Litigation, Other Commitments and Contingencies, and Disclosures about Guarantees Litigation (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended	0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended						12 Months Ended			3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended					0 Months Ended		1 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2010 City of Alexandria [Member]	Apr. 13, 2011 Discrimiation Complaint [Member] claim	Dec. 31, 2010 Discrimiation Complaint [Member] plaintiff	Dec. 31, 2009 Discrimiation Complaint [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Discrimiation Complaint [Member] plaintiff	Dec. 11, 2009 Discrimiation Complaint [Member] employee	Oct. 05, 2007 Discrimiation Complaint [Member] facility	Mar. 09, 2010 City of Opelousas Litigation [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Madison Unit 3 Commitments [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Other Litigation Matters [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Cleco Power [Member]	Mar. 31, 2010 Cleco Power [Member] City of Alexandria [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Cleco Power [Member] City of Alexandria [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Cleco Power [Member] City of Alexandria [Member]	Jan. 21, 2011 Cleco Power [Member] City of Opelousas Litigation [Member] claim	May 11, 2010 Cleco Power [Member] City of Opelousas Litigation [Member] resident	Mar. 09, 2010 Cleco Power [Member] City of Opelousas Litigation [Member] Minimum [Member]	Aug. 05, 2011 Cleco Power [Member] Madison Unit 3 Commitments [Member]	Apr. 30, 2010 Cleco Power [Member] Madison Unit 3 Commitments [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Cleco Power [Member] Madison Unit 3 Commitments [Member]
Litigation [Abstract]
Litigation expense reimbursement to City of Alexandria	$ 3,000,000
Length of new power supply agreement	5 years
Number of extension options on power supply agreement												2
Length of each extension	1 year
Performance bonus payment													6,500,000
Loss contingency, accrual														5,800,000
Number of current employees who filed complaint						8
Number of former employees who filed complaint						4
Minimum amount sought by plaintiffs				35,000,000															32,000,000
Minimum amount sought by additional plaintiff			2,500,000
Number of plaintiffs			13
Number of claims settled and dismissed		1
Number of pending claims					12										2
Number of training facilities where the EEOC has determined that there is a reason to believe that violations had occurred							1
Settlement agreement with charging party and EEOC			100000
Amount owed as result of alleged overcharges																	30,000,000
Number of customers in Opelousas, Louisiana in complaint								3
Number of residents in second class action lawsuit																249
Arbitration decision in favor of Shaw's claims																		32,500,000
Payment from Shaw due to inability to meet performance guarantees and completion of minor or warranty work																				8,000,000
Length of reliability performance test									30 days
Fuel expenses included in audit											3,260,000,000
Environmental expenses included in audit											2,400,000
Range of possible loss, maximum										9,000,000
Range of possible loss, minimum										$ 2,000,000