Commitments And Contingent Liabilities (Environmental Matters) (Detail)	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2008 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2016 USD ($) Potentially_Responsible_Party entity site Station Plant mi	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2007 Potentially_Responsible_Party	Dec. 31, 2006	Dec. 31, 2003 Potentially_Responsible_Party
Site Contingency [Line Items]
Number of miles related to the Passaic River constituting a facility as determined by the US Environmental Protection Agency | mi		17
Number of miles on Passaic River tidal reach required to be studied as determined by the US Environmental Protection Agency | mi		8
Number of additional legal entities contacted by EPA in conjunction with Newark Bay study area contamination | entity		11
Number of operating electric generating stations located on Hackensack River | Station		2
Number of former MGP contamination sites located on Hackensack river in conjunction with Newark Bay study area contamination | site		1
Accrued environmental costs		$ 423,000,000	$ 415,000,000
New Salem facility cooling towers estimated cost total		1,000,000,000
PSE And G [Member]
Site Contingency [Line Items]
Percentage of cost attributable to potentially responsible party					7.00%
Accrued environmental costs		$ 354,000,000	$ 365,000,000
Power [Member]
Site Contingency [Line Items]
Ownership percentage of Keystone Coal fired plant in Pennsylvania		23.00%
New Salem facility cooling towers estimated cost total		$ 575,000,000
Psd Nsr Regulations Site Contingency [Member] | Power [Member]
Site Contingency [Line Items]
Penalty per day from date of violation-minimum		25,000
Penalty per day from date of violation-maximum		$ 37,500
Pse G S Former Mgp Sites [Member]
Site Contingency [Line Items]
Number of potentially responsible parties ("PRPs") in connection with environmental liabilities for operations conducted near Passaic River | Potentially_Responsible_Party		53		73
Estimated, total cost of the study		$ 156,000,000
Total Spend of Study to date		146,000,000
Company Share of Total Spend of Study to date		9,000,000
Pse G S Former Mgp Sites [Member] | Power [Member]
Site Contingency [Line Items]
Percentage of cost attributable to potentially responsible party					1.00%
Passaic River Site Contingency [Member]
Site Contingency [Line Items]
Estimated Cleanup Costs EPA Preferred Method		2,300,000,000
Accrual for Environmental Loss Contingencies		57,000,000
CPG Estimated Cleanup Costs Low Estimate		518,000,000
CPG Estimated Cleanup Costs High Estimate		3,200,000,000
CPG Targeted Method Cleanup Costs Low Estimate		518,000,000
Number Of Additional Potentially Responsible Parties Directed By New Jersey Department Of Environmental Protection To Arrange Damage Assessment For Lower Passaic River | Potentially_Responsible_Party						56
CPG Targeted Remedy Cleanup Costs High Estimate		772,000,000
Estimated cleanup costs agreed to by two potentially responsible parties	$ 80,000,000
Estimated cost of interim natural resource injury restoration		$ 950,000,000
Passaic River Site Contingency [Member] | PSE And G [Member]
Site Contingency [Line Items]
Number of former generating electric station | Plant		1
Number of former Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) sites | Plant		4
Accrual for Environmental Loss Contingencies, Period Increase (Decrease)		$ 36,000,000
Accrual for Environmental Loss Contingencies		46,000,000
CPG Targeted Method Cleanup Costs Low Estimate		10,000,000
Passaic River Site Contingency [Member] | Power [Member]
Site Contingency [Line Items]
Accrual for Environmental Loss Contingencies, Period Increase (Decrease)		8,000,000
Accrual for Environmental Loss Contingencies		11,000,000
CPG Targeted Method Cleanup Costs Low Estimate		3,000,000
Mgp Remediation Site Contingency [Member] | PSE And G [Member]
Site Contingency [Line Items]
Accrued environmental costs		434,000,000
Estimated Expenditures Low End Of Range		434,000,000
Estimated Expenditures High End Of Range		500,000,000
Remediation Liability Recorded As Other Current Liabilities		90,000,000
Remediation Liability Recorded As Other Noncurrent Liabilities		344,000,000
Regulatory Assets		434,000,000
Remedial Investigation And Feasibility Study [Member]
Site Contingency [Line Items]
Estimated, total cost of the study		30,000,000
Estimated Total Cost Of Study Low End of Range		$ 25,000,000
Passaic River mile 10.9 contaminant removal [Member]
Site Contingency [Line Items]
Percentage of cost attributable to potentially responsible party		3.00%