Earnings Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2017	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Income (Numerator)
Less amounts allocated to participating securities									$ 2	$ 2	$ 6
Net income available to PPL common shareowners - Basic									1,825	1,126	1,896
Net income	$ 415	$ 445	$ 515	$ 452	$ 78	$ 355	$ 292	$ 403	1,827	1,128	1,902
Net income available to PPL common shareowners - Diluted									$ 1,825	$ 1,126	$ 1,896
Shares of Common Stock (Denominator)
Weighted-average shares - Basic EPS (in shares)									704,439	685,240	677,592
Add incremental non-participating securities:
Share-based payment awards (in shares)									445	2,094	2,854
Forward sales agreements									3,735	0	0
Weighted-average shares - Diluted EPS (in shares)									708,619	687,334	680,446
Basic EPS - Available to PPL common shareowners:
Net Income (in dollars per share)	$ 0.57	$ 0.63	$ 0.74	$ 0.65	$ 0.11	$ 0.52	$ 0.43	$ 0.59	$ 2.59	$ 1.64	$ 2.80
Diluted EPS - Available to PPL common shareowners:
Net Income (in dollars per share)	$ 0.57	$ 0.62	$ 0.73	$ 0.65	$ 0.11	$ 0.51	$ 0.43	$ 0.59	$ 2.58	$ 1.64	$ 2.79
Shares Issued (Numeric) [Abstract]
Common stock issued under stock-based compensation plans (in shares)									720
Common stock issued under DRIP (in shares)									1,974
Stock Options [Member]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Shares excluded from the computations of diluted EPS									172	696	696
Performance Units [Member]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Shares excluded from the computations of diluted EPS									0	0	176
Restricted Stock Units [Member]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Shares excluded from the computations of diluted EPS									11	0	0