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. 14, 2014 action	Nov. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Jan. 19, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Jun. 24, 2016 petition
Litigation [Line Items]
Provision for rate refund										$ 4,206,000		$ 3,974,000
Accrual for various litigation matters										4,500,000
Gulf Coast Spinning start up costs [Member]
Litigation [Line Items]
Allegations by plaintiff, failure to perform				$ 6,500,000
Gulf Coast Spinning construction of cotton spinning facility [Member]
Litigation [Line Items]
Allegations by plaintiff, failure to perform				$ 60,000,000
Cleco Power [Member]
Litigation [Line Items]
Provision for rate refund										4,206,000		3,974,000
Cleco Power [Member] | MISO Transmission Rates [Member] | Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Member]
Litigation [Line Items]
Return on equity established by FERC (in hundredths)		10.32%					12.38%
Return on equity proposed/recommended (in hundredths)			9.70%				6.68%
Requested rate increase (decrease) (in hundredths)					0.50%
Refunds submitted to MISO	$ 1,200,000
Cleco Power [Member] | LPSC 2014-2015 Fuel Audit [Member]
Litigation [Line Items]
Fuel expenses included in audit								$ 582,600,000
Cost disallowance in audit, excluding interest											$ 0
Cleco Power [Member] | LPSC Nov2010-Dec2015 EAC audit [Member]
Litigation [Line Items]
Environmental expenses included in audit									$ 81,200,000
Number of petitions filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals | petition													6
Cleco Power [Member] | LPSC Nov2010-Dec2015 EAC audit [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Litigation [Line Items]
Cost disallowance in audit, excluding interest												$ 100,000
Cleco Power [Member] | Transmission return on equity [Member] | Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Member]
Litigation [Line Items]
Provision for rate refund										$ 2,100,000
Actions filed in the 9th Judicial District Court [Member] | Alleged Breach of Fiduciary Duties [Member]
Litigation [Line Items]
Loss Contingency, Number of Actions Filed | action						4
Actions filed in the Civil District Court [Member] | Alleged Breach of Fiduciary Duties [Member]
Litigation [Line Items]
Loss Contingency, Number of Actions Filed | action						3