Debt, Credit Facilities (Details) (Line of Credit [Member], USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Line of credit facility, amount outstanding	$ 15,000,000
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity	250,000,000
Line of credit facility, interest rate (in hundreths)	1.71%
Line of credit facility, interest rate description	LIBOR plus 1.50% or ABR
Line of credit facility, commitment fee rate (in hundreths)	0.25%
Cleco Power [Member]
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Line of credit facility, amount outstanding	$ 0