Consolidated Statements of Income (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2012
Operating revenue
Electric operations	$ 229,425	$ 209,590
Tolling operations	0	0
Other operations	11,543	10,946
Affiliate revenue	0	0
Gross operating revenue	240,968	220,536
Electric customer credits	(21)	2,237
Operating revenue, net	240,947	222,773
Operating expenses
Fuel used for electric generation	85,365	73,064
Power purchased for utility customers	4,856	8,637
Other operations	26,924	27,700
Maintenance	17,635	17,235
Depreciation	34,032	31,846
Taxes other than income taxes	12,634	10,030
(Gain) loss on sales of assets	1,034	(33)
Total operating expenses	182,480	168,479
Operating income	58,467	54,294
Interest income	201	34
Allowance for other funds used during construction	1,164	1,017
Equity income (loss) from investees, before tax	0	1
Other income	2,273	9,375
Other expense	(435)	(656)
Interest charges
Interest charges, including amortization of debt expenses, premium and discount, net	21,831	20,968
Allowance for borrowed funds used during construction	(375)	(344)
Total interest charges	21,456	20,624
Income before income taxes	40,214	43,441
Federal and state income tax expense	13,081	13,410
Net income	27,133	30,031
Net income applicable to common stock	27,133	30,031
Average shares of common stock outstanding
Average number of basic common shares outstanding (in shares)	60,399,697	60,372,567
Average number of diluted common shares outstanding (in shares)	60,667,401	60,598,975
Basic earnings per share
Net income applicable to common stock (in dollars per share)	$ 0.45	$ 0.50
Diluted earnings per share
Net income applicable to common stock (in dollars per share)	$ 0.45	$ 0.50
Cash dividends paid per share of common stock (in dollars per share)	$ 0.3375	$ 0.3125
Cleco Power [Member]
Operating revenue
Electric operations	229,425	209,590
Tolling operations	0	0
Other operations	11,038	10,448
Affiliate revenue	336	345
Gross operating revenue	240,799	220,383
Electric customer credits	(21)	2,237
Operating revenue, net	240,778	222,620
Operating expenses
Fuel used for electric generation	85,365	73,064
Power purchased for utility customers	9,693	9,871
Other operations	25,373	26,343
Maintenance	14,794	16,014
Depreciation	32,330	30,090
Taxes other than income taxes	11,458	8,932
Total operating expenses	179,013	164,314
Operating income	61,765	58,306
Interest income	198	30
Allowance for other funds used during construction	1,164	1,017
Equity income (loss) from investees, before tax		0
Other income	697	1,096
Other expense	(444)	(651)
Interest charges
Interest charges, including amortization of debt expenses, premium and discount, net	21,724	18,830
Allowance for borrowed funds used during construction	(375)	(344)
Total interest charges	21,349	18,486
Income before income taxes	42,031	41,312
Federal and state income tax expense	14,238	14,507
Net income	$ 27,793	$ 26,805