Mililani Mauka Student Wins HECO Prize

Here is the award-winning energy saving idea created by Sara Tanioka of Mililani Mauka Elementary School. Image courtesy of Hawaiian Electric.

A Mililani second-grader is in the “top four” of Hawaiian Electric Company’s annual New

Year’s Resolutions contest for 2014.

The art competition led up to the DOE/HECO Home Energy Challenge, where schools compete to save the most electricity at home over a period of six months. At stake are prizes of $10,000, $6,000 and $3,000 for the winning schools, to be awarded in May.

Sara Tanioka, a student in Laurena Burigsay’s Mililani Mauka Elementary School class, created a welcoming outdoor scene to help with her pitch: “In the year 2014, I promise to conserve electricity at home by: Turn off the TV and go play with your friends outside.”

Other winners also recommended turning off a power source. Angel Tagari of Maemae Elementary, for example, stated: “If my mom and dad were watching television and they fell asleep, I promise to turn off the TV.”