Agreement and Plan of Merger (Details) (USD $) In Millions, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Oct. 17, 2014	Feb. 26, 2015	Dec. 31, 2015
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 1	$ 1
Cleco Partners [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Merger Agreement, Required Termination Fee			$ 120.0
Cleco Corporation [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Merger Agreement, Required Termination Fee			180.0
Cleco Corporation [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)			$ 1.00
Share price at the time of the Merger (in dollars per share)			$ 55.37
Cleco Corporation [Member] | Cleco Partners [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Percentage of shareholder approval of the Merger Agreement (in hundreths)				77.00%
Subsequent Event [Member] | Cleco Corporation [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Additional contingency fees payable upon the completion of the Merger					$ 12.0