Retirement Plans and Other Benefits (Details 4) (USD $)	12 Months Ended							1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended							12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended					12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013 Pinnacle West	Dec. 31, 2012 Pinnacle West	Dec. 31, 2011 Pinnacle West	Dec. 31, 2013 ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY	Dec. 31, 2013 Pension Benefits	Dec. 31, 2012 Pension Benefits	Dec. 31, 2011 Pension Benefits	Jan. 31, 2014 Pension Benefits Subsequent event	Dec. 31, 2013 Pension Benefits Expected contributions	Dec. 31, 2013 Pension Benefits Expected contributions Maximum	Dec. 31, 2013 Pension Benefits Pinnacle West	Dec. 31, 2012 Pension Benefits Pinnacle West	Dec. 31, 2013 Pension Benefits ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY	Dec. 31, 2012 Pension Benefits ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY	Dec. 31, 2011 Pension Benefits ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY	Dec. 31, 2013 Pension Benefits Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) Pinnacle West	Dec. 31, 2012 Pension Benefits Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) Pinnacle West	Dec. 31, 2013 Pension Benefits Short-term investments and other Pinnacle West	Dec. 31, 2012 Pension Benefits Short-term investments and other Pinnacle West	Dec. 31, 2013 Pension Benefits Short-term investments and other Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)	Dec. 31, 2012 Pension Benefits Short-term investments and other Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)	Dec. 31, 2013 Pension Benefits Short-term investments and other Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) Pinnacle West	Dec. 31, 2012 Pension Benefits Short-term investments and other Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) Pinnacle West	Dec. 31, 2013 Other Benefits	Dec. 31, 2012 Other Benefits	Dec. 31, 2011 Other Benefits	Dec. 31, 2013 Other Benefits Pinnacle West	Dec. 31, 2012 Other Benefits Pinnacle West	Dec. 31, 2013 Other Benefits ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY	Dec. 31, 2012 Other Benefits ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY	Dec. 31, 2011 Other Benefits ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY	Dec. 31, 2013 Other Benefits Short-term investments and other Pinnacle West	Dec. 31, 2012 Other Benefits Short-term investments and other Pinnacle West
Changes in fair value for assets that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis
Balance at the beginning of the period					$ 2,079,181,000	$ 1,850,550,000					$ 2,264,121,000	$ 2,079,181,000				$ 8,660,000	$ 2,419,000	$ 49,970,000	$ 29,278,000	$ 2,419,000		$ 8,660,000	$ 2,419,000	$ 684,221,000	$ 608,663,000		$ 748,339,000	$ 684,221,000				$ 10,844,000	$ 7,788,000
Actual return on assets still held																				(498,000)	(668,000)
Purchases, sales, and settlements																				6,739,000	3,087,000
Balance at the end of the period					2,264,121,000	2,079,181,000	1,850,550,000				2,264,121,000	2,079,181,000				8,660,000	2,419,000	49,970,000	29,278,000	8,660,000	2,419,000	8,660,000	2,419,000	748,339,000	684,221,000	608,663,000	748,339,000	684,221,000				10,844,000	7,788,000
Contributions
Employer's contributions under the plan					140,500,000	65,000,000	0	70,000,000					140,000,000	64,000,000	0									14,438,000	22,707,000	19,000,000			14,000,000	22,000,000	19,000,000
Minimum Contributions under MAP-21
Minimum contributions under MAP-21					141,000,000
2014					0
2015					19,000,000
2016					122,000,000
Expected employer's contributions
Expected employer's contributions									300,000,000
2014									175,000,000															10,000,000
2015										100,000,000														10,000,000
2016										25,000,000														10,000,000
Estimated Future Benefit Payments
2014					129,159,000																			28,664,000
2015					143,452,000																			31,804,000
2016					149,105,000																			34,933,000
2017					162,678,000																			37,966,000
2018					169,064,000																			40,972,000
Years 2019-2023					972,826,000																			245,366,000
Employee Savings Plan Benefits
APS's employees share of total cost of the plans (as a percent)				99.00%
Expenses recorded for the defined contribution savings plan	$ 9,000,000	$ 8,000,000	$ 8,000,000