Acquisitions, Development and Divestures (Details) (USD $)	1 Months Ended	9 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended			3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2011 MW	Sep. 30, 2011 MW Kilovolts Gallons	Sep. 30, 2010	Apr. 30, 2011	Apr. 30, 2011 WPD Midlands [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 WPD Midlands [Member]		Sep. 30, 2011 WPD Midlands [Member]		Sep. 30, 2011 WPD Midlands [Member] Interest Expense [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 WPD Midlands [Member] Interest Expense [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 WPD Midlands [Member] Other Income Expense Net [Member]		Sep. 30, 2011 WPD Midlands [Member] Other Income Expense Net [Member]		Sep. 30, 2011 WPD Midlands [Member] Other Operation Maintenance [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 WPD Midlands [Member] Other Operation Maintenance [Member]	Sep. 30, 2010 LKE [Member] Interest Expense [Member]	Sep. 30, 2010 LKE [Member] Interest Expense [Member]	Sep. 30, 2010 LKE [Member] Other Income Expense Net [Member]	Sep. 30, 2010 LKE [Member] Other Income Expense Net [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Combined Acquisition [Member]	Sep. 30, 2010 Combined Acquisition [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Combined Acquisition [Member]	Sep. 30, 2010 Combined Acquisition [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 International Regulated [Member] Seperation Benefits [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 International Regulated [Member] Seperation Benefits [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 International Regulated [Member] Severance Compensation [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 International Regulated [Member] Severance Compensation [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 International Regulated [Member] Early Retirement Deficiency Costs [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 International Regulated [Member] Early Retirement Deficiency Costs [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 International Regulated [Member] Outplacement Services [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 One Time Termination Benefits Member Specific Employee Class [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Susquehanna Nuclear Plant Expansion [Member] MW	Sep. 30, 2011 Proposed Bell Bend Nuclear Unit [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Proposed Bell Bend Nuclear Unit [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Pending Bluegrass Plant Acquistion [Member] MW	Sep. 30, 2011 Proposed Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle Turbine [Member] MW	Sep. 30, 2011 Susquehanna Nuclear Unit 2 Expansion [Member] MW	Feb. 28, 2010 Long Island Generation Business [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Certain Non-Core Generation Facilities [Member]	Sep. 30, 2010 Certain Non-Core Generation Facilities [Member]		Sep. 30, 2011 Certain Non-Core Generation Facilities [Member]		Sep. 30, 2010 Certain Non-Core Generation Facilities [Member]		Mar. 31, 2011 Certain Non-Core Generation Facilities [Member]
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
Number of end users serviced by purchased company (in millions)								5,000,000
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						200,000,000	[1]	200,000,000	[1]
Intangible assets						100,000,000	[2]	100,000,000	[2]
PP&E						4,900,000,000		4,900,000,000
Other noncurrent assets						100,000,000		100,000,000
Current liabilities						(500,000,000)	[3],[4]	(500,000,000)	[3],[4]
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)	[4]	(800,000,000)	[4]
Other noncurrent liabilities						(600,000,000)	[3],[4]	(600,000,000)	[3],[4]
Net identifiable assets acquired						1,700,000,000		1,700,000,000
Goodwill						2,400,000,000		2,400,000,000
Net assets acquired						4,100,000,000		4,100,000,000
Gross contractual obligation of accounts receivable acquired						119,000,000		119,000,000
Purchase accounting adjustment recorded during period for previously unrecorded liabilties								77,000,000
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
Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Information [Abstract]
Actual operating revenue						292,000,000		499,000,000
Actual net income						56,000,000		63,000,000
Operating Revenues - PPL consolidated pro forma																						3,115,000,000	3,149,000,000	8,905,000,000	9,500,000,000
Net Income (Loss) Attributable to PPL - PPL consolidated pro forma																						497,000,000	489,000,000	1,306,000,000	1,062,000,000
Income (loss) from discontinued operations excluded from pro-forma																						(53,000,000)		(40,000,000)
Net income excluding nonrecurring adjustments						118,000,000		183,000,000
Bridge Facility costs										0	43,000,000							45,000,000	67,000,000
