Schedule I Financial Statements of Cleco Corporation, Debt (Details) (USD $)						12 Months Ended	0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	0 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2013 Line of Credit [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 CLECO CORPORATION (Parent Company Only) [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 CLECO CORPORATION (Parent Company Only) [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 CLECO CORPORATION (Parent Company Only) [Member] Line of Credit [Member]	Jan. 31, 2014 CLECO CORPORATION (Parent Company Only) [Member] Line of Credit [Member] Subsequent Event [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 CLECO CORPORATION (Parent Company Only) [Member] Line of Credit [Member] London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]	Jan. 31, 2014 CLECO CORPORATION (Parent Company Only) [Member] Line of Credit [Member] London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member] Subsequent Event [Member]
Debt [Abstract]
Short-term debt outstanding	$ 0	$ 0		$ 0	$ 0
Debt and Capital Lease Obligations	1,330,000,000	1,350,000,000		5,000,000	25,000,000
Long-term Debt and Capital Lease Obligations, Current	17,182,000	91,140,000		0	0
All-in interest rate								1.275%	1.075%
Maximum borrowing capacity			550,000,000			250,000,000
Facility fees (in hundredths)						0.225%	0.175%
Amount outstanding						5,000,000
All-in interest rate				1.445%				1.445%
Available borrowing capacity						245,000,000
Line of Credit Facility amount repaid							$ 5,000,000