Litigation, Other Commitments and Contingencies, and Disclosures about Guarantees (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Recorded Unconditional Purchase Obligation [Line Items]

Off-Balance Sheet Commitments

Cleco and Cleco Power’s off-balance sheet commitments as of December 31, 2014, are summarized in the following table, and a discussion of the off-balance sheet commitments follows the table. The discussion should be read in conjunction with the table to understand the impact of the off-balance sheet commitments on Cleco and Cleco Power’s financial condition.

	AT DEC. 31, 2014
(THOUSANDS)	FACE AMOUNT
Cleco Corporation
Guarantee issued to Entergy Mississippi on behalf of Attala	$	500
Cleco Power
Obligations under standby letter of credit issued to the Louisiana Department of Labor	3,725
Obligations under standby letter of credit issued to MISO	2,000
Total	$	6,225
There were no reductions against the face amount for any of these commitments.

Future Equity Contributions

The following table summarizes the expected amount of commitment termination per period of off-balance sheet commitments and on-balance sheet guarantees discussed above:

							AT DEC. 31, 2014
			AMOUNT OF COMMITMENT EXPIRATION PER PERIOD
(THOUSANDS)	NET AMOUNT COMMITTED		LESS THAN ONE YEAR		1-3 YEARS		3-5 YEARS		MORE THAN 5 YEARS
Off-balance sheet commitments	$	6,225	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	6,225
On-balance sheet guarantees	3,781		—		—		—		3,781
Total	$	10,006	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	10,006

Equity Investments with an Imputed Interest Rate

The following table contains the disclosures required by the authoritative guidelines for equity investments with an imputed interest rate:

(THOUSANDS)
Equity contributions, imputed interest rate 6%
Principal payment schedule above:	$	9,966
Less:  unamortized discount	862
Total	$	9,104

Future Minimum Capital Lease Payments

The principal amounts payable under the capital lease agreements for each year through 2017 are as follows:

YEAR ENDING DEC. 31,	(THOUSANDS)
Amounts payable under capital lease agreements
2015	$	2,448
2016	$	2,607
2017	$	1,818

Cleco Power [Member]

Recorded Unconditional Purchase Obligation [Line Items]

Long-Term Purchase Obligations

The aggregate amount of payments required under such obligations at December 31, 2014, is as follows:

YEAR ENDING DEC. 31,	(THOUSANDS)
2015	$	92,934
2016	31,489
2017	18,328
2018	14,905
2019	3,688
Total long-term purchase obligations	$	161,344

Capital Leases by Major Classes

The following is an analysis of the leased property under capital leases by major classes:

	AT DEC. 31,
CLASSES OF PROPERTY (THOUSANDS)	2014		2013
Barges	$	6,486	$	8,918
Less: accumulated amortization	2,306		2,171
Net capital leases	$	4,180	$	6,747

Future Minimum Capital Lease Payments

The principal amounts payable under the capital lease agreements for each year through 2017 are as follows:

YEAR ENDING DEC. 31,	(THOUSANDS)
Amounts payable under capital lease agreements
2015	$	2,448
2016	$	2,607
2017	$	1,818

The following is a schedule by years of future minimum lease payments under capital leases together with the present value of the net minimum lease payments as of December 31, 2014:

(THOUSANDS)
Years ending December 31,
2015	$	3,725
2016	3,735
2017	2,480
Total minimum lease payments	$	9,940
Less:  executory costs	2,485
Net minimum lease payments	$	7,455
Less:  amount representing interest	582
Present value of net minimum lease payments	$	6,873
Current liabilities	$	2,448
Non-current liabilities	$	4,425

New Markets Tax Credit [Member]

Recorded Unconditional Purchase Obligation [Line Items]

Future Equity Contributions

The following table reflects remaining future equity contributions:

YEAR ENDING DEC. 31,	(THOUSANDS)
2015	$	4,552
2016	2,707
2017	2,707
Total	$	9,966