Percentage of equity interest in business disposed.

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Dispositions and Held-for-Sale Businesses [Abstract]

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The effective percentage of the affiliate's voting interest owned by the reporting entity (directly or indirectly)

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- Definition

Number of U.K. Wind Projects Sold

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- Definition

Pre-tax income of disposed businesses, Excluding gain on disposal, included in continuing operations

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No definition available.

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- Definition

Pre-tax loss of disposed businesses, excluding gain on disposal, included in continuing operations

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No definition available.

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- Definition

Proceeds from Sale of Ownership Interests

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No definition available.

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Sale Agreement, Buyer Option To Purchase Ownership Interest, Sales Price

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No definition available.

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- Definition

Amount of consideration transferred, consisting of acquisition-date fair value of assets transferred by the acquirer, liabilities incurred by the acquirer, and equity interest issued by the acquirer.

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Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
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-Name Accounting Standards Codification
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- Definition

Amount before tax of gain (loss) recognized on the sale or disposal of a disposal group. Excludes discontinued operations.

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-Name Accounting Standards Codification
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- Definition

Gain (loss) from sale or disposal of an organization or integrated set of activities (for example, but not limited to, a partnership or corporation) engaged in providing a product or service in a commercial, industrial, or professional environment.

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

Amount after tax of income (loss) from continuing operations attributable to the parent.

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Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

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No definition available.

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The cash inflow associated with the amount received from the sale of a portion of the company's business, for example a segment, division, branch or other business, during the period.

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The cash inflow associated with the amount received from the sale of a business segment or subsidiary or sