Schedule I Financial Statements of Cleco Corporation, Debt (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended					0 Months Ended	1 Months Ended			12 Months Ended			0 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	0 Months Ended	1 Months Ended		0 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009	Dec. 31, 2011 Cleco Corporation's credit facility draws [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Cleco Corporation's credit facility draws [Member]	Apr. 29, 2011 Bank Term Loan [Member]	Jan. 31, 2011 Bank Term Loan [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Bank Term Loan [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 CLECO CORPORATION (Parent Company Only) [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 CLECO CORPORATION (Parent Company Only) [Member]	Dec. 31, 2009 CLECO CORPORATION (Parent Company Only) [Member]	Apr. 29, 2011 CLECO CORPORATION (Parent Company Only) [Member] Bank Term Loan [Member]	Jan. 31, 2011 CLECO CORPORATION (Parent Company Only) [Member] Bank Term Loan [Member]	Oct. 07, 2011 CLECO CORPORATION (Parent Company Only) [Member] Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Nov. 30, 2010 CLECO CORPORATION (Parent Company Only) [Member] Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 CLECO CORPORATION (Parent Company Only) [Member] Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Oct. 07, 2011 CLECO CORPORATION (Parent Company Only) [Member] Revolving Credit Facility [Member] LIBOR [Member]	Oct. 07, 2011 CLECO CORPORATION (Parent Company Only) [Member] Revolving Credit Facility [Member] ABR [Member]	Jan. 31, 2011 Option 1 [Member] Bank Term Loan [Member]	Jan. 31, 2011 Option 2 [Member] Bank Term Loan [Member]
Debt [Abstract]
Short-term debt outstanding	$ 0	$ 150,000,000					$ 150,000,000			$ 0	$ 150,000,000
Interest rate								2.75%												2.50%	1.50%
Maturity date, subsequent to extension							Aug. 19, 2011							Aug. 19, 2011
Retirement of short-term debt	150,000,000	0	0			150,000,000				150,000,000	0	0	150,000,000
Interest Paid						600,000							600,000
Long-term debt outstanding										10,000,000	15,000,000
Maximum borrowing capacity									550,000,000						250,000,000	200,000,000
Term (in years)																4 years
Maturity date															October 7, 2016	November 23, 2014
Interest rate description																LIBOR plus 2.05%		LIBOR plus 1.50%	ABR plus 0.50%
Fees (in hundredths)															0.25%	0.45%
Gross amount of long-term debt and capital lease obligations	1,372,105,000	1,423,035,000		10,000,000	15,000,000
Amount outstanding																	10,000,000
Available borrowing capacity																	$ 240,000,000