Affiliate Transactions (Details) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Affiliate Transaction [Line Items]
affiliate balances that were payable to or receivable from its non-consolidated affiliates	$ 0				$ 0				$ 0	$ 0
Affiliate revenue									0	0	$ 0
Cleco Power [Member]
Affiliate Transaction [Line Items]
Affiliate revenue									1,142,000	1,326,000	1,338,000
Other income									13,000	73,000	157,000
Total Affiliate Revenue									1,155,000	1,399,000	1,495,000
Accounts receivable - affiliate	1,908,000				23,621,000				1,908,000	23,621,000
Accounts payable - affiliate	6,598,000				7,760,000				6,598,000	7,760,000
Distributions to parent	35,000,000	$ 40,000,000	$ 35,000,000	$ 25,000,000	30,000,000	$ 15,000,000	$ 35,000,000	$ 35,000,000	135,000,000	115,000,000	105,000,000
Transfer of pension plan liability and an equal amount of assets									2,055,000	1,687,000
Cleco Corporation [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Affiliate Transaction [Line Items]
Other income									3,000	30,000	26,000
Accounts receivable - affiliate	653,000				22,994,000				653,000	22,994,000
Accounts payable - affiliate	564,000				525,000				564,000	525,000
Distributions to parent									135,000,000	115,000,000	105,000,000
Non-cash equity contributions from parent									0	138,100,000	0
Support Group [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Affiliate Transaction [Line Items]
Affiliate revenue									1,142,000	1,322,000	1,318,000
Other income									0	10,000	0
Accounts receivable - affiliate	1,254,000				626,000				1,254,000	626,000
Accounts payable - affiliate	6,034,000				7,235,000				6,034,000	7,235,000
Transfer of pension plan liability and an equal amount of assets									2,055,000	1,638,000
Midstream [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Affiliate Transaction [Line Items]
Transfer of pension plan liability and an equal amount of assets									0	49,000
Evangeline [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Affiliate Transaction [Line Items]
Affiliate revenue									0	4,000	20,000
Other income									0	9,000	68,000
Diversified Lands [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Affiliate Transaction [Line Items]
Other income									10,000	14,000	45,000
Perryville [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Affiliate Transaction [Line Items]
Other income									0	5,000	10,000
Attala [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Affiliate Transaction [Line Items]
Other income									0	5,000	8,000
Others [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Affiliate Transaction [Line Items]
Accounts receivable - affiliate	1,000				1,000				1,000	1,000
Accounts payable - affiliate	$ 0				$ 0				0	0
Other Operations [Member] | Support Group [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Affiliate Transaction [Line Items]
Expenses from transactions with related parties									53,079,000	50,801,000	48,694,000
Maintenance [Member] | Support Group [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Affiliate Transaction [Line Items]
Expenses from transactions with related parties									1,807,000	2,091,000	1,263,000
Taxes other than income taxes [Member] | Support Group [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Affiliate Transaction [Line Items]
Expenses from transactions with related parties									(3,000)	(9,000)	(6,000)
Other Expense [Member] | Support Group [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Affiliate Transaction [Line Items]
Expenses from transactions with related parties									403,000	339,000	306,000
Other Expense [Member] | Evangeline [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Affiliate Transaction [Line Items]
Expenses from transactions with related parties									0	0	42,000
Other Expense [Member] | Diversified Lands [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Affiliate Transaction [Line Items]
Expenses from transactions with related parties									0	0	3,000
Power purchased for utility customers [Member] | Evangeline [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Affiliate Transaction [Line Items]
Expenses from transactions with related parties									$ 0	$ 5,467,000	$ 31,670,000