Fair Value Accounting, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) $ / MW	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($) $ / MW
Fair Value, Net Derivative Asset (Liability) Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Roll Forward]
FTR Forward Price - per MWh, Low | $ / MW	(3.63)	(4.12)
FTR Forward Price - per MWh, High | $ / MW	4.51	7.76
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities, Transfers between Levels, Amount	$ 0	$ 0
Cash and Cash Equivalents [Member]
Fair Value, Net Derivative Asset (Liability) Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Roll Forward]
Institutional Money Market Funds	64,200,000
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents, Current [Member]
Fair Value, Net Derivative Asset (Liability) Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Roll Forward]
Institutional Money Market Funds	9,300,000
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents, Noncurrent [Member]
Fair Value, Net Derivative Asset (Liability) Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Roll Forward]
Institutional Money Market Funds	16,100,000
Cleco Power [Member] | Cash and Cash Equivalents [Member]
Fair Value, Net Derivative Asset (Liability) Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Roll Forward]
Institutional Money Market Funds	62,000,000
Cleco Power [Member] | Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents, Current [Member]
Fair Value, Net Derivative Asset (Liability) Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Roll Forward]
Institutional Money Market Funds	9,300,000
Cleco Power [Member] | Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents, Noncurrent [Member]
Fair Value, Net Derivative Asset (Liability) Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Roll Forward]
Institutional Money Market Funds	16,100,000
FTRs [Member] | Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) [Member]
Fair Value, Net Derivative Asset (Liability) Measured on Recurring Basis, Unobservable Input Reconciliation [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	9,949,000	8,638,000
Unrealized losses	(1,476,000)	(2,651,000)
Purchases	20,319,000	51,200,000
Settlements	(21,394,000)	(47,238,000)
Ending balance	7,398,000	9,949,000
Measured On A Recurring Basis [Member]
Asset Description
Institutional money market funds	89,584,000	63,701,000
FTR assets	7,673,000	10,776,000
Total Assets	97,257,000	74,477,000
Liability Description
Long-term debt	1,463,989,000	1,601,816,000
FTR liabilities	275,000	827,000
Total Liabilities	1,464,264,000	1,602,643,000
Measured On A Recurring Basis [Member] | Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1) [Member]
Asset Description
Institutional money market funds	0	0
FTR assets	0	0
Total Assets	0	0
Liability Description
Long-term debt	0	0
FTR liabilities	0	0
Total Liabilities	0	0
Measured On A Recurring Basis [Member] | Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) [Member]
Asset Description
Institutional money market funds	89,584,000	63,701,000
FTR assets	0	0
Total Assets	89,584,000	63,701,000
Liability Description
Long-term debt	1,463,989,000	1,601,816,000
FTR liabilities	0	0
Total Liabilities	1,463,989,000	1,601,816,000
Measured On A Recurring Basis [Member] | Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) [Member]
Asset Description
Institutional money market funds	0	0
FTR assets	7,673,000	10,776,000
Total Assets	7,673,000	10,776,000
Liability Description
Long-term debt	0	0
FTR liabilities	275,000	827,000
Total Liabilities	275,000	827,000
Measured On A Recurring Basis [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Asset Description
Institutional money market funds	87,363,000	58,680,000
FTR assets	7,673,000	10,776,000
Total Assets	95,036,000	69,456,000
Liability Description
Long-term debt	1,429,989,000	1,544,816,000
FTR liabilities	275,000	827,000
Total Liabilities	1,430,264,000	1,545,643,000
Measured On A Recurring Basis [Member] | Cleco Power [Member] | Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1) [Member]
Asset Description
Institutional money market funds	0	0
FTR assets	0	0
Total Assets	0	0
Liability Description
Long-term debt	0	0
FTR liabilities	0	0
Total Liabilities	0	0
Measured On A Recurring Basis [Member] | Cleco Power [Member] | Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) [Member]
Asset Description
Institutional money market funds	87,363,000	58,680,000
FTR assets	0	0
Total Assets	87,363,000	58,680,000
Liability Description
Long-term debt	1,429,989,000	1,544,816,000
FTR liabilities	0	0
Total Liabilities	1,429,989,000	1,544,816,000
Measured On A Recurring Basis [Member] | Cleco Power [Member] | Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) [Member]
Asset Description
Institutional money market funds	0	0
FTR assets	7,673,000	10,776,000
Total Assets	7,673,000	10,776,000
Liability Description
Long-term debt	0	0
FTR liabilities	275,000	827,000
Total Liabilities	$ 275,000	$ 827,000