Fair Value Accounting and Financial Instruments - Carrying Value and Estimated Fair Value (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Deferred debt issuance costs not included in the carrying value of long-term debt	$ 16,900	$ 13,200
CLECO POWER
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Deferred debt issuance costs not included in the carrying value of long-term debt	12,600	7,900
CARRYING VALUE
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Long-term debt	3,577,030	3,482,405
CARRYING VALUE | CLECO POWER
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Long-term debt	1,920,431	1,820,254
FAIR VALUE
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Long-term debt	3,284,781	3,752,220
FAIR VALUE | CLECO POWER
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Long-term debt	$ 1,864,342	$ 2,085,944