Fuel prices send electric bills surging

Rising fuel prices helped push electricity bills for the typical Oahu residential customer to $181.44 this month, the highest level since 2008 when record oil prices were hammering the economy.

Hawaiian Electric Co. said yesterday a typical 600-kilowatt-hour bill for Oahu residential customers rose by $5.98 from $175.46 in March. The last time Oahu electric bills were this high was in November 2008, when a 600-kilowatt bill was $182.01.

Crude oil futures have risen by more than $30 a barrel over the past eight months, closing at $107.11 per barrel yesterday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude oil futures traded at a record $147 a barrel in the summer of 2008.

The effective rate for electricity in Honolulu is 28.9 cents per kilowatt-hour in April, up from the 27.9 cents last month.

Elsewhere in the state:

• Maui customers saw rates rise to 34.1 cents per kilowatt-hour this month from March’s 33.4 cents. The typical Maui bill rose by $4.66 to $212.53.

• Big Island residential rates rose to 38.2 cents from last month’s 37.9 cents. The typical bill rose by 1.36 to $240.41.

• On Kauai, the rate rose to 42.63 cents per kilowatt-hour. Last month, the rate charged by the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative was 39.91 cents per kilowatt-hour.

IPad, other tablets hurting PC sales

SAN FRANCISCO » Last year, the popularity of Apple Inc.’s iPad hurt PC sales. This year, that trend is continuing, as new data from two market research firms indicate PC shipments declined in the first three months of 2011.

Gartner Inc. said yesterday that its research shows PC shipments dipped 1.1 percent compared with the same period last year, to 84.3 million. IDC said its numbers show PC shipments fell 3.2 percent to 80.6 million. The companies measure the market in different ways.

Gartner had expected 3 percent shipment growth, while IDC was looking for 1.5 percent growth.

In the U.S., IDC said, shipments fell 10.7 percent to 16.1 million. Gartner has PC shipments falling 6.1 percent, also to 16.1 million.

Both firms have Palo Alto, Calif.-based Hewlett-Packard Co. as the world’s top PC maker: Gartner said HP had nearly 18 percent of the market in the first quarter, while IDC pegs it at almost 19 percent.

But Gartner puts Taiwan’s Acer Inc. in the No. 2 spot, with almost 13 percent of the market and Round Rock, Texas-based Dell Inc. as No. 3, with nearly 12 percent. IDC, meanwhile, has Dell in the second-place spot, with almost 13 percent of the market, and Acer third, with slightly more than 11 percent.

Exxon CEO’s compensation $21.5M

NEW YORK » Exxon Mobil Corp.’s top executive received slightly lower compensation last year, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.

Chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson received compensation worth $21.5 million, about 1 percent lower than the previous year, according to a company filing with the SEC.

The drop came mostly from a 9 percent decline in stock awards that were worth $15.5 million in 2010 compared with $17 million in 2009. Tillerson’s salary increased 7 percent to $2.2 million, and his bonus rose 40 percent to $3.4 million. He also received $443,921 in company perks including security services, life insurance and the use of company aircraft.

Tillerson has led the world’s largest publicly traded company since 2006. Last year, Exxon earnings rose 58 percent to $30.5 billion. Exxon earned more per barrel of oil and gas in the final three months of 2010 than Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips. Exxon also led industry efforts to develop an oil spill response system after BP’s massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico a year ago.

ON THE MOVE:

Honolulu Academy of Arts has announced the following new staff:

>> Stephan Jost as director, who will begin on May 2. He was previously director of Vermont’s Shelburne Museum.

>> Eric Mascia as associate director of development for membership and corporate relations. He has extensive marketing and business experience as co-founder of Mu‘umu‘u Heaven, where he remains owner.

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>> Outrigger Enterprise Group has announced the appointment of Kevin Aucello as vice president of Hawaii development. Before joining Outrigger, he held several senior roles at CB Richard Ellis between 1997 to 2007.

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>> CB Richard Ellis has appointed Andres Albano Jr. to head the government real estate advisory group in Hawaii. He is senior vice president of CB Richard Ellis as well as member of the CBRE Investment and Consulting Group and will partner with the CBRE Public Institutions and Education Solutions team in Washington, D.C.