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Pension Plan and Employee Benefits (Tables)
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Defined Benefit Plans and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans [Line Items]  
Schedule of Reconciliation of Benefit Obligations, Plan Assets and Funded Status of Pension Plans
The employee pension plan and Other Benefits plan obligation, plan assets, and funded status at December 31, 2023, and 2022 are presented in the following table:
 PENSION BENEFITSOTHER BENEFITS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DEC. 31,FOR THE YEAR ENDED DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)2023202220232022
Change in benefit obligation
Benefit obligation at beginning of period
$500,869 $680,417 $43,306 $55,257 
Service cost
4,977 8,589 1,472 2,204 
Interest cost
26,423 19,841 2,285 1,484 
Plan participants’ contributions
— — — 1,904 
Actuarial loss (gain)
26,300 (174,733)(5,110)(10,289)
Expenses paid
(3,018)(3,744)— — 
Benefits paid(30,069)(29,501)(5,117)(7,254)
Benefit obligation at end of period
525,482 500,869 47,056 43,306 
Change in plan assets
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of period
402,285 527,427 — — 
Actual (loss) gain return on plan assets38,761 (91,897)— — 
Employer contributions
200 — — — 
Expenses paid
(3,018)(3,744)— — 
Benefits paid(30,069)(29,501)— — 
Fair value of plan assets at end of period
408,159 402,285 — — 
Unfunded status$(117,323)$(98,584)$(47,056)$(43,306)
SERP’s funded status at December 31, 2023, and 2022 is presented in the following table:

 SERP BENEFITS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)20232022
Change in benefit obligation
Benefit obligation at beginning of period
$68,427 $93,179 
Service cost142 227 
Interest cost3,604 2,679 
Actuarial gain(345)(22,097)
Benefits paid(4,366)(5,561)
Benefit obligation at end of period
$67,462 $68,427 
Schedule of Amounts Recognized in Balance Sheet
The current and non-current portions of the Pension Benefits liability for Cleco and Cleco Power at December 31, 2023, and 2022 are as follows:

AT DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)20232022
Current$25,685 $— 
Non-current$91,638 $98,584 
The current and non-current portions of the Other Benefits liability for Cleco and Cleco Power at December 31, 2023, and 2022 are as follows:
Cleco
AT DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)20232022
Current$5,241 $5,017 
Non-current$41,815 $38,366 
The current and non-current portions of the SERP liability for Cleco and Cleco Power at December 31, 2023, and 2022 are as follows:
Cleco
AT DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)20232022
Current$4,593 $4,713 
Non-current$62,868 $63,714 
Schedule of Accumulated Benefit Obligation
The employee pension plan accumulated benefit obligation at December 31, 2023, and 2022 is presented in the following table:

 PENSION BENEFITS
AT DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)20232022
Accumulated benefit obligation$505,508 $481,398 
SERP’s accumulated benefit obligation at December 31, 2023, and 2022 is presented in the following table:

 SERP BENEFITS
AT DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)20232022
Accumulated benefit obligation$67,462 $68,427 
Schedule of Amounts Recognized in Other Comprehensive Income
The following table presents the net actuarial gains/losses included in other comprehensive income for Other Benefits and in regulatory assets for pension related to current year gains and losses as a result of being included in net periodic benefit costs for the employee pension plan and Other Benefits plan for the years ended December 31, 2023, and 2022:
PENSION BENEFITSOTHER BENEFITS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DEC. 31,FOR THE YEAR ENDED DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)2023202220232022
Net actuarial loss (gain) occurring during period
$17,082 $(58,124)$5,110 $(10,289)
Net actuarial loss (gain) amortized during period
$— $12,332 $(45)$1,207 
The following table presents net actuarial gains/losses and prior service credits included in other comprehensive income or regulatory assets related to current year gains and losses as a result of being amortized as a component of net periodic benefit costs for SERP for December 31, 2023, and 2022:

