Litigation, Other Commitments and Contingencies, and Disclosures about Guarantees, Disclosures about Guarantees (Details) (USD $)					1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended			3 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2013 Financial Guarantee [Member]	Jan. 31, 2006 Financial Guarantee [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 2004 sale of Perryville facility [Member] Performance Guarantee [Member]	Feb. 28, 2010 Acadia Unit 1 Transaction [Member] Guarantee Issued to Cleco Power on behalf of Acadia [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Acadia Unit 1 Transaction [Member] Guarantee Issued to Cleco Power on behalf of Acadia [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Acadia Unit 1 Transaction [Member] Guarantee Issued to Cleco Power on behalf of Acadia [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Acadia Unit 1 Transaction [Member] Guarantee Issued to Cleco Power on behalf of Acadia [Member]	Feb. 23, 2010 Acadia Unit 1 Transaction [Member] Guarantee Issued to Cleco Power on behalf of Acadia [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Acadia Unit 1 Transaction [Member] Maximum [Member] Guarantee Issued to Cleco Power on behalf of Acadia [Member]	Apr. 30, 2011 Acadia Unit 2 Transaction [Member] Guarantee Issued to Cleco Power on behalf of Acadia [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Acadia Unit 2 Transaction [Member] Guarantee Issued to Cleco Power on behalf of Acadia [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Acadia Unit 2 Transaction [Member] Guarantee Issued to Cleco Power on behalf of Acadia [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Acadia Unit 2 Transaction [Member] Guarantee Issued to Cleco Power on behalf of Acadia [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Acadia Unit 2 Transaction [Member] Guarantee Issued to Cleco Power on behalf of Acadia [Member]	Apr. 29, 2011 Acadia Unit 2 Transaction [Member] Guarantee Issued to Cleco Power on behalf of Acadia [Member]	Feb. 28, 2010 Cleco Power [Member] Acadia Unit 1 Transaction [Member] Guarantee Issued to Cleco Power on behalf of Acadia [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Cleco Power [Member] Lignite Mining Agreement Guarantee [Member] Financial Guarantee [Member]
Disclosures about Guarantees [Abstract]
Liability recognized on the balance sheets	$ 4,906,000			$ 200,000								$ 900,000		$ 900,000				$ 3,800,000
Guarantor Obligations, Maximum Exposure, Undiscounted	4,225,000	500,000		42,400,000	10,000,000							298,800,000		298,800,000			30,000,000	72,500,000
Guarantees, Fair Value Disclosure							0		13,500,000							21,800,000
Guarantor Obligations, Term					P3Y						P3Y
Maximum residual value of indemnification obligation												200,000		200,000
Income from contractual expiration of indemnification						0	400,000	7,200,000		100,000		0	0	6,900,000	11,800,000
Off-balance sheet commitments, expected termination dates [Abstract]
Net amount	4,225,000	500,000	500,000
Less than 1 year	3,725,000
1-3 years	0
3-5 years	0
More than 5 years	500,000
On-balance sheet guarantees, expected termination dates [Abstract]
Net amount committed	4,906,000			200,000								900,000		900,000				3,800,000
Less than 1 year	900,000
1-3 years	0
3-5 years	0
More than 5 years	4,006,000
Total off-balance sheet commitments and on-balance sheet guarantees, expected termination dates [Abstract]
Total net amount committed	9,131,000
Total less than 1 year	4,625,000
Total 1-3 years	0
Total 3-5 years	0
Total more than 5 years	$ 4,506,000