Fair Value Accounting, Restricted Investments (Details) (USD $)			3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended																3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended
	Jul. 02, 2012 Cleco Power [Member]	Sep. 30, 2007 Cleco Power [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 Cleco Power [Member] Debt Securities [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 Cleco Power [Member] Debt Securities [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Cleco Power [Member] Debt Securities [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 Cleco Power [Member] Municipal Bonds [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Cleco Power [Member] Municipal Bonds [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 Cleco Power [Member] Corporate Bond Securities [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Cleco Power [Member] Corporate Bond Securities [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 Cleco Power [Member] Commercial Paper [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Cleco Power [Member] Commercial Paper [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 Estimated Fair Value [Member] Measured On A Recurring Basis [Member] Municipal Bonds [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Estimated Fair Value [Member] Measured On A Recurring Basis [Member] Municipal Bonds [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 Estimated Fair Value [Member] Measured On A Recurring Basis [Member] Corporate Bond Securities [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Estimated Fair Value [Member] Measured On A Recurring Basis [Member] Corporate Bond Securities [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 Estimated Fair Value [Member] Measured On A Recurring Basis [Member] Cleco Power [Member] Municipal Bonds [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Estimated Fair Value [Member] Measured On A Recurring Basis [Member] Cleco Power [Member] Municipal Bonds [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 Estimated Fair Value [Member] Measured On A Recurring Basis [Member] Cleco Power [Member] Corporate Bond Securities [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Estimated Fair Value [Member] Measured On A Recurring Basis [Member] Cleco Power [Member] Corporate Bond Securities [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 Maximum [Member] Cleco Power [Member] Restricted Storm Reserve [Member] Municipal Bonds [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 Maximum [Member] Cleco Power [Member] Restricted Storm Reserve [Member] Municipal Bonds [Member]
Schedule of Available-for-sale Securities [Line Items]
LPSC authorized storm reserve funding		$ 50,000,000
Amount of restricted cash and cash equivalents transfered to an investment manager	13,000,000
Reconciliation of available-for-sale debt securities from amortized cost to fair value[Abstract]
Amortized Cost			12,572,000	12,572,000	10,877,000	9,774,000	10,228,000	516,000	0	2,282,000	649,000
Total Unrealized Gains			3,000	3,000	3,000	3,000	3,000	0	0	0	0
Total Unrealized Losses			27,000	27,000	28,000	23,000	28,000	4,000	0	0	0
Fair Value			12,548,000	12,548,000	10,852,000	9,754,000	10,203,000	512,000	0	2,282,000	649,000	9,754,000	10,203,000	512,000	0	9,754,000	10,203,000	512,000	0
Unrealized mark-to-market gain (loss) available-for-sale securities																				(100,000)	100,000
Summary of the debt securities that were in an unrealized loss position [Abstract]
Less Than 12 Months Aggregate Unrealized Loss			27,000	27,000		23,000		4,000
Less Than 12 Months Aggregate Related Fair Value			6,040,000	6,040,000		5,528,000		512,000
12 Months or Longer Aggregate Unrealized Loss			0	0		0		0
12 Months or Longer Aggregate Related Fair Value			0	0		0		0
Available-for-sale securities, debt securities by contractual Maturity[Abstract]
One year or less			6,191,000	6,191,000
Over one year through five years			6,357,000	6,357,000
Total fair value			12,548,000	12,548,000
Available-for-sale Securities, Realized Gain (Loss)			$ 0	$ 0