Other Income (Expense) - net (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended				9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2011		Sep. 30, 2010		Sep. 30, 2011		Sep. 30, 2010
Other Income [Line Items]
Other income	$ 30		$ 9		$ 118		$ 28
Other Expense [Line Items]
Other expense	(7)		35		120		46
Other Income (Expense) - net	37		(26)		(2)		(18)
Extinguishment of notes [Abstract]
Interest rate on debt related to discontinuance of fair value hedge (in hundredths)					7.125%
Earnings On Securities In Nuclear Decommissioning Trust Funds [Member]
Other Income [Line Items]
Other income	2		4		20		15
Interest Income [Member]
Other Income [Line Items]
Other income	1		3		5		4
Allowance For Funds Used During Construction [Member]
Other Income [Line Items]
Other income	2		1		5		3
Net Hedge Gains On 2011 Bridge Facility [Member]
Other Income [Line Items]
Other income	0		0		55	[1]	0
Gain On Redemption Of Debt [Member]
Other Income [Line Items]
Other income	22	[2]	0		22	[2]	0
Miscellaneous Domestic Other Income [Member]
Other Income [Line Items]
Other income	3		1		10		5
Miscellaneous International Other Income [Member]
Other Income [Line Items]
Other income	0		0		1		1
Economic Foreign Currency Exchange Contracts [Member]
Other Expense [Line Items]
Other expense	(11)		1		(11)		(1)
Charitable Contributions [Member]
Other Expense [Line Items]
Other expense	2		0		7		2
LKE Other Acquisition Related Costs [Member]
Other Expense [Line Items]
Other expense	0		4		0		11
WPD Midlands Other Acquisition Related Costs [Member]
Other Expense [Line Items]
Other expense	0		0		36		0
Foreign Currency Loss On 2011 Bridge Facility [Member]
Other Expense [Line Items]
Other expense	0		0		57	[3]	0
UK Stamp Duty Tax [Member]
Other Expense [Line Items]
Other expense	0		0		21		0
Cash Flow Hedges [Member]
Other Expense [Line Items]
Other expense	0		29	[4]	0		29	[4]
Miscellaneous Domestic Other Expense [Member]
Other Expense [Line Items]
Other expense	2		1		7		4
Miscellaneous International Other Expense [Member]
Other Expense [Line Items]
Other expense	$ 0		$ 0		$ 3		$ 1

[1] Represents a gain on foreign currency forward contracts that hedged the repayment of the 2011 Bridge Facility borrowing.

[2] In July 2011, as a result of PPL Electric's redemption of 7.125% Senior Secured Bonds due 2013, PPL recorded a gain on the accelerated amortization of the fair value adjustment to the debt recorded in connection with previously settled fair value hedges.

[3] Represents a foreign currency loss related to the repayment of the 2011 Bridge Facility borrowing.

[4] As a result of the net proceeds from the sale of certain non-core generation facilities, coupled with the monetization of full-requirement sales contracts, debt that had been planned to be issued by PPL Energy Supply was no longer needed. As a result, hedge accounting associated with interest rate swaps entered into by PPL in anticipation of a debt issuance by PPL Energy Supply was discontinued. Associated net losses were reclassified from AOCI into earnings.