 SERP BENEFITS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)20232022
Net actuarial gain occurring during year$(345)$(22,097)
Net actuarial loss amortized during year
$(63)$1,049 
Prior service credit amortized during year
$(215)$(215)
Schedule of Amounts Recognized in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income
The following table presents net actuarial gains/losses in accumulated other comprehensive income that have not been recognized as components of net periodic benefit costs for the employee pension plan and Other Benefits plans at December 31, 2023, and 2022:

PENSION BENEFITSOTHER BENEFITS
AT DEC. 31,AT DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)2023202220232022
Net actuarial loss$64,399 $47,317 $13,103 $13,705 
The following table presents net actuarial losses and prior service credit in accumulated other comprehensive income and regulatory assets that have not been recognized as components of net periodic benefit costs for SERP at December 31, 2023, and 2022:
 SERP BENEFITS
AT DEC. 31
(THOUSANDS)20232022
Net actuarial loss$7,819 $8,241 
Prior service credit$(1,085)$(1,299)
Schedule of Components of Net Periodic Pension and Other Benefit Costs The components of net periodic pension and Other Benefits costs for 2023, 2022, and 2021 are as follows:
PENSION BENEFITSOTHER BENEFITS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DEC. 31,FOR THE YEAR ENDED DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)202320222021202320222021
Components of periodic benefit costs
Service cost$4,977 $8,589 $10,516 $1,472 $2,204 $2,425 
Interest cost26,423 19,841 18,668 2,285 1,484 1,283 
Expected return on plan assets(29,544)(24,706)(22,801)— — — 
Amortizations
Net loss (gain)
— 12,332 20,738 (45)1,210 1,523 
Net periodic benefit cost$1,856 $16,056 $27,121 $3,712 $4,898 $5,231 
Special/contractual termination benefits— — 3,270 — — — 
Total benefit cost$1,856 $16,056 $30,391 $3,712 $4,898 $5,231 
The components of the net SERP costs for 2023, 2022, and 2021 are as follows:
 SERP BENEFITS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)202320222021
Components of periodic benefit costs
Service cost$142 $227 $232 
Interest cost3,604 2,679 2,538 
Amortizations
Prior service credit(215)(215)(215)
Net loss(63)1,049 1,228 
Net periodic benefit cost$3,468 $3,740 $3,783 
Schedule of Weighted-Average Assumptions Used to Determine Benefit Obligation and Net Periodic Costs The assumptions used to determine the benefit obligation and the periodic costs are as follows:
 PENSION BENEFITSOTHER BENEFITS
AT DEC. 31,AT DEC. 31,
 2023202220232022
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine the benefit obligation    
Discount rate5.13 %5.44 %5.25 %5.61 %
Rate of compensation increase
3.50 %2.76 %N/AN/A
 PENSION BENEFITSOTHER BENEFITS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DEC. 31,FOR THE YEAR ENDED DEC. 31,
 202320222021202320222021
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine the net benefit cost
Discount rate5.44 %2.98 %2.74 %5.61 %2.82 %2.39 %
Expected return on plan assets
6.60 %5.25 %5.00 %N/AN/AN/A
Rate of compensation increase
2.76 %2.73 %2.71 %N/AN/AN/A
The assumptions used to determine the benefit obligation and the periodic costs are as follows:
 SERP BENEFITS
AT DEC. 31,
 20232022
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine the benefit obligation
  
