Palo Verde Sale Leaseback Variable Interest Entities (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended			3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended				3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended			0 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013	Jun. 30, 2014 ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY item	Jun. 30, 2013 ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY	Jun. 30, 2014 ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY item	Jun. 30, 2013 ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY	Dec. 31, 2013 ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY	Dec. 31, 1986 ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY item	Jun. 30, 2014 ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY Consolidation of VIEs	Jun. 30, 2013 ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY Consolidation of VIEs	Jun. 30, 2014 ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY Consolidation of VIEs	Jun. 30, 2013 ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY Consolidation of VIEs	Dec. 31, 2013 ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY Consolidation of VIEs	Jul. 07, 2014 ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY Consolidation of VIEs Through 2023 Subsequent event item	Jul. 07, 2014 ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY Consolidation of VIEs Through 2033 Subsequent event item	Jul. 07, 2014 ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY Consolidation of VIEs Period 2016 through 2023 Subsequent event	Jul. 07, 2014 ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY Consolidation of VIEs Period 2024 through 2033 Subsequent event	Jul. 07, 2014 ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY Consolidation of VIEs Period 2024 through 2033 Subsequent event Maximum
Palo Verde Sale Leaseback Variable Interest Entities
Number of VIE lessor trusts						3		3			3
Number of leases under which assets are retained																	1	2
Annual lease payments								$ 49,000,000											$ 23,000,000	$ 16,000,000
Lease period																					2 years
Increase in net income due to consolidation of Palo Verde Sale Leaseback Trusts	8,926,000	8,391,000	17,851,000	16,783,000		8,926,000	8,391,000	17,851,000	16,783,000			9,000,000	8,000,000	18,000,000	17,000,000
Amounts relating to the VIEs included in Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
Palo Verde sale leaseback property plant and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation	123,190,000		123,190,000		125,125,000	123,190,000		123,190,000		125,125,000		123,000,000		123,000,000		125,000,000
Current maturities of long-term debt	368,841,000		368,841,000		540,424,000	368,841,000		368,841,000		540,424,000		37,000,000		37,000,000		26,000,000
Long-term debt excluding current maturities												1,000,000		1,000,000		13,000,000
Equity - Noncontrolling interests	147,972,000		147,972,000		145,990,000	147,972,000		147,972,000		145,990,000		148,000,000		148,000,000		146,000,000
Maximum payment to the VIEs' noncontrolling equity participants upon the occurrence of certain unlikely events														138,000,000
VIE debt to be assumed upon the occurrence of certain unlikely events														$ 38,000,000