Question: Thank you for the timely answers regarding Hawaiian Telcom (808ne.ws/1QeYL8A). I’m one of the customers who is affected by the outages. My landline phone has been out since September, yet the day before yesterday I received a bill that includes the period the phone service was out. I called the billing department but couldn’t get a satisfactory answer. Could you please find out whom to call?
Answer: We followed up with Hawaiian Telcom regarding account credits after hearing from several readers like you, who said they had been billed the full amount despite ongoing service disruptions.
Ann Nishida Fry, senior manager of corporate communications at Hawaiian Telcom, explained that it often takes up to two billing cycles after service is restored for the Time Out of Service credit to be reflected on a customer’s account. Only after the problem is fixed is the duration of the outage — and therefore the credit — known. She thanked customers for their patience.
It’s worth emphasizing that the credit begins on the date the customer reports the problem, so never put off making a trouble call.
In your case, the credit hasn’t been calculated because your phone still isn’t working. There’s no point in calling Hawaiian Telcom again just yet. If, after service is restored, you don’t receive the credit within two billing cycles, call back. Residential customers should call 643-3456 and business customers should call 643-4411, Fry said.
Q: Once the ethanol mandate expires Dec. 31, when will Hawaii gas stations be selling ethanol-free gas?
A: Ethanol-free gasoline already is available at about 25 locations throughout the state, including certain Aloha, Shell, 76 and Tesoro-branded stations, according to industry executives. That’s allowed because the state mandate that took effect in 2006 requires that a minimum of 85 percent of the gasoline sold for motor vehicles in the state contain 10 percent ethanol; 15 percent of sales don’t have to include the fuel that can be made from corn or sugar.
It’s unclear at this point how many additional stations will offer ethanol-free gasoline once the mandate is lifted at year’s end; the repeal is simply that, not an imposition of new requirements. The industry experts who responded to Kokua Line’s query on your behalf expect sales of ethanol blends to continue, due to federal rules and other factors.
“I can’t speak on behalf of the other gasoline marketers in Hawaii, but I expect that there will not be a wholesale switch to ethanol-free gasoline once the mandate expires. Refiners still have to meet federal RFS (Renewable Fuels Standards), and ethanol is a means by which blenders enhance the octane content of the fuel. As a result we expect that ethanol blending will continue,” said Richard Parry, president and chief executive officer of Aloha Petroleum Ltd.
Lance N. Tanaka, director of government and public affairs for Hawaii Independent Energy, a subsidiary of Par Petroleum, also referred to the federal rules.
“Hawaii Independent Energy is opposed to fuel mandates, and the repeal of Hawaii’s ethanol mandate provides producers with some flexibility from having to comply with a state blending requirement,” he said. “Having stated that, we are also required to blend increasing amounts of renewable fuel into gasoline and diesel under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard program. And so while the Hawaii mandate will end this year, we will continue to comply with the federal requirements by blending ethanol or purchasing renewable credits, whichever makes the most sense based on appropriate business decisions.”
Mahalo
A big mahalo to Victor from Pearl City, who came to my rescue Sept. 30 and had water to put in my overheated car at the entrance to the H-3 tunnel Honolulu-bound. With after-work traffic, and it getting late, I was getting into a panic thinking I would be there all night. Thank you, Victor, my “water guardian angel.” — Lady from Salt Lake
Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
