Fair Value Accounting, Carrying Value and Estimated Fair Value (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Carrying Value [Member]
Financial instruments not measured at fair value
Cash equivalents	$ 107,700	$ 64,200
Restricted cash equivalents	21,200	25,384
Long-term debt	1,283,984	1,299,529
Estimated Fair Value [Member]
Financial instruments not measured at fair value
Cash equivalents	107,700	64,200
Restricted cash equivalents	21,200	25,384
Long-term debt	1,466,817	1,463,989
Cleco Power [Member] | Carrying Value [Member]
Financial instruments not measured at fair value
Cash equivalents	106,700	62,000
Restricted cash equivalents	21,179	25,363
Long-term debt	1,256,984	1,265,529
Cleco Power [Member] | Estimated Fair Value [Member]
Financial instruments not measured at fair value
Cash equivalents	106,700	62,000
Restricted cash equivalents	21,179	25,363
Long-term debt	$ 1,439,817	$ 1,429,989