Short-Term and Long-Term Debt - Financial Covenants (Details)	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2014
Financial Covenants [Abstract]
Debt Instrument, Required Indebtedness to Total Capital Ratio	0.65
Debt Instrument, Actual Indebtedness to Total Capital Ratio	0.46

Actual indebtedness to total capital ratio required to be maintained by most restrictive financial covenant.

No definition available.

Name:	ale_DebtInstrumentActualIndebtednessToTotalCapitalRatio
Namespace Prefix:	ale_
Data Type:	xbrli:pureItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant