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Commitments and contingencies - (Tables) - HECO (Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. and Subsidiaries) | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2012
Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. and Subsidiaries |
Regulatory projects and legal obligations |
Schedule of changes in asset retirement obligation |
(in thousands) |  | 2012 |  | 2011 |
Balance, January 1 |  | $ | 50,871 |  | $ | 48,630 |
Accretion expense |  | 1,233 |  | 1,641 |
Liabilities incurred |  | — |  | — |
Liabilities settled |  | (2,788 | ) | (681 | )
Revisions in estimated cash flows |  | — |  | 390 |
Balance, September 30 |  | $ | 49,316 |  | $ | 49,980 |

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- Definition Tabular disclosure of the changes in carrying amount of a liability for asset retirement obligations, for changes such as new obligations, changes in estimates of existing obligations, spending on existing obligations, property dispositions, and foreign currency translation. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 410 -SubTopic 30 -Section 50 -Paragraph 5 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6393242&loc=d3e13201-110859 + Details
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