Litigation, Other Commitments and Contingencies, and Disclosures about Guarantees, Litigation (Details)		1 Months Ended					24 Months Ended	62 Months Ended
	Feb. 13, 2017 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Nov. 30, 2014	Nov. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Jan. 19, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Jun. 24, 2016 petition
Litigation [Abstract]
Provision for rate refund									$ 3,734,000		$ 3,974,000
Loss Contingency, Estimate of Possible Loss									4,600,000
FERC | MISO Transmission Rates
Litigation [Abstract]
Public Utilities, Requested rate increase (decrease), Percentage (in hundredths)					0.50%
Gulf Coast Spinning start up costs
Litigation [Abstract]
Allegations by plaintiff, failure to perform				$ 6,500,000
Gulf Coast Spinning construction of cotton spinning facility
Litigation [Abstract]
Allegations by plaintiff, failure to perform				$ 60,000,000
Cleco Power [Member]
Litigation [Abstract]
Provision for rate refund									3,734,000		3,974,000
Cleco Power [Member] | LPSC 2014-2015 Fuel Audit
Litigation [Abstract]
Fuel Costs							$ 582,600,000
Cost disallowance in audit, excluding interest										$ 0
Cleco Power [Member] | LPSC Nov2010-Dec2015 EAC audit
Litigation [Abstract]
Environmental expenses included in audit								$ 81,200,000
Number of petitions filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals | petition												6
Cleco Power [Member] | FERC | MISO Transmission Rates
Litigation [Abstract]
Public Utilities, Approved Return on Equity, Percentage (In hundredths)		10.32%				12.38%
Public Utilities, Proposed Return on Equity, Percentage (in hundredths)			9.70%			6.68%
Customer Refundable Fees, Refund Payments	$ 1,200,000
Provision for rate refund									$ 2,000,000
Cleco Power [Member] | Maximum | LPSC Nov2010-Dec2015 EAC audit
Litigation [Abstract]
Cost disallowance in audit, excluding interest											$ 100,000