Consolidated Statements of Income (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2011
Operating revenue
Electric operations	$ 209,590	$ 238,468
Tolling operations	0	2,781
Other operations	10,946	12,728
Affiliate revenue	0	147
Gross operating revenue	220,536	254,124
Electric customer credits	2,237	(434)
Operating revenue, net	222,773	253,690
Operating expenses
Fuel used for electric generation	73,064	96,968
Power purchased for utility customers	8,637	9,048
Other operations	27,700	27,063
Maintenance	17,235	16,809
Depreciation	31,167	29,098
Taxes other than income taxes	10,030	9,460
Gain (loss) on sales of assets	(33)	10
Total operating expenses	167,800	188,456
Operating income	54,973	65,234
Interest income	34	115
Allowance for other funds used during construction	1,017	1,978
Equity income (loss) from investees, before tax	1	611
Other income	9,375	1,205
Other expense	(1,335)	(1,318)
Interest charges
Interest charges, including amortization of debt expenses, premium and discount, net	20,968	27,328
Allowance for borrowed funds used during construction	(344)	(714)
Total interest charges	20,624	26,614
Income before income taxes	43,441	41,211
Federal and state income tax expense	13,410	12,195
Net income	30,031	29,016
Preferred dividends requirements	0	12
Net income applicable to common stock	30,031	29,004
Average shares of common stock outstanding
Average number of basic common shares outstanding (in shares)	60,372,567	60,576,004
Average number of diluted common shares outstanding (in shares)	60,598,975	60,904,867
Basic earnings per share
Net income applicable to common stock (in dollars per share)	$ 0.50	$ 0.48
Diluted earnings per share
Net income applicable to common stock (in dollars per share)	$ 0.50	$ 0.48
Cash dividends paid per share of common stock (in dollars per share)	$ 0.3125	$ 0.25
Cleco Power [Member]
Operating revenue
Electric operations	209,590	238,468
Tolling operations	0	0
Other operations	10,448	12,243
Affiliate revenue	345	346
Gross operating revenue	220,383	251,057
Electric customer credits	2,237	(434)
Operating revenue, net	222,620	250,623
Operating expenses
Fuel used for electric generation	73,064	96,968
Power purchased for utility customers	9,871	9,048
Other operations	26,343	25,387
Maintenance	16,014	15,613
Depreciation	29,410	27,401
Taxes other than income taxes	8,932	8,388
Gain (loss) on sales of assets	0	(1)
Total operating expenses	163,634	182,804
Operating income	58,986	67,819
Interest income	30	113
Allowance for other funds used during construction	1,017	1,978
Equity income (loss) from investees, before tax	0	0
Other income	1,096	211
Other expense	(1,331)	(1,289)
Interest charges
Interest charges, including amortization of debt expenses, premium and discount, net	18,830	25,116
Allowance for borrowed funds used during construction	(344)	(714)
Total interest charges	18,486	24,402
Income before income taxes	41,312	44,430
Federal and state income tax expense	14,507	14,400
Net income	$ 26,805	$ 30,030