Consolidated Statements of Income (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009
Operating revenue
Electric operations	$ 1,051,956	$ 1,086,102	$ 808,646
Tolling operations	19,004	26,067	0
Other operations	52,962	44,529	33,651
Affiliate revenue	202	1,564	11,461
Gross operating revenue	1,124,124	1,158,262	853,758
Electric customer credits	(6,811)	(9,596)	0
Operating revenue, net	1,117,313	1,148,666	853,758
Operating expenses
Fuel used for electric generation	383,254	363,550	261,456
Power purchased for utility customers	67,898	141,864	216,906
Other operations	126,413	119,516	109,060
Maintenance	82,076	81,228	51,300
Depreciation	119,790	112,203	78,204
Taxes other than income taxes	36,356	34,626	29,947
Loss on sales of assets	491	338	76
Total operating expenses	816,278	853,325	746,949
Operating income	301,035	295,341	106,809
Interest income	891	409	1,512
Allowance for other funds used during construction	4,947	12,413	73,269
Equity income (loss) from investees, before tax	62,050	38,849	(17,423)
Gain on toll settlement	0	148,402	0
Other income	8,914	5,242	5,581
Other expense	(8,434)	(6,991)	(2,807)
Interest charges
Interest charges, including amortization of debt expenses, premium and discount, net	72,445	100,339	77,228
Allowance for borrowed funds used during construction	(1,787)	(4,563)	(26,173)
Total interest charges	70,658	95,776	51,055
Income before income taxes	298,745	397,889	115,886
Federal and state income tax expense	102,897	142,498	9,579
Net income	195,848	255,391	106,307
Preferred dividends requirements	26	46	46
Preferred stock redemption costs	112	0	0
Net income applicable to common stock	195,710	255,345	106,261
Average shares of common stock outstanding
Average number of basic common shares outstanding (in shares)	60,488,740	60,431,142	60,187,894
Average number of diluted common shares outstanding (in shares)	60,833,564	60,754,589	60,498,205
Basic earnings per share
Net income applicable to common stock (in dollars per share)	$ 3.24	$ 4.23	$ 1.77
Diluted earnings per share
Net income applicable to common stock (in dollars per share)	$ 3.22	$ 4.20	$ 1.76
Cash dividends paid per share of common stock (in dollars per share)	$ 1.1225	$ 0.975	$ 0.900
Cleco Power [Member]
Operating revenue
Electric operations	1,051,956	1,086,102	808,646
Tolling operations	0	0
Other operations	50,948	42,578	33,558
Affiliate revenue	1,389	1,371	1,395
Gross operating revenue	1,104,293	1,130,051	843,599
Electric customer credits	(6,811)	(9,596)	0
Operating revenue, net	1,097,482	1,120,455	843,599
Operating expenses
Fuel used for electric generation	383,254	363,550	261,456
Power purchased for utility customers	67,898	141,864	216,906
Other operations	119,553	111,966	99,704
Maintenance	74,603	72,048	47,179
Depreciation	112,846	105,586	77,064
Taxes other than income taxes	32,157	32,744	29,758
Loss on sales of assets	(9)	47	70
Total operating expenses	790,302	827,805	732,137
Operating income	307,180	292,650	111,462
Interest income	630	379	1,449
Allowance for other funds used during construction	4,947	12,413	73,269
Equity income (loss) from investees, before tax	0	0	0
Gain on toll settlement		0
Other income	3,163	2,007	2,370
Other expense	(6,586)	(6,206)	(3,525)
Interest charges
Interest charges, including amortization of debt expenses, premium and discount, net	98,877	83,294	84,735
Allowance for borrowed funds used during construction	(1,787)	(4,563)	(26,173)
Total interest charges	97,090	78,731	58,562
Income before income taxes	212,244	222,512	126,463
Federal and state income tax expense	69,409	75,107	15,297
Net income	$ 142,835	$ 147,405	$ 111,166