Foreign currency loss on 2011 Bridge Facility												0		57,000,000
Net hedge gains associated with the 2011 Bridge Facility												0		(55,000,000)
Hedge ineffectiveness										0	12,000,000
UK stamp duty tax														21,000,000
Separation benefits																86,000,000	92,000,000
Other acquisition-related costs												(2,000,000)	[5]	45,000,000	[5]					4,000,000	11,000,000
Restructuring And Related Cost [Abstract]
Expected completion date																											Dec. 31, 2012
Number of employees impacted																											740,000,000
Expected costs to be incurred																											102,000,000		58,000,000		43,000,000	1,000,000
Costs recorded to date																										84,000,000	84,000,000	41,000,000	41,000,000	43,000,000	43,000,000		9,000,000
Costs expected to be recorded in fourth quarter																													6,000,000
Costs expected to be recorded in 2012																													11,000,000
Development Projects [Abstract]
Planned capacity (in MW) expansion																																						640
Share of the total planned capacity (in MW) expansion when the company has a joint ownership interest																																		195
Completed capacity (in MW) expansion																																							50
Expected capital cost of an expansion project																																						583,000,000
Number of plants anticipated to retire based on stricter EPA regulations or new construction	3
Combined capacity, in MW, of plants anticipated to retire based on stricter EPA regulations or new construction	797	797
Amount currently authorized by Board of Directors to spend on Bell Bend COLA																																			144,000,000
Capitalized costs associated with licensing efforts																																			124,000,000	109,000,000
Capacity, in MW, of purchased units																																					495
Purchase price																																					110,000,000
LG&E ownership percentage																																					69.00%
KU ownership percentage																																					31.00%
Discontinued Operations (Details) [Abstract]
Operating revenues																																									0	34,000,000		19,000,000		91,000,000
Operating expenses																																									0	118,000,000	[6]	11,000,000		147,000,000	[6]
Operating income																																									0	(84,000,000)		8,000,000		(56,000,000)
Other income (expense) - net																																									0	1,000,000		0		2,000,000
Interest expense																																									0	2,000,000	[7]	3,000,000	[7]	5,000,000	[7]
Income before income taxes																																									0	(85,000,000)		5,000,000		(59,000,000)
Income tax expense																																									0	(32,000,000)		3,000,000		(21,000,000)
Income (Loss) from Discontinued Operations																																									0	(53,000,000)		2,000,000		(38,000,000)
Proceeds from the sale of certain non-core generation facilities		381,000,000	0
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
Carrying amount of net assets held for sale																																										473,000,000				473,000,000
Estimated fair value of Long Island generation business																																										377,000,000				377,000,000
Initial pre-tax impairment charge																																										96,000,000				96,000,000
Initial after-tax impairment charge																																										58,000,000				58,000,000
Goodwill allocated to an asset or group of assets and written off, pre-tax																																										5,000,000
Goodwill allocated to an asset or group of assets and written off, after-tax																																										4,000,000
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

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

[2] Intangible assets recorded include $88 million of easements, which have an indefinite life, and $11 million of customer contracts, which have a weighted-average amortization period of 10 years.

[3] In the third quarter of 2011, the preliminary purchase price allocation, as of the acquisition date, was adjusted to record a $77 million liability primarily for costs expected to be paid in order for WPD Midlands to become compliant with regulations pertaining to overhead line clearances. See Note 6 for additional information.

[4] Represents non-cash activity excluded from the Statement of Cash Flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2011.

[5] Primarily includes advisory, accounting and legal fees recorded in "Other Income (Expense) - net."

[6] 2010 includes the impairment to the carrying value of the generation facilities being sold and the write-off of allocated goodwill.

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