8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report: July 3, 2008

Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter	Commission File Number	I.R.S. Employer Identification No.
Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc.	1-8503	99-0208097
Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc.	1-4955	99-0040500

State of Hawaii

(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)

900 Richards Street, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

(Address of principal executive offices and zip code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:

(808) 543-5662—Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (HEI)

(808) 543-7771—Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. (HECO)

None

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

¨ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

¨ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 7.01. Regulation FD Disclosure.

On July 3, 2008, HECO issued a news release, “Hawaiian Electric files 2009 rate case—Request includes cost of new biodiesel unit at Campbell Industrial Park.” A copy of the news release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99 and incorporated by reference into this Item 7.01.

Item 8.01 Other Events.

The following is an update to the HECO discussion in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” under “Most recent rate requests”, which is incorporated herein by reference to pages 46-49 of HEI’s and HECO’s Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2008.

HECO 2009 Test Year Rate Case

On July 3, 2008, HECO filed a request with the Public Utilities Commission of the State of Hawaii (PUC) for a general rate increase of $97.0 million or 5.2% over the electric rates currently in effect, based on a 2009 test year, an 8.81% rate of return on rate base, an 11.25% return on common equity and a $1.408 billion rate base. HECO’s electric rates currently in effect include an interim rate increase granted by the PUC in October 2007 in HECO’s 2007 test year rate case (amounting to $77.9 million based on the final decision in HECO’s 2005 test year rate case), which is subject to a final decision from the PUC, and is subject to refund with interest if and to the extent that the final decision provides for a lesser increase. HECO is requesting an interim increase in the amount of $73.1 million as soon as practicable upon the PUC’s review of its 2009 test year rate increase application, and $23.9 million upon the in service date of the HECO’s new 110 MW generation facility being constructed at Campbell Industrial Park.

In addition to the costs related to HECO’s new 110 MW generating facility, the proposed rate increase is required to recover investments in other capital projects to be completed in 2008 and 2009 to maintain and improve system reliability, higher operation and maintenance costs required for HECO’s electrical system, and higher depreciation expenses since the last rate case.

As part of HECO’s 2009 test year rate case filing, HECO’s financing cost was based in part on gross capital expenditures of $205 million. The $205 million reflects a $33 million increase from the estimate of gross capital expenditures for 2009 included in the previous five-year (2008-2012) consolidated utility forecast of $1.3 billion, as a result of further review of investments needed for infrastructure reliability. The PUC may grant an interim increase within 10 to 11 months following the filing of the application, however, there can be no assurance of that interim increase or the amount of that increase. Similarly, the timing and amount of any final increase is subject to the discretion of the PUC.

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d)     Exhibits

99     News release dated July 3, 2008

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrants have duly caused this report to be signed on their behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized. The signature of the undersigned companies shall be deemed to relate only to matters having reference to such companies and any subsidiaries thereof.

HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, INC.     (Registrant)	HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC COMPANY, INC.     (Registrant)
/S/    CURTIS Y. HARADA	/S/    TAYNE S. Y. SEKIMURA
Curtis Y. Harada Controller and Acting Financial Vice President, Treasurer, and Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer of HEI)	Tayne S. Y. Sekimura Senior Vice President, Finance and Administration (Principal Financial Officer of HECO)
Date: July 7, 2008	Date: July 7, 2008

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EX-99

Exhibit 99

Contact:   Darren Pai                    (808) 543-7753 For Immediate Release July 3, 2008

Hawaiian Electric files 2009 rate request

Request includes cost of new biodiesel unit at Campbell Industrial Park

(Honolulu, Hawaii) Hawaiian Electric Company today is submitting to the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC) a request for a rate increase in 2009 to cover costs for its new biodiesel generating unit and other projects, as well as increasing costs for the operation and maintenance of the Oahu electrical system. If approved, the request would result in an overall increase of 5.2% above current electric rates in mid-2009 at the earliest. The PUC and the Division of Consumer Advocacy will conduct an extensive review of the request, so any rate increase is not expected for some time.

“There’s never a good time to ask for a rate increase, but we have a responsibility to meet the current and future energy needs of our residential and business customers on Oahu,” said Robbie Alm, Hawaiian Electric executive vice president for public affairs. “That means adding more renewable energy resources like our new biodiesel generating unit and making the investments to maintain and upgrade the electric grid. A strong electric system is needed both for reliable service, and to support more renewable energy and a future smart grid that can provide customers expanded options, including more control over their electric bills.”

The 5.2% request, or $97 million, also incorporates tiered residential electric rates to reward customers who practice energy conservation with lower rates for lower usage. With the tiered rates, the majority of residential customers would see a lesser increase of between 3% and 4%. If the entire increase is approved, a typical residential household using 600 kilowatt-hours a month would see its monthly bill increase by $6.77, from $176.85 to $183.62.

