Fair Value of the liabilities incurred by the acquirer to former owners of the acquiree, including the fair value of any contingent consideration. If liabilities transferred as consideration remain within the combined entity after the business combination (for example, because the assets or liabilities were transferred to the acquiree rather than to its former owners), and the acquirer therefore retains control of them; in that situation, the acquirer measures those liabilities at their carrying amounts immediately before the acquisition date.

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+ Details

- Definition

Carrying amount as of the balance sheet date, which is the cumulative amount paid and (if applicable) the fair value of any noncontrolling interest in the acquiree, adjusted for any amortization recognized prior to the adoption of any changes in generally accepted accounting principles (as applicable) and for any impairment charges, in excess of the fair value of net assets acquired in one or more business combination transactions.

+ References

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+ Details

- Definition

The cash outflow associated with the acquisition of long-lived, physical assets that are used in the normal conduct of business to produce goods and services and not intended for resale; includes cash outflows to pay for construction of self-constructed assets.

+ References+ Details

Acquisitions Dispositions and Discontinued Operations (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011
Acquisitions Dispositions and Discontinued Operations (Textuals) [Abstract]
Acquisitions of Assets			$ 89,000,000	$ 10,000,000
Goodwill	90,000,000		90,000,000		76,000,000
Asset Impairments and Other Related Charges	13,000,000	90,000,000	13,000,000	90,000,000
Nonutility Operations - Generation and Marketing [Member] \| BlueStar Energy [Member]
Acquisitions Dispositions and Discontinued Operations (Textuals) [Abstract]
Acquisitions of Assets			70,000,000
Goodwill	14,000,000		14,000,000
Intangible Assets Associated with Sales Contracts and Customer Accounts	59,000,000		59,000,000
Liabilities Associated with Supply Contracts	25,000,000		25,000,000
Southwestern Electric Power Co [Member]
Acquisitions Dispositions and Discontinued Operations (Textuals) [Abstract]
Asset Impairments and Other Related Charges	0	0	13,000,000	0
Southwestern Electric Power Co [Member] \| Utility Operations [Member] \| Turk Plant [Member]
Acquisitions Dispositions and Discontinued Operations (Textuals) [Abstract]
Asset Impairments and Other Related Charges			13,000,000
Ohio Power Co [Member]
Acquisitions Dispositions and Discontinued Operations (Textuals) [Abstract]
Acquisitions of Assets			116,000	1,734,000
Asset Impairments and Other Related Charges	0	89,824,000	0	89,824,000
Ohio Power Co [Member] \| Utility Operations [Member] \| Muskingum River Plant Unit 5 [Member]
Acquisitions Dispositions and Discontinued Operations (Textuals) [Abstract]
Asset Impairments and Other Related Charges				42,000,000
Ohio Power Co [Member] \| Utility Operations [Member] \| Sporn Plant Unit 5 [Member]
Acquisitions Dispositions and Discontinued Operations (Textuals) [Abstract]
Asset Impairments and Other Related Charges				48,000,000
Appalachian Power Co [Member]
Acquisitions Dispositions and Discontinued Operations (Textuals) [Abstract]
Acquisitions of Assets			171,000	302,217,000
Appalachian Power Co [Member] \| Utility Operations [Member] \| Dresden Plant [Member]
Acquisitions Dispositions and Discontinued Operations (Textuals) [Abstract]
Acquisitions of Assets				$ 302,000,000