Disclosures about Segments (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) entity	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) entity	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of transmission interconnection facility subsidiaries | entity	2								2
Revenue
Electric operations									$ 1,142,389	$ 1,225,960	$ 1,047,548
Tolling operations										0	0
Other operations									69,186	67,055	51,002
Electric customer credits									(2,173)	(23,530)	(1,836)
Affiliate revenue									0	0	0
Operating revenue, net	$ 279,403	$ 345,468	$ 289,074	$ 295,457	$ 304,643	$ 371,386	$ 309,070	$ 284,387	1,209,402	1,269,485	1,096,714
Depreciation and amortization									149,579	146,505	142,860
Merger transaction costs									4,591	17,848	0
Interest charges									77,991	73,606	84,254
Interest income									895	1,768	1,105
Income (Loss) from Equity Method Investments									(8)	0	0
Federal and state income tax expense									77,704	67,116	79,575
Net Income									133,669	154,739	160,685
Additions to (Reductions in) Long-Lived Assets										207,636	191,876
Additions to property, plant, and equipment									156,819	207,636	188,614
Equity investment in investees	16,822				14,540				16,822	14,540	14,540
Total segment assets	4,323,354				4,368,418				4,323,354	4,368,418	4,203,548
Operating Segments [Member] | Cleco Power [Member]
Revenue
Electric operations									1,142,389	1,225,960	1,047,548
Tolling operations										0	0
Other operations									67,109	64,893	48,909
Electric customer credits									(2,173)	(23,530)	(1,836)
Affiliate revenue									1,142	1,326	1,338
Operating revenue, net									1,208,467	1,268,649	1,095,959
Depreciation and amortization									147,839	144,026	135,717
Merger transaction costs									0	0
Interest charges									76,560	74,673	82,677
Interest income									725	1,707	1,100
Income (Loss) from Equity Method Investments									0
Federal and state income tax expense									79,294	76,974	79,381
Net Income									141,350	154,316	150,410
Additions to (Reductions in) Long-Lived Assets										206,607	184,684
Additions to property, plant, and equipment									156,357
Equity investment in investees	16,822				14,532				16,822	14,532	14,532
Total segment assets	4,233,337				4,232,942				4,233,337	4,232,942	3,932,717
Operating Segments [Member] | Midstream Segment [Member]
Revenue
Electric operations											0
Tolling operations											31,670
Other operations											2
Electric customer credits											0
Affiliate revenue											0
Operating revenue, net											31,672
Depreciation and amortization											6,043
Interest charges											(331)
Interest income											0
Federal and state income tax expense											7,110
Net Income											4,372
Additions to (Reductions in) Long-Lived Assets											4,106
Equity investment in investees											0
Total segment assets											225,832
Operating Segments [Member] | Corporate and Other [Member]
Revenue
Electric operations									0	0	0
Tolling operations										5,467	0
Other operations									2,078	2,163	2,091
Electric customer credits									0	0	0
Affiliate revenue									57,323	56,031	55,145
Operating revenue, net									59,401	63,661	57,236
Depreciation and amortization									1,739	2,479	1,100
Merger transaction costs									4,592	17,848
Interest charges									1,149	(1,538)	1,274
Interest income									(111)	(410)	(628)
Income (Loss) from Equity Method Investments									(8)
Federal and state income tax expense									(1,590)	(9,858)	(6,917)
Net Income									(7,681)	424	5,903
Additions to (Reductions in) Long-Lived Assets										1,029	3,086
Additions to property, plant, and equipment									462
Equity investment in investees	0				8				0	8	8
Total segment assets	21,471				248,043				21,471	248,043	87,515
Intersegment Eliminations [Member]
Revenue
Electric operations									0	0	0
Tolling operations										(5,467)	(31,670)
Other operations									(1)	(1)	0
Electric customer credits									0	0	0
Affiliate revenue									(58,465)	(57,357)	(56,483)
Operating revenue, net									(58,466)	(62,825)	(88,153)
Depreciation and amortization									1	0	0
Merger transaction costs									(1)	0
Interest charges									282	471	634
Interest income									281	471	633
Income (Loss) from Equity Method Investments									0
Federal and state income tax expense									0	0	1
Net Income									0	(1)	0
Additions to (Reductions in) Long-Lived Assets										0	0
Additions to property, plant, and equipment									0
Equity investment in investees	0				0				0	0	0
Total segment assets	$ 68,546				$ (112,567)				$ 68,546	$ (112,567)	$ (42,516)