Litigation, Other Commitments and Contingencies, and Disclosures about Guarantees Litigation (Details) (USD $)	0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Apr. 13, 2011 Discrimiation Complaint [Member] claim	Dec. 31, 2010 Discrimiation Complaint [Member] plaintiff	Dec. 31, 2009 Discrimiation Complaint [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Discrimiation Complaint [Member] plaintiff	Dec. 11, 2009 Discrimiation Complaint [Member] employee	Mar. 09, 2010 City of Opelousas Litigation [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Other Litigation Matters [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Cleco Power [Member]	Mar. 09, 2010 Cleco Power [Member] City of Opelousas Litigation [Member] resident claim	Mar. 09, 2010 Minimum [Member] Cleco Power [Member] City of Opelousas Litigation [Member]
Litigation [Abstract]
Number of current employees who filed complaint					8
Number of former employees who filed complaint					4
Minimum amount sought by plaintiffs			$ 35,000,000
Minimum amount sought by additional plaintiff		2,500,000
Number of plaintiffs		13
Number of claims settled and dismissed	1
Number of plaintiffs remaining				12
Number of class action law suits									2
Number of residents in first class action lawsuit						3
Amount owed as a result of alleged overcharges										30,000,000
Number of residents in second class action lawsuit									249
Fuel expenses included in audit								3,260,000,000
Cost disallowance in audit								400,000
Environmental expenses included in audit								2,400,000
Range of possible loss, maximum							7,000,000
Range of possible loss, minimum							$ 3,000,000