Litigation, Other Commitments and Contingencies, and Disclosures about Guarantees, Litigation (Details) $ in Thousands	1 Months Ended					3 Months Ended
	Nov. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Nov. 30, 2013	Feb. 28, 2013 plaintiff	Jul. 31, 2010 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2009 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2015 USD ($) plaintiff	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)
Litigation [Abstract]
Provision for rate refund						$ 5,444	$ 2,264
Other Litigation Matters [Member]
Litigation [Abstract]
Amount of estimated possible loss						6,400
Cleco Power [Member]
Litigation [Abstract]
Provision for rate refund						$ 5,444	$ 2,264
Pending Litigation [Member] | Petition for breach of fiduciary duties in proposed merger [Member]
Litigation [Abstract]
Loss contingency, number of plaintiffs (in ones) | plaintiff						7
Dismissed litigation [Member] | Discrimination Complaint [Member]
Litigation [Abstract]
Loss contingency, damages sought, minimum amount				$ 2,500
Loss contingency, number of plaintiffs (in ones) | plaintiff			11
Dismissed litigation [Member] | Minimum [Member] | Discrimination Complaint [Member]
Litigation [Abstract]
Loss contingency, damages sought, minimum amount					$ 35,000
LPSC 2009-2013 audit of fuel [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Litigation [Abstract]
Fuel expenses included in the audit	$ 1,730,000
FERC [Member] | MISO Transmission Rates [Member]
Litigation [Abstract]
Current Return on Equity, Percentage (in hundredths)		12.38%
Proposed Return on Equity, Percentage (in hundredths)		6.68%
Requested increase to Return on Equity, Percentage (in hundredths)	0.50%
FERC [Member] | Transmission ROE [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Litigation [Abstract]
Provision for rate refund						$ 2,400