Consolidated Statements of Income (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Operating revenue
Electric operations	$ 277,514	$ 269,759
Other operations	17,732	14,814
Affiliate revenue	0	0
Gross operating revenue	295,246	284,573
Electric customer credits	211	(186)
Operating revenue, net	295,457	284,387
Operating expenses
Fuel used for electric generation	88,125	59,047
Power purchased for utility customers	44,081	52,724
Other operations	28,557	26,993
Maintenance	19,082	32,369
Depreciation	37,278	41,741
Taxes other than income taxes	13,472	14,106
Merger transaction costs	2,140	0
Loss on sale of assets	0	69
Total operating expenses	232,735	227,049
Operating income (loss)	62,722	57,338
Interest income	297	602
Allowance for equity funds used during construction	1,076	1,631
Other income	866	971
Other expense	(589)	(672)
Interest charges
Interest charges, including amortization of debt expense, premium, and discount, net	20,443	20,758
Allowance for borrowed funds used during construction	(321)	(490)
Total interest charges	20,122	20,268
Income before income taxes	44,250	39,602
Federal and state income tax expense	17,328	13,678
Net income	26,922	25,924
Net income applicable to common stock	26,922	25,924
Average number of basic common shares outstanding (in shares)	60,463,693	60,472,969
Average number of diluted common shares outstanding (in shares)	60,700,085	60,713,587
Basic earnings per share
Net income applicable to common stock (in dollars per share)	$ 0.45	$ 0.43
Diluted earnings per share
Net income applicable to common stock (in dollars per share)	$ 0.44	$ 0.43
Dividends declared per share of common stock	$ 0.4000	$ 0.3625
Cleco Power [Member]
Operating revenue
Electric operations	277,514	269,759
Other operations	17,213	14,272
Affiliate revenue	333	335
Gross operating revenue	295,060	284,366
Electric customer credits	211	(186)
Operating revenue, net	295,271	284,180
Operating expenses
Fuel used for electric generation	88,125	59,047
Power purchased for utility customers	44,081	58,191
Other operations	28,482	25,321
Maintenance	18,944	30,256
Depreciation	36,983	40,203
Taxes other than income taxes	12,986	12,974
Total operating expenses	229,601	225,992
Operating income (loss)	65,670	58,188
Interest income	256	602
Allowance for equity funds used during construction	1,076	1,631
Other income	452	363
Other expense	(588)	(509)
Interest charges
Interest charges, including amortization of debt expense, premium, and discount, net	20,223	20,248
Allowance for borrowed funds used during construction	(321)	(490)
Total interest charges	19,902	19,758
Income before income taxes	46,964	40,517
Federal and state income tax expense	18,359	14,210
Net income	$ 28,605	$ 26,307