Document and Entity Information - shares	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2015	Jul. 31, 2015
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000354707
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2015
Amendment Flag	true
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		107,465,645
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Amendment Description	HEI and Hawaiian Electric are filing this Amendment No. 1 on Form 10-Q/A (the Amended Filing) to amend certain parts of their Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2015, originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on August 10, 2015 (the Original Filing).
Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC COMPANY INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000046207
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2015
Amendment Flag	true
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Non-accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		15,805,327
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2