Litigation, Other Commitments and Contingencies, and Disclosures about Guarantees - Litigation (Details)			1 Months Ended					12 Months Ended	24 Months Ended
	Mar. 07, 2018 plaintiff	Apr. 13, 2016 claim	Sep. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016 petition	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Nov. 30, 2014	Nov. 30, 2013 claim	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) generationunit claim	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2017 generationunit	Feb. 28, 2017 USD ($)
Litigation [Line Items]
Provision for rate refund								$ 35,842,000	$ 4,206,000
Accrual for various litigation matters								$ 4,800,000
Gulf Coast Spinning start up costs
Litigation [Line Items]
Startup costs					$ 6,500,000
Gulf Coast Spinning construction of cotton spinning facility
Litigation [Line Items]
Startup costs					$ 60,000,000
CLECO POWER
Litigation [Line Items]
Number of generating units owned | generationunit								9
Provision for rate refund								$ 35,842,000	4,206,000
CLECO POWER | LPSC Jan 2016 To Dec 2017 EAC Audit
Litigation [Line Items]
Environmental expenses included in audit									30,700,000
CLECO POWER | MISO Transmission Rates | FERC
Litigation [Line Items]
Number of claims filed | claim							2	2
Return on equity established by FERC			10.32%				12.38%
Return on equity proposed/recommended				9.70%			6.68%
Requested rate increase						0.50%
Provision for rate refund												$ 1,200,000
CLECO POWER | LPSC 2016-2017 Fuel Audit
Litigation [Line Items]
Fuel expenses included in audit									$ 536,200,000
Cost disallowance in audit, excluding interest										$ 0
CLECO POWER | LPSC Nov2010-Dec2015 EAC audit
Litigation [Line Items]
Number of petitions filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals | petition				6
CLECO POWER | Transmission return on equity | FERC
Litigation [Line Items]
Provision for rate refund								$ 1,900,000
Actions filed in the 9th Judicial District Court | Alleged Breach of Fiduciary Duties
Litigation [Line Items]
Number of actions filed | claim		4
Actions filed in the Civil District Court | Alleged Breach of Fiduciary Duties
Litigation [Line Items]
Number of actions filed | claim		3
Pending Litigation | Perry Bonin, Ace Chandler, and Michael Manuel, et al v. Sabine River Authority of Texas and Sabine River Authority of Louisiana, No. B-160173-C
Litigation [Line Items]
Number of generation units failed to repair | generationunit											1
Number of generating units owned | generationunit											2
Pending Litigation | Larry Addison, Et Al. V. Sabine River Authority Of Texas, Et Al
Litigation [Line Items]
Number of plaintiffs | plaintiff	26