Customer refundable fees, expected refund

No definition available.

Name:	cnl_Customerrefundablefeesexpectedrefund
Namespace Prefix:	cnl_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The percentage of retail earnings to be returned to retail customers, as per the Formula Rate Plan, when the return on equity falls within a certain range.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	cnl_PercentageOfRetailEarningsDueToCustomers
Namespace Prefix:	cnl_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The high range of the return on equity which triggers a retail customer partial refund obligation. All retail earnings must be returned to customers when the return on equity exceeds this high range.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	cnl_ReturnOnEquityForCustomerCreditHighRange
Namespace Prefix:	cnl_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The low range of the return on equity which triggers a retail customer partial refund obligation.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	cnl_ReturnOnEquityForCustomerCreditLowRange
Namespace Prefix:	cnl_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Current regulatory liabilities generally represent obligations to make refunds to customers for various reasons including overpayment.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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

- Definition

Percentage of public utility's approved rate increase (decrease) by regulatory agency.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_PublicUtilitiesApprovedRateIncreaseDecreasePercentage
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Percentage of public utility's approved return on equity.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_PublicUtilitiesApprovedReturnOnEquityPercentage
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

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

- Details

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Period Type:

Electric Customer Credits (Details) (USD $)	53 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
Electric Customer Credits (Details) (USD $)	Jun. 30, 2014	Mar. 31, 2015	Jun. 30, 2014	Dec. 31, 2014
Electric Customer Credits [Line Items]
Accrual for estimated Electric customer credits		2,054,000us-gaap_CustomerRefundLiabilityCurrent		$ 2,264,000us-gaap_CustomerRefundLiabilityCurrent
Cleco Power [Member]
Electric Customer Credits [Line Items]
Accrual for estimated Electric customer credits		2,054,000		2,264,000
Cleco Power [Member] \| LPSC [Member] \| 2010 FRP [Member]
Electric Customer Credits [Line Items]
Target return on equity allowed by FRP (in hundredths)	10.70%
Opportunity to earn target return on equity up to (in hundredths)	11.30%
Percentage of retail earnings within range to be returned to customers (in hundredths)	60.00%
Return on equity for customer credit, low range (in hundredths)	11.30%
Return on equity for customer credit, high range (in hundredths)	12.30%
Cleco Power [Member] \| LPSC [Member] \| FRP extension [Member]
Electric Customer Credits [Line Items]
Target return on equity allowed by FRP (in hundredths)		10.00%
Opportunity to earn target return on equity up to (in hundredths)		10.90%
Percentage of retail earnings within range to be returned to customers (in hundredths)		60.00%
Return on equity for customer credit, low range (in hundredths)		10.90%
Return on equity for customer credit, high range (in hundredths)		11.75%
Cleco Power [Member] \| LPSC [Member] \| 2014 FRP Monitoring Report [Member]
Electric Customer Credits [Line Items]
Amount reflected in monitoring report to be returned to customers			$ 1,600,000