Schedule I Financial Statements of Cleco Holdings (Parent Company Only) - Debt (Details)			1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	May 21, 2021 USD ($)	Feb. 04, 2019 USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2021 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2020 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Short-term debt outstanding				$ 0	$ 75,000,000
Long-term debt outstanding				3,480,000,000
Long-term debt and finance leases due within one year				93,455,000	66,682,000
For the year ending Dec. 31,
2020				133,300,000
2021				200,000,000
2022				267,700,000
2023				333,300,000
Loans Payable
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Aggregate principal amount	$ 266,000,000
Loans Payable | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	1.625%
Loans Payable | ABR
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	0.625%
NRG South Central
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Repayments of long-term debt		$ 400,000,000	$ 400,000,000
Cleco Holdings
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Debt to capital ratio		0.65
Cleco Holdings | Line of Credit
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Borrowings outstanding				$ 0
Cleco Holdings | Line of Credit | Revolving Credit Facility
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Commitment fees	0.275%
Interest rate, potential additional interest	0.125%
Commitment fee, potential additional fee	0.05%
Cleco Holdings | Line of Credit | Revolving Credit Facility | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate				1.625%
Cleco Holdings | Line of Credit | Revolving Credit Facility | ABR
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate				0.625%
Parent Company
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Short-term debt outstanding				$ 0	0
Long-term debt outstanding				1,540,000,000
Long-term debt and finance leases due within one year				67,700,000
Debt to capital ratio	0.650
Repayments of long-term debt				66,000,000	$ 64,000,000	$ 370,000,000
For the year ending Dec. 31,
2019				66,700,000
2020				133,300,000
2021				200,000,000
2022				267,700,000
2023				333,300,000
2024				400,000,000
For the year ending Dec. 31,
2022				0
2023				165,000,000
2024				200,000,000
2025				0
2026				535,000,000
Thereafter				650,000,000
Parent Company | Line of Credit
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Aggregate principal amount	$ 175,000,000
Borrowings outstanding				$ 0
Parent Company | Line of Credit | Revolving Credit Facility
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Commitment fees	0.275%
Interest rate, potential additional interest	0.125%
Commitment fee, potential additional fee	0.05%
Parent Company | Line of Credit | Revolving Credit Facility | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate				1.625%
Parent Company | Line of Credit | Revolving Credit Facility | ABR
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate				0.625%
Parent Company | Loans Payable
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Aggregate principal amount	$ 266,000,000