Acquisitions, Development and Divestures (Details) (USD $)	6 Months Ended					1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended			6 Months Ended				1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended				3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2010	Apr. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2011 Proposed Bell Bend Nuclear Unit [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Proposed Bell Bend Nuclear Unit [Member]	Feb. 28, 2010 Long Island Generation Business [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 Certain Non-Core Generation Facilities [Member]	Jun. 30, 2010 Certain Non-Core Generation Facilities [Member]		Jun. 30, 2011 Certain Non-Core Generation Facilities [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Certain Non-Core Generation Facilities [Member]	Jun. 30, 2010 Certain Non-Core Generation Facilities [Member]	Mar. 31, 2011 Certain Non-Core Generation Facilities [Member]	Apr. 30, 2011 WPD Midlands [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 WPD Midlands [Member]		Jun. 30, 2011 WPD Midlands [Member]		Jun. 30, 2011 WPD Midlands [Member] One Time Termination Benefits [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 WPD Midlands [Member] One Time Termination Benefits Member Specific Employee Class [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 WPD Midlands [Member] Interest Expense [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 WPD Midlands [Member] Interest Expense [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 WPD Midlands [Member] Other Income (Expense) Net [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 WPD Midlands [Member] Other Income (Expense) Net [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 WPD Midlands [Member] Combined Other Income Expense Net And Other Operation Maint [Member]		Jun. 30, 2011 WPD Midlands [Member] Combined Other Income Expense Net And Other Operation Maint [Member]		Jun. 30, 2010 LKE [Member] Interest Expense [Member]	Jun. 30, 2010 LKE [Member] Interest Expense [Member]	Jun. 30, 2010 LKE [Member] Other Income (Expense) Net [Member]	Jun. 30, 2010 LKE [Member] Other Income (Expense) Net [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 Combined Acquisition [Member]	Jun. 30, 2010 Combined Acquisition [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 Combined Acquisition [Member]	Jun. 30, 2010 Combined Acquisition [Member]
Development Projects [Abstract]
Amount currently authorized by Board of Directors to spend on Bell Bend COLA				$ 144,000,000
Capitalized costs associated with licensing efforts				119,000,000	109,000,000
Discontinued Operations - Details
Operating revenues							0	29,000,000		19,000,000		57,000,000
Operating expenses							2,000,000	17,000,000		11,000,000		29,000,000
Operating income							(2,000,000)	12,000,000		8,000,000		28,000,000
Other income (expense) - net							0	1,000,000		0		1,000,000
Interest expense							0	1,000,000	[1]	3,000,000		3,000,000
Income before income taxes							(2,000,000)	12,000,000		5,000,000		26,000,000
Income tax expense							(1,000,000)	5,000,000		3,000,000		11,000,000
Income (Loss) from Discontinued Operations							(1,000,000)	7,000,000		2,000,000		15,000,000
Proceeds from the sale of certain non-core generation facilities	381,000,000	0
After-tax impairment charge											64,000,000
Agreed upon sales price for disposal of a business, plant, facility or unit						135,000,000
Proceeds from the sale of Long Island generation business	0	124,000,000
Equity investment removed from Balance Sheet as part of sale													14,000,000
PP&E removed from Balance Sheet as a result of sale													357,000,000
Fair Value of Consideration Paid for Acquisition [Abstract]
Acquisition date														April 1, 2011
Aggregate enterprise consideration														6,600,000,000
Less: fair value of long-term debt outstanding, net, assumed through consideration														800,000,000
Total cash consideration paid			5,800,000,000
Less: funds made available to Central Networks to repay affiliate indebtedness														1,700,000,000	1,700,000,000		1,700,000,000
Cash consideration paid for Central Networks' outstanding ordinary share capital														4,100,000,000
Business Acquisition, Cost of Acquired Entity, Cash Paid			5,800,000,000
Business Acquisition, Purchase Price Allocation [Abstract]
Purchase price allocation status																	The purchase price allocation is preliminary and could change materially in subsequent periods
Current assets															300,000,000	[2]	300,000,000	[2]
Intangible assets															100,000,000		100,000,000
PP&E	4,900,000,000
Other noncurrent assets															100,000,000		100,000,000
Current liabilities															(600,000,000)	[3]	(600,000,000)	[3]
PPL WEM affiliate indebtedness														(1,700,000,000)	(1,700,000,000)		(1,700,000,000)
Long term debt (current and noncurrent)															(800,000,000)	[3]	(800,000,000)	[3]
Other noncurrent liabilities															(500,000,000)	[3]	(500,000,000)	[3]
Net identifiable assets acquired															1,800,000,000		1,800,000,000
Goodwill															2,300,000,000		2,300,000,000
Net assets acquired															4,100,000,000		4,100,000,000
Gross contractual obligation of accounts receivable acquired															119,000,000		119,000,000
Indefinitive Lived Intangible Assets Acquired As Part Of Business Combination [Abstract]
Acquired easements															88,000,000		88,000,000
Finite Lived Intangible Assets Acquired As Part Of Business Combination [Abstract]
Acquired customer contracts															11,000,000		11,000,000
Weighted-average amortization period for customer contracts																	10
Restructuring And Related Cost [Abstract]
Minimum expected number of employees to be impacted																			600
Maximum expected number of employees o be impacted																			800
Number of employees impacted																				8
Maximum expected seperation costs																			140,000,000
Costs incurred																				6,000,000
Portion of total related to retirement deficiency costs																				2,000,000
Portion of total related to severance compensation																				4,000,000
Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Information [Abstract]
Actual operating revenue															207,000,000		207,000,000
Actual net income															7,000,000		7,000,000
Operating revenues - pro forma																																	(2,570,000,000)	(2,324,000,000)	(5,772,000,000)	(6,351,000,000)
Pro Forma Net Income (Loss) Attributable to PPL - pro forma																																	319,000,000	172,000,000	820,000,000	554,000,000
Income (loss) from discontinued operations excluded from pro-forma																																	(1,000,000)	8,000,000	2,000,000	13,000,000
WPD Midlands net income contribution to International Regulated segment															57,000,000		57,000,000
Acquisition-related costs expensed during period																									(42,000,000)	[4]	(52,000,000)	[4]			(7,000,000)	(7,000,000)
Deferred Bridge Facilty fee amortization during the period																					(36,000,000)	(43,000,000)							(22,000,000)	(22,000,000)
Foreign currency gan (loss)																							(58,000,000)	(58,000,000)
Net hedge gains on 2011 Bridge Facility																							63,000,000	56,000,000
Hedge ineffectiveness																					(12,000,000)	(12,000,000)
UK stamp duty tax																							$ (21,000,000)	$ (21,000,000)

[1] Represents allocated interest expense based upon debt attributable to the generation facilities sold.

[2] Includes gross contractual amount of the accounts receivable acquired of $119 million, which approximates fair value.

[3] Represents non-cash activity excluded from the Statement of Cash Flows for the six months ended June 30, 2011.

[4] Primarily includes advisory, accounting and legal fees recorded in "Other Income (Expense) - net" and the separation costs recognized during the second quarter of 2011 as noted above, recorded in "Other operation and maintenance" on the Statements of Income.