Schedule I Financial Statements of Cleco Corporation, Condensed Balance Sheet Parentheticals (Details) - $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Oct. 17, 2014
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 1	$ 1
Common stock, authorized (in shares)	100,000,000	100,000,000
Common stock, issued (in shares)	61,058,918	61,051,286
Common stock, outstanding (in shares)	60,482,468	60,421,467
Treasury stock (in shares)	576,450	629,819
Cleco Corporation [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 1	$ 1	$ 1.00
Common stock, authorized (in shares)	100,000,000	100,000,000
Common stock, issued (in shares)	61,058,918	61,051,286
Common stock, outstanding (in shares)	60,482,468	60,421,467
Treasury stock (in shares)	576,450	629,819