Discount rate5.13 %5.46 %
Rate of compensation increaseN/AN/A
 SERP BENEFITS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DEC. 31,
 202320222021
Weighted-average assumptions used to determine the net benefit cost
Discount rate5.46 %2.95 %2.64 %
Rate of compensation increaseN/AN/AN/A
Schedule of Fair Value Allocation of Pension Plan The following tables disclose the pension plan’s fair value of financial assets measured on a recurring basis:
(THOUSANDS)AT DEC. 31, 2023QUOTED PRICES
IN ACTIVE
MARKETS FOR
IDENTICAL ASSETS
(LEVEL 1)		SIGNIFICANT
OTHER
OBSERVABLE
INPUTS
(LEVEL 2)		SIGNIFICANT
UNOBSERVABLE
INPUTS
(LEVEL 3)
Asset Description    
Cash equivalents$22,250 $— $22,250 $— 
Government securities
14,418 — 14,418 — 
Mutual funds
Domestic
85,821 85,821 — — 
International
42,083 42,083 — — 
Real estate funds35,032 — — 35,032 
Corporate debt94,677 — 94,677 — 
Total$294,281 $127,904 $131,345 $35,032 
Investments measured at net asset value*112,110 
Interest accrual1,768 
Total net assets$408,159 
*Investments measured at net asset value consist of Common/
collective trust.
(THOUSANDS)AT DEC. 31, 2022QUOTED PRICES
IN ACTIVE
MARKETS FOR
IDENTICAL ASSETS
(LEVEL 1)		SIGNIFICANT
OTHER
OBSERVABLE
INPUTS
(LEVEL 2)		SIGNIFICANT
UNOBSERVABLE
INPUTS
(LEVEL 3)
Asset Description    
Cash equivalents$7,345 $— $7,345 $— 
Government securities
33,019 — 33,019 — 
Mutual funds
Domestic
78,349 78,349 — — 
International
39,722 39,722 — — 
Real estate funds39,370 — — 39,370 
Corporate debt103,940 — 103,940 — 
Total$301,745 $118,071 $144,304 $39,370 
Investments measured at net asset value*98,505 
Interest accrual2,035 
Total net assets$402,285 
*Investments measured at net asset value consist of Common/
collective trust.
The general funded status to target portfolio allocations are as follows:

FUNDED STATUS
RETURN-SEEKING
LIABILITY-HEDGING
CREDIT
LIABILITY-HEDGING
GOVERNMENT
≤ 80%
60%
20%
20%
80% to 100%
60% to 47%
20% to 37%
20% to 16%
100% to 115%
47% to 10%
37% to 83%
16% to 7%
≥ 115%
10%
83%
7%
Schedule of Pension Plan Unobservable Input Reconciliation
The following is a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances of the pension plan’s real estate funds measured at fair value on a recurring basis using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) during the years ended December 31, 2023, and 2022:

(THOUSANDS)
Balance, Dec. 31, 2021
$39,091 
Realized losses
(2,451)
Unrealized gains4,112 
Purchases2,027 
Sales(3,409)
Balance, Dec. 31, 2022
$39,370 
Realized losses66 
Unrealized losses
(5,786)
Purchases2,021 
Sales(639)
Balance, Dec. 31, 2023
$35,032 
Schedule of Projected Benefit Payments and Projected Receipts
The projected benefit payments for the employee pension plan and Other Benefits plan for each year through 2028 and the next five years thereafter are listed in the following table:

(THOUSANDS)PENSION BENEFITSOTHER
BENEFITS,
GROSS
For the year ending Dec. 31,
2024$31,857 $5,241 
2025$32,793 $5,182 
2026$33,268 $5,167 
2027$33,760 $5,130 
2028$34,355 $5,049 
Five years thereafter$176,293 $23,443 
The projected benefit payments for SERP for each year through 2028 and the next five years thereafter are shown in the following table:

(THOUSANDS)20242025202620272028FIVE
YEARS
THEREAFTER
SERP$4,593 $4,748 $4,883 $4,852 $4,847 $23,601 
Schedule of 401(k) Plan Expense Cleco’s 401(k) Plan expense for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021 was as follows:
 FOR THE YEAR ENDED DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)202320222021
401(k) Plan expense
$7,770 $7,310 $7,780 
The expense of the 401(k) Plan related to Cleco’s other subsidiaries for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021 was as follows:
 FOR THE YEAR ENDED DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)202320222021
401(k) Plan expense
$2,859 $2,685 $2,765 
CLECO POWER  
Defined Benefit Plans and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans [Line Items]  
Schedule of Amounts Recognized in Balance Sheet
The current and non-current portions of the Pension Benefits liability for Cleco and Cleco Power at December 31, 2023, and 2022 are as follows:

AT DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)20232022
Current$25,685 $— 
Non-current$91,638 $98,584 
Cleco Power
AT DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)20232022
Current$4,479 $4,310 
Non-current$32,289 $30,082 
Cleco Power
AT DEC. 31,
(THOUSANDS)20232022
Current$613 $672 
Non-current$8,394 $9,087