Litigation, Other Commitments and Contingencies, and Disclosures about Guarantees, Litigation (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified			12 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		1 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2013 Other Litigation Matters [Member]	Mar. 09, 2010 Cleco Power [Member] City of Opelousas Litigation [Member] claim resident	Dec. 31, 2010 Minimum [Member] Discrimination Complaint [Member]	Dec. 31, 2009 Minimum [Member] Discrimination Complaint [Member]	Mar. 31, 2010 Minimum [Member] Cleco Power [Member] City of Opelousas Litigation [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 Current Employee [Member] Discrimination Complaint [Member] employee	Jun. 30, 2013 Former Employee [Member] Discrimination Complaint [Member] employee	Mar. 31, 2010 Customer [Member] Cleco Power [Member] City of Opelousas Litigation [Member] customer
Litigation [Abstract]
Loss contingency, damages sought, minimum amount			$ 2.5	$ 35.0	$ 30.0
Loss Contingency, Number of Plaintiffs						5	3	3
Number of residents in second class action lawsuit		249
Number of class action law suits		2
Amount of estimated loss	$ 4.6