Litigation, Other Commitments and Contingencies, and Disclosures about Guarantees, Long-Term Purchase Obligations (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Cleco Power [Member] | Purchase of coal, petroleum coke, limestone, entergy capacity and energy delivery facilities [Member]
Payments required under long-term purchase obligations [Abstract]
Payments under long-term purchase obligations	$ 105,300,000	$ 59,200,000	$ 97,400,000
2014	77,089,000
2015	14,980,000
2016	15,606,000
2017	17,262,000
2018	15,424,000
Total long-term purchase obligations	140,361,000
Cleco Corporation [Member]
Payments required under long-term purchase obligations [Abstract]
Total long-term purchase obligations	$ 0