Common Equity (Narrative) (Details) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands		1 Months Ended			3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 12, 2018 USD ($) shares	May 31, 2019 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Jun. 30, 2018 $ / shares shares	Oct. 31, 2010 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($) plan $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Jan. 01, 2019 USD ($)	Jan. 01, 2018 USD ($)
Number of equity ownership plans | plan						4
Authorization of repurchase of common stock				$ 500,000		$ 350,000
Common Stock, Dividends, Per Share, Declared | $ / shares						$ 3.66	$ 3.58	$ 3.50
Dividend payments received from subsidiaries						$ 124,000	$ 27,000	$ 201,000
Dividends, Common Stock, Cash						711,573	647,704	628,885
Forward Contract Indexed to Issuer's Equity, Indexed Shares | shares		8,448,171	15,300,000
Forward Contract Indexed to Issuer's Equity, Forward Rate Per Share | $ / shares		$ 74.45	$ 74.45
Payments of Stock Issuance Costs	$ 728	$ 7
Proceeds from Issuance of Common Stock	$ 500,000	$ 608,000				607,650	499,272	0
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Financial Liability, Fair Value Option, after Tax									$ (6,806)	$ (632,617)
New Accounting Pronouncement or Change in Accounting Principle, Cumulative Effect of Change on Equity or Net Assets									0	(56,360)
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Reclassification from AOCI resulting from stranded tax effects					$ 15,500		15,505
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Portion Reclassified from AOCI to Retained Earnings					32,000
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Portion Reclassified from AOCI to Regulatory Liability for Income Taxes					$ 16,500
Entergy Arkansas [Member]
Dividends, Common Stock, Cash						115,000	91,751	15,000
Entergy Mississippi [Member]
Dividends, Common Stock, Cash							10,000	26,000
System Energy [Member]
Dividends, Common Stock, Cash						124,250	67,720	106,610
Entergy New Orleans [Member]
Dividends, Common Stock, Cash							23,750	74,250
Common Stock [Member]
Dividends, Common Stock, Cash						$ 0	$ 0	$ 0
Forward Contract Indexed to Issuer's Equity, Shares | shares	6,834,221					8,448,171	6,834,221	0
New Accounting Pronouncement or Change in Accounting Principle, Cumulative Effect of Change on Equity or Net Assets									0	$ 0
Common Stock [Member] | System Energy [Member]
Dividends, Common Stock, Cash						$ 0	$ 56,500	$ 21,000
Accounting Standards Update 2017-08 [Member]
New Accounting Pronouncement or Change in Accounting Principle, Cumulative Effect of Change on Equity or Net Assets									1,000
Accounting Standards Update 2017-12 [Member]
New Accounting Pronouncement or Change in Accounting Principle, Cumulative Effect of Change on Equity or Net Assets									$ 8,000