Jointly Owned Generation Units (Details) (Cleco Power [Member], USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2014 MW
Jointly Owned Utility Plant Interests [Line Items]
Utility plant in service	$ 487,914
Accumulated depreciation	284,270
Construction work in progress	41,716
Nameplate capacity (MW)	3,340cnl_NamePlateCapacityOfGenerationUnit
Rodemacher Unit #2 [Member]
Jointly Owned Utility Plant Interests [Line Items]
Utility plant in service	98,229
Accumulated depreciation	72,312
Construction work in progress	39,641
Ownership interest percentage (in hundredths)	30.00%
Nameplate capacity (MW)	523
Ownership interest (MW)	157
Dolet Hills [Member]
Jointly Owned Utility Plant Interests [Line Items]
Utility plant in service	389,685
Accumulated depreciation	211,958
Construction work in progress	$ 2,075
Ownership interest percentage (in hundredths)	50.00%
Nameplate capacity (MW)	650
Ownership interest (MW)	325

The entity's ownership interest in the generation unit's name plate capacity (in megawatts).

No definition available.

Name:	cnl_JointlyOwnedUtilityPlantOwnershipShareOfCapacity
Namespace Prefix:	cnl_
Data Type:	num:powerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The capacity (in megawatts) of the jointly owned generation unit.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	cnl_NamePlateCapacityOfGenerationUnit
Namespace Prefix:	cnl_
Data Type:	num:powerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The period end amount owned by the reporting utility of a jointly owned utility plant in service.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 980

-SubTopic 360

-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SAB TOPIC 10.C)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6500719&loc=d3e659983-123033

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher SEC

-Name Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB)

-Number Topic 10

-Section C

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_JointlyOwnedUtilityPlantGrossOwnershipAmountOfPlantInService
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_JointlyOwnedUtilityPlantInterestsLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The period end amount of construction work in progress at a jointly owned electricity generation plant.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_JointlyOwnedUtilityPlantOwnershipAmountOfConstructionWorkInProgress
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The period end amount of accumulated depreciation in a jointly owned electricity generation plant.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_JointlyOwnedUtilityPlantOwnershipAmountOfPlantAccumulatedDepreciation
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The proportionate share of interest (percent) in a jointly owned utility plant.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_JointlyOwnedUtilityPlantProportionateOwnershipShare
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant