of August 2008, Hawai‘i has 974,873 gasoline passenger vehicles registered, a 0.5 percent increase from a year ago.
• In June 2008, the state had 409,701 residential electricity customers, a 0.1 percent decrease from last June.
• Total electricity sales statewide reached 5.1 billion KWH during the first half of 2008, a 0.7 percent decrease from the same period last year.
• Hawai‘i residents paid an average of $0.333 per KWH of electricity in June 2008. About 2 cents more than a year ago.
• Residents on Kaua'i paid the highest electricity price at $0.466 per KWH in June 2008, while Honolulu residents paid the lowest electricity price at $0.297 per KWH during the same month.

The Monthly Energy Trends is available on the DBEDT Internet site, at http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt.

Information from DBEDT's Research and Economic Analysis Division may also be obtained by calling 808-586-2423.

For more information, contact:
Dave Young
DBEDT
Phone: (808) 587-1212
Email: dyoung@dbedt.hawaii.gov