Financing Activities (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended							3 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended			3 Months Ended				3 Months Ended			1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended								3 Months Ended					3 Months Ended						3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012		Mar. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011		Mar. 31, 2012 AEP Subsidiaries [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 AEP Subsidiaries [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 AEP Subsidiaries [Member] Notes Payable One [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 AEP Subsidiaries [Member] Notes Payable Two [Member]	Apr. 27, 2012 AEP Generating Co [Member] Senior Unsecured Notes One [Member] Repayment Of Debt [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Public Service Co Of Oklahoma [Member]	Mar. 31, 2011 Public Service Co Of Oklahoma [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Public Service Co Of Oklahoma [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Public Service Co Of Oklahoma [Member] Notes Payable One [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Indiana Michigan Power Co [Member]	Mar. 31, 2011 Indiana Michigan Power Co [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Indiana Michigan Power Co [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Indiana Michigan Power Co [Member] Notes Payable One [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Indiana Michigan Power Co [Member] Notes Payable Two [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Indiana Michigan Power Co [Member] Notes Payable Three [Member]	Apr. 27, 2012 Indiana Michigan Power Co [Member] Notes Payable Four [Member] Repayment Of Debt [Member]	Apr. 27, 2012 Indiana Michigan Power Co [Member] Notes Payable Four [Member] Issuance Of Debt [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 AEP Texas Central Co [Member] Securitization Bonds One [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 AEP Texas Central Co [Member] Securitization Bonds Two [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 AEP Texas Central Co [Member] Securitization Bonds Three [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 AEP Texas Central Co [Member] Securitization Bonds Four [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 AEP Texas Central Co [Member] Securitization Bonds Five [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Appalachian Power Co [Member]	Mar. 31, 2011 Appalachian Power Co [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Appalachian Power Co [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Appalachian Power Co [Member] Pollution Control Bonds One [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Appalachian Power Co [Member] Pollution Control Bonds Two [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Southwestern Electric Power Co [Member]	Mar. 31, 2011 Southwestern Electric Power Co [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Southwestern Electric Power Co [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Southwestern Electric Power Co [Member] Notes Payable One [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Southwestern Electric Power Co [Member] Notes Payable Two [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Southwestern Electric Power Co [Member] Senior Unsecured Notes One [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Ohio Power Co [Member]	Mar. 31, 2011 Ohio Power Co [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Ohio Power Co [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Ohio Power Co [Member] Senior Unsecured Notes One [Member]
Long-term Debt
Senior Unsecured Notes	$ 11,862,000,000			$ 11,737,000,000
Pollution Control Bonds	2,062,000,000			2,112,000,000
Notes Payable	428,000,000			402,000,000
Securitization Bonds	2,389,000,000			1,688,000,000
Junior Subordinated Debentures	315,000,000			315,000,000
Spent Nuclear Fuel Obligation	265,000,000	[1]		265,000,000	[1]
Other Long-term Debt	31,000,000			29,000,000
Fair Value of Interest Rate Hedges	7,000,000			7,000,000
Unamortized Discount, Net	(39,000,000)			(39,000,000)
Total Long-term Debt Outstanding	17,320,000,000			16,516,000,000
Long-term Debt Due Within One Year	1,980,000,000			1,433,000,000		316,000,000	293,000,000				429,000		311,000		277,284,000		279,075,000											545,026,000		594,525,000			3,250,000		20,000,000				594,500,000		244,500,000
Long-term Debt	15,340,000,000			15,083,000,000		2,382,000,000	1,674,000,000				948,964,000		947,053,000		1,764,457,000		1,778,600,000											3,131,908,000		3,131,726,000			2,044,337,000		1,708,637,000				3,109,846,000		3,609,648,000
Long-term Debt and Other Securities Issued, Retired and Principal Payments Made
Issuances	1,142,000,000	[2]												2,000,000								110,000,000	312,000,000	308,000,000	180,000,000											65,000,000		275,000,000
Retirements and Principal Payments	339,000,000		777,000,000					4,000,000	1,000,000	4,000,000	0	200,000,000			16,074,000	82,354,000		6,000,000	4,000,000	6,000,000	26,000,000					63,000,000	35,000,000	49,506,000	229,655,000		30,000,000	20,000,000	20,000,000	0			20,000,000		150,000,000	165,000,000		150,000,000
Interest Rate, in Percent										6.33%				3.00%					2.12%				2.845%	0.88%	1.976%	4.98%	5.96%				6.05%	5.00%				4.58%	7.03%	3.55%
Interest Rate, Variable								Variable										Variable		Variable		variable																				Variable
Due Date								2017	2026	2037				2027				2016	2016	2015			2024	2017	2020	2013	2013				2024	2021				2032	2012	2022				2012
Long- term Debt by Type of Debt and Maturity
Interest Rate Ranges, Minimum									7.59%
Interest Rate Ranges, Maximum									8.03%
Short-term Debt:
Securitized Debt for Receivables	665,000,000	[3]		666,000,000	[3]
Commercial Paper	385,000,000			967,000,000
Line of Credit - Sabine	0	[4]		17,000,000	[4]
Total Short-term Debt	1,050,000,000			1,650,000,000
Securitized Debt for Receivables	0.26%	[5]		0.27%	[5]
Commercial Paper	0.46%	[5]		0.51%	[5]
Line of Credit - Sabine	0.00%	[5]		1.79%	[5]
Comparative Accounts Receivable Information
Effective Interest Rates on Securitization of Accounts Receivable	0.26%		0.31%
Net Uncollectible Accounts Receivable Written Off	8,000,000		11,000,000
Customer Accounts Receivable Managed Portfolio
Accounts Receivable Retained Interest and Pledged as Collateral Less Uncollectible Accounts	877,000,000			902,000,000
Total Principal Outstanding	665,000,000			666,000,000
Delinquent Securitized Accounts Receivable	36,000,000			38,000,000
Bad Debt Reserves Related to Securitized Sale of Accounts Receivable	19,000,000			18,000,000
Unbilled Receivables Related to Securitization, Sale of Accounts Receivable	323,000,000			370,000,000
Financing Activities (Textuals) [Abstract]
Amount Indicated on Cash Flows	1,132,000,000		1,014,000,000								1,944,000	246,376,000			0	76,864,000												0	640,770,000				336,664,000	0					0	49,917,000
Trust Fund Assets One Time Fee Obligation for Nuclear Fuel Disposition	308,000,000			308,000,000
Auction Rate Tax Exempt Long Term Debt Outstanding	$ 478,000,000
Period to Defer Interest Payments on Debentures	10
Maximum Percentage Debt to Capitalization	67.50%

[1] Pursuant to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, IandM, a nuclear licensee, has an obligation to the United States Department of Energy for spent nuclear fuel disposal. The obligation includes a one-time fee for nuclear fuel consumed prior to April 7, 1983. Trust fund assets related to this obligation were $308 million at both March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011 and are included in Spent Nuclear Fuel and Decommissioning Trusts on our condensed balance sheets.

[2] Amount indicated on the statement of cash flows of $1,132 million is net of issuance costs and premium or discount.

[3] Amount of securitized debt for receivables as accounted for under the ''Transfers and Servicing'' accounting guidance.

[4] This line of credit does not reduce available liquidity under AEP's credit facilities.

[5] Weighted average rate.