Supplemental Guarantor Information (Details 3) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009
Impact of the restrospective application of the change in accounting policy on the Consolidating Statements of Income
Other operating expenses	$ 3,909,000,000	$ 2,696,000,000	$ 2,551,000,000
Pension and OPEB mark-to-market	507,000,000	190,000,000	321,000,000
Provision for depreciation	1,121,000,000	768,000,000	757,000,000
Impairment of long-lived assets	413,000,000	388,000,000	6,000,000
Income before income taxes	1,443,000,000	1,180,000,000	1,040,000,000
Total provision for income taxes	574,000,000	462,000,000	184,000,000
Net income (loss)	869,000,000	718,000,000	856,000,000
Impact of the restrospective application of the change in accounting policy on the Consolidating Balance Sheets
Property, plant and equipment - In service	40,122,000,000	30,276,000,000
Accumulated provision for depreciation	11,839,000,000	11,283,000,000
Total property, plant and equipment	30,337,000,000	20,510,000,000
Total assets	47,326,000,000	35,531,000,000	35,054,000,000
Common stockholders' equity	13,280,000,000	8,984,000,000
Total capitalization	29,015,000,000	21,531,000,000
Accumulated deferred income taxes	5,670,000,000	3,160,000,000
Noncurrent liabilities	2,823,000,000	1,868,000,000
Total liabilities and capitalization	47,326,000,000	35,531,000,000
Impact of the restrospective application of the change in accounting policy on the Consolidating Statements of Cash Flow
Net cash provided from operating activities	3,063,000,000	3,076,000,000	2,465,000,000
Property additions	(2,278,000,000)	(1,963,000,000)	(2,203,000,000)
Net cash provided used for investing activities	(956,000,000)	(1,948,000,000)	(2,185,000,000)
FES Corp [Member]
Impact of the restrospective application of the change in accounting policy on the Consolidating Statements of Income
Other operating expenses	574,000,000	314,000,000	220,000,000
Pension and OPEB mark-to-market	10,000,000	11,000,000	13,000,000
Provision for depreciation	4,000,000	3,000,000	4,000,000
Impairment of long-lived assets	0	0	0
Income before income taxes	(34,000,000)	111,000,000	446,000,000
Total provision for income taxes	25,000,000	(120,000,000)	(52,000,000)
Net income (loss)	(59,000,000)	231,000,000	498,000,000
Impact of the restrospective application of the change in accounting policy on the Consolidating Balance Sheets
Property, plant and equipment - In service	84,000,000	99,000,000
Accumulated provision for depreciation	28,000,000	18,000,000
Total property, plant and equipment	85,000,000	90,000,000
Total assets	7,499,000,000	6,207,000,000
Common stockholders' equity	3,593,000,000	3,619,000,000
Total capitalization	5,076,000,000	5,138,000,000
Accumulated deferred income taxes	12,000,000	0
Noncurrent liabilities	56,000,000	48,000,000
Total liabilities and capitalization	7,499,000,000	6,207,000,000
Impact of the restrospective application of the change in accounting policy on the Consolidating Statements of Cash Flow
Net cash provided from operating activities	(790,000,000)	(260,000,000)	(20,000,000)
Property additions	(24,000,000)	(9,000,000)	(4,000,000)
Net cash provided used for investing activities	(130,000,000)	261,000,000	(563,000,000)
Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Impact of the restrospective application of the change in accounting policy on the Consolidating Statements of Income
Other operating expenses	427,000,000	357,000,000	377,000,000
Pension and OPEB mark-to-market	68,000,000	37,000,000	56,000,000
Provision for depreciation	127,000,000	100,000,000	122,000,000
Impairment of long-lived assets	294,000,000	388,000,000	6,000,000
Income before income taxes	494,000,000	242,000,000	566,000,000
Total provision for income taxes	(112,000,000)	74,000,000	196,000,000
Net income (loss)	606,000,000	168,000,000	370,000,000
Impact of the restrospective application of the change in accounting policy on the Consolidating Balance Sheets
Property, plant and equipment - In service	5,573,000,000	6,214,000,000
Accumulated provision for depreciation	1,813,000,000	2,022,000,000
Total property, plant and equipment	3,955,000,000	4,712,000,000
Total assets	6,667,000,000	6,125,000,000
Common stockholders' equity	3,097,000,000	2,495,000,000
Total capitalization	5,002,000,000	4,614,000,000
Accumulated deferred income taxes	0	0
Noncurrent liabilities	300,000,000	237,000,000
Total liabilities and capitalization	6,667,000,000	6,125,000,000
Impact of the restrospective application of the change in accounting policy on the Consolidating Statements of Cash Flow
Net cash provided from operating activities	926,000,000	380,000,000	790,000,000
Property additions	(205,000,000)	(518,000,000)	(672,000,000)
Net cash provided used for investing activities	(783,000,000)	(349,000,000)	(892,000,000)
Nuclear Generation Corp [Member]
Impact of the restrospective application of the change in accounting policy on the Consolidating Statements of Income
Other operating expenses	578,000,000	511,000,000	497,000,000
Pension and OPEB mark-to-market	93,000,000	59,000,000	81,000,000
Provision for depreciation	150,000,000	148,000,000	142,000,000
Impairment of long-lived assets	0	0	0
Income before income taxes	370,000,000	420,000,000	321,000,000
Total provision for income taxes	58,000,000	153,000,000	117,000,000
Net income (loss)	312,000,000	267,000,000	204,000,000
Impact of the restrospective application of the change in accounting policy on the Consolidating Balance Sheets
Property, plant and equipment - In service	5,711,000,000	5,499,000,000
Accumulated provision for depreciation	2,449,000,000	2,173,000,000
Total property, plant and equipment	4,052,000,000	3,860,000,000
Total assets	5,846,000,000	5,587,000,000
Common stockholders' equity	2,587,000,000	2,265,000,000
Total capitalization	3,228,000,000	3,058,000,000
Accumulated deferred income taxes	510,000,000	449,000,000
Noncurrent liabilities	0	0
Total liabilities and capitalization	5,846,000,000	5,587,000,000
Impact of the restrospective application of the change in accounting policy on the Consolidating Statements of Cash Flow
Net cash provided from operating activities	702,000,000	685,000,000	622,000,000
Property additions	(520,000,000)	(508,000,000)	(547,000,000)
Net cash provided used for investing activities	$ (463,000,000)	$ (632,000,000)	$ (721,000,000)