BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
BASIS OF PRESENTATION	The accompanying consolidated financial statements represent the consolidation of General Electric Company (the Company) and all companies that we directly or indirectly control, either through majority ownership or otherwise. See Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 that discusses our consolidation and financial statement presentation. As used in these financial statements, “GE” represents the adding together of all affiliated companies except GE Capital (GE Capital or Financial Services), whose continuing operations are presented on a one-line basis; GE Capital consists of GE Capital Global Holdings, LLC (GECGH) and all of its affiliates; and “Consolidated” represents the adding together of GE and GE Capital with the effects of transactions between the two eliminated.
RECLASSIFICATION	We have reclassified certain prior-period amounts to conform to the current-period presentation. Certain columns and rows may not add due to the use of rounded numbers. Percentages presented are calculated from the underlying numbers in millions. Unless otherwise indicated, information in these notes to the consolidated financial statements relates to continuing operations.
LEASE ACCOUNTING, LESSEE	LEASE ACCOUNTING We determine if an arrangement is a lease or a service contract at inception. Where an arrangement is a lease we determine if it is an operating lease or a finance lease. Subsequently, if the arrangement is modified we reevaluate our classification. Lessee. At lease commencement, we record a lease liability and corresponding right-of-use (ROU) asset. Lease liabilities represent the present value of our future lease payments over the expected lease term which includes options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain those options will be exercised. We have elected to include lease and non-lease components in determining our lease liability for all leased assets except our vehicle leases. Non-lease components are generally services that the lessor performs for the Company associated with the leased asset. For those leases with payments based on an index, the lease liability is determined using the index at lease commencement. Lease payments based on increases in the index subsequent to lease commencement are recognized as variable lease expense as they occur. The present value of our lease liability is determined using our incremental collateralized borrowing rate at lease inception. ROU assets represent our right to control the use of the leased asset during the lease and are recognized in an amount equal to the lease liability. Over the lease term we use the effective interest rate method to account for the lease liability as lease payments are made and the ROU asset is amortized to earning in a manner that results in a straight-line expense recognition in the Statement of Earnings. A ROU asset and lease liability is not recognized for leases with an initial term of 12 months or less and we recognize lease expense for these leases on a straight-line basis over the lease term.
LEASE ACCOUNTING, LESSOR	Equipment leased to others under operating leases are included in property, plant and equipment and leases classified as finance leases are included in financing receivables on our Statement of Financial Position.
ACCOUNTING CHANGES	ACCOUNTING CHANGES On January 1, 2019, we adopted ASU No. 2016-02, Leases. Upon adoption, we recorded a $317 million increase to retained earnings, primarily attributable to the release of deferred gains on sale-lease back transactions. Our right-of-use assets and lease liabilities for operating leases excluding discontinued operations and held for sale were $4,016 million and $4,180 million, respectively, as of March 31, 2019. After the adoption date, cash collections of principal on financing leases, will be classified as Cash from operating activities in our consolidated Statement of Cash Flows. Previously such flows were classified as Cash from investing activities. On January 1, 2019, we adopted ASU No. 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities. The ASU requires certain changes to the presentation of hedge accounting in the financial statements and some new or modified disclosures. The ASU also simplifies the application of hedge accounting and expands the strategies that qualify for hedge accounting. Upon adoption, we recorded an increase to retained earnings and a decrease to borrowings of $52 million related to changes to the measurement of hedged interest rate risks.