HECO costs drop 11% for February

Oahu households can expect to see an 11 percent drop in month-over-month electricity costs for February, according to the latest data released by Hawaiian Electric Co.

The typical Oahu bill for February this year dropped to $123.58 (for a household using an average of 600 kilowatt-hours of electricity), $15.40 less than $138.98 in January.

On Maui, the average bill came down to $143.24 compared to $161.61 in January. On the Big Island, it dropped to $191.22 from $211.79 in January.

Effective basic rates, plus fuel and other charges, were at 19.2 cents/kwh for Oahu, 22.5 cents/kwh for Maui, and 30.1 cent/kwh for the Big Island.

HECO's rates generally lag oil prices by two or more months, and there are other variables, including seasonal variations.

Tony Group Autoplex goes solar

The Tony Group Autoplex in Waipio has gone solar.

Three recently installed solar electric systems on the rooftop of the dealership selling Nissans, Hondas and Hyundais, are expected to supply about 20 percent of its energy needs.

REC Solar Inc. of San Luis Obispo, Calif., installed the systems.

Stan Masamitsu, president of Tony Group, said the systems will not only result in immediate monthly utility cost savings, but minimize the impact of future energy cost increases.

For the first year, the Tony Group Autoplex's estimated cost savings is more than $104,000 - and over the span of 25 years, more than $5 million.

ACS signs $21M state contract

Affiliated Computer Services Inc. has renewed its contract with the Hawaii Department of Human Services for $21 million. The 18-month contract will enable ACS to provide fiscal agent services, as well as services related to processing pharmacy and non-pharmacy claims for Hawaii Medical Assistance Programs.

As part of the contract, ACS will deploy its electronic health record tool to help Hawaiian health care providers and payers improve the delivery of quality health care, increase efficiency, and support safety.

ACS has provided fiscal agent services for the state's Medicaid program since 2002, and delivered pharmacy services since 2001.

The contract includes two one-year options.

Mesa passenger traffic soars 33%

Mesa Air Group's go! passengers traffic jumped 33 percent last month as the interisland carrier increased its capacity.

Go! carried 58,216 passengers compared with 43,763 a year ago while its load factor, or the percentage of seats filled, rose 6.2 percentage points to 64.6 percent from 58.4 percent.

Available seat miles, or one seat transported one mile, rose 20.6 percent to 13.3 million from 11 million while revenue passenger miles, or one paying passenger transported one mile, increased 33.5 percent to 8.6 million from 6.4 million.

PEOPLE

Ishihara named head of Japanese Chamber

Wayne Ishihara, who recently retired as a senior vice president at American Savings Bank, has been selected as president of the Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce.

Ishihara has been a member of the Honolulu Japanese Chamber of Commerce for more than 30 years. He had worked at American Savings since 1971.

He also has been a member on the Board of Trustees of the Japan-American Society of Hawaii; is a former chairman of the board of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii, and is a past president of the Honolulu Japanese Junior Chamber of Commerce and Hawaii Jaycees.