The filing also incorporates residential time-of-use rates to encourage customers to move usage away from the 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. peak demand time to hours when generation reserves are usually greater.

“The rising cost of fuel has affected the price of almost everything in Hawaii, including air travel, marine transportation and electricity,” Alm said. “Our customers pay the actual cost of the fuel used to make electricity, not a penny more. We don’t make a profit on fuel, but we know that doesn’t make the current situation for customers any easier. Hawaii needs to move away from oil and we have a central role to play in that move.”

More…

Hawaiian Electric Files for 2009 Rate Increase

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July 3, 2008

The Campbell Industrial Park generating unit, to be fueled with renewable biodiesel, was approved by the PUC in May 2007 and is expected to be in service in August 2009. It will be the first centralized power plant built on Oahu in more than 17 years and is most needed during the high demand evening hours. Over the past several years, Hawaiian Electric has had to call upon customers for voluntary conservation when generation reserves became too narrow.

In addition to the needed reliability benefits, Alm cited the positive environmental impact of the project.

“We are moving forward in a very big way to ‘green’ our power grid on Oahu with a unit that burns biodiesel instead of fossil fuel, helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Alm. Hawaiian Electric has committed that all biodiesel it uses will comply with strict sustainable sourcing standards developed in partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council, and that it intends to use local biofuel feedstocks as soon as possible.

The new unit will be a combustion turbine, which can start very quickly in emergencies and can also increase or decrease power output quickly. This capability can help maintain reliability as Oahu’s grid adds more as-available renewable energy sources, such as wind power.

The biodiesel unit is one of a number of actions Hawaiian Electric is taking to increase the portfolio of renewable energy sources on Oahu. Recently, the utility issued a Request for Proposals for projects to generate at least 100 megawatts of added renewable energy for the island. The company also is negotiating with several other developers for additional renewable projects using sources such as wind, Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) and biomass power.

In addition, the company’s energy conservation and efficiency programs are among the nation’s most successful, with more than 42,000 solar water heaters installed since 1996, 1.2 million compact fluorescent light (CFLs) bulbs sold in the last two years, more than 14,000 applications filed for EnergyStar rebates since the program began less than a year ago, and 8,000 business efficiency projects initiated under the company’s rebate programs.

The requested increase would cover more than $375 million in investments in new capital projects to be completed in 2008 or 2009, including:

• The 110 MW new biofueled generating unit and related 138 kV transmission line at Campbell Industrial Park;

• New air quality monitoring stations and a reverse osmosis water line that will allow the Kahe power plant to use non-potable water for its operations;

• Costs related to a new 218 kW photovoltaic system at the company’s Archer Lane substation;

• Replacement of fiber optic cables on Leeward transmission lines, used to send data to operate protective relays and for other operations-related communications;

More…

Hawaiian Electric Files for 2009 Rate Increase

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July 3, 2008

• New or expanded substations and related lines, such as at Ko’Olina and Ocean Pointe, to support growth and improve service;

• Transmission and distribution improvements and a new transformer for the Mikilua substation serving the Leeward Coast;

• Replacement and upgrading of underground lines serving part of Waikiki to improve reliability;

• Replacement and upgrading of underground lines serving other parts of Oahu, including the Puuloa Road widening project and in Makakilo;

• Upgrades to the company’s microwave communications and mobile radio system and upgraded emergency generation for key company facilities;

• Power plant control room and boiler upgrades, and other upgrades or replacements to increase reliability of existing aging generating units; and

• Investments in overhead and underground cables, as well as transformers, poles, meters, and other facilities to maintain reliable service and fulfill new service requests from customers.

Increasing maintenance costs also include more frequent inspections of utility lines and poles, increased vegetation management and servicing of generators, which have been running harder and longer as power generation reserve margins have narrowed over time. Sharp increases in the cost of steel and other industrial materials also are contributing to higher overall operating and maintenance costs.

Hawaiian Electric also has an open rate case which was filed in late 2006. The PUC authorized an interim increase for that filing in October 2007. A 5.6% increase for that case is already reflected in bills. The 2007 request included cost recovery for projects such a new System Operations Dispatch Center, facilities supporting smaller distributed generating units installed at substation sites, and other significant reliability investments. A final decision on that request is pending PUC approval.

The PUC is expected to hold a public hearing on the proposed 2009 increase later this year and an evidentiary hearing next year. The PUC may grant an interim increase within 10 to 11 months following Hawaiian Electric’s application; however, there is no guarantee of such an interim increase. The timing and amount of any final increase is at the discretion of the PUC.

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