Electric utility segment - Utility Projects (Details)	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Nov. 30, 2019 USD ($) MW	Dec. 31, 2022 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2021 USD ($)	Nov. 30, 2021 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2020 transmission_line generationUnit kV	Jun. 10, 2019 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2018 USD ($)
Public Utilities, General Disclosures [Line Items]
Operating lease right-of-use-assets		$ 115,684,000	$ 122,416,000
Valuation allowances and reserves, statement of financial position, not disclosed		reserve account balance
Federal
Public Utilities, General Disclosures [Line Items]
Tax credit deferral period		25 years
State and Local Jurisdiction
Public Utilities, General Disclosures [Line Items]
Tax credit deferral period		10 years
Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Public Utilities, General Disclosures [Line Items]
Operating lease right-of-use-assets		$ 89,318,000	$ 101,470,000
Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. and Subsidiaries | ERP/EAM Implementation Project
Public Utilities, General Disclosures [Line Items]
ERP/EAM project service period (in years)		12 years
ERP/EAM required pass-through savings							$ 246,000,000
ERP/EAM implementation project, expected future O&M expense reductions						$ 150,000,000
ERP/EAM implementation project, future cost avoidance related to capital costs and tax costs						$ 96,000,000
ERP/EAM regulatory liability for operation and maintenance expense reductions		$ 10,500,000
Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. and Subsidiaries | West Loch PV Project
Public Utilities, General Disclosures [Line Items]
Solar project, energy production (in megawatts) | MW	20
Solar project, project cap	$ 67,000,000
Solar project, project cap for in-kind work	$ 4,700,000
Solar project, cost incurred		60,500,000
Federal nonrefundable tax credits		14,700,000
State nonrefundable tax credits		14,000,000
Operating lease right-of-use-assets		6,400,000
Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. and Subsidiaries | Waena Switchyard/Synchronous Condenser Project
Public Utilities, General Disclosures [Line Items]
Number of extended transmission lines | transmission_line					2
Number of kilovolts | kV					69
Number of generating units converting to synchronous condensers | generationUnit					2
Renewable energy generation project, approved funds				$ 38,800,000
Renewable energy generation project, incurred cost		13,200,000
Hawaiian Electric | PCB Contamination
Public Utilities, General Disclosures [Line Items]
Valuation allowances and reserves		9,900,000
Hawaiian Electric | ERP/EAM Implementation Project
Public Utilities, General Disclosures [Line Items]
ERP/EAM regulatory liability for operation and maintenance expense reductions		4,000,000
Hawaii Electric Light | ERP/EAM Implementation Project
Public Utilities, General Disclosures [Line Items]
ERP/EAM regulatory liability for operation and maintenance expense reductions		2,600,000
Maui Electric
Public Utilities, General Disclosures [Line Items]
Additional accrued investigation and estimated cleanup costs		2,600,000
Maui Electric | ERP/EAM Implementation Project
Public Utilities, General Disclosures [Line Items]
ERP/EAM regulatory liability for operation and maintenance expense reductions		$ 3,900,000
Regulatory liability, amortization period		5 years