Affiliate Transactions (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Affiliate revenue	$ 0	$ 0	$ 202,000
Related Party Transaction, Due from (to) Related Party [Abstract]
Due from (to) related parties	0	0
Cleco Power [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Affiliate revenue	1,338,000	1,372,000	1,389,000
Other income from related parties	157,000	40,000	155,000
Total Revenue from Affiliate Transactions	1,495,000	1,412,000	1,544,000
Related Party Transaction, Due from (to) Related Party [Abstract]
Accounts receivable - affiliate	1,045,000	2,991,000
Accounts payable - affiliate	8,386,000	10,097,000
Non-cash equity contributions from parent	0	0	0
Transfer of pension plan liability and an equal amount of cash	2,481,000	2,161,000
Cleco Corporation [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Other income from related parties	26,000	0	10,000
Related Party Transaction, Due from (to) Related Party [Abstract]
Accounts receivable - affiliate	379,000	139,000
Accounts payable - affiliate	389,000	1,140,000
Distribution Made to Limited Liability Company (LLC) Member, Cash Distributions Paid	105,000,000	58,000,000	130,000,000
Support Group [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Affiliate revenue	1,318,000	1,335,000	1,349,000
Related Party Transaction, Due from (to) Related Party [Abstract]
Accounts receivable - affiliate	634,000	2,777,000
Accounts payable - affiliate	5,972,000	7,528,000
Transfer of pension plan liability and an equal amount of cash	2,193,000	1,881,000
Midstream [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Affiliate revenue	0	14,000	14,000
Related Party Transaction, Due from (to) Related Party [Abstract]
Accounts receivable - affiliate	27,000	27,000
Accounts payable - affiliate	1,000	5,000
Transfer of pension plan liability and an equal amount of cash	288,000	280,000
Evangeline [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Affiliate revenue	20,000	23,000	26,000
Other income from related parties	68,000	11,000	12,000
Related Party Transaction, Due from (to) Related Party [Abstract]
Accounts receivable - affiliate	4,000	6,000
Accounts payable - affiliate	2,024,000	1,401,000
Diversified Lands [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Other income from related parties	45,000	17,000	124,000
Related Party Transaction, Due from (to) Related Party [Abstract]
Accounts receivable - affiliate	1,000	42,000
Accounts payable - affiliate	0	23,000
Acadia [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Affiliate revenue			200,000
Perryville [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Other income from related parties	10,000	6,000	4,000
Attala [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Other income from related parties	8,000	6,000	5,000
Other Operations [Member] | Support Group [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Expenses from transactions with related parties	48,694,000	43,171,000	43,124,000
Maintenance [Member] | Support Group [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Expenses from transactions with related parties	1,263,000	1,437,000	1,625,000
Taxes other than income taxes [Member] | Support Group [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Expenses from transactions with related parties	(6,000)	(54,000)	(1,000)
Power purchased for utility customers [Member] | Evangeline [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Expenses from transactions with related parties	31,670,000	25,559,000	0
Other Expense [Member] | Support Group [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Expenses from transactions with related parties	306,000	932,000	1,244,000
Other Expense [Member] | Evangeline [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Expenses from transactions with related parties	42,000	0	4,000
Other Expense [Member] | Diversified Lands [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Expenses from transactions with related parties	$ 3,000	$ 0	$ 82,000