Document And Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	Apr. 24, 2012
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2012
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Registrant Name	PG&E CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0001004980
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
PG&E Corporation [Member]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		422,320,110
Pacific Gas And Electric Company [Member]
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2012
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Filer Category	Non-accelerated Filer
Entity Registrant Name	PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC Co
Entity Central Index Key	0000075488
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		264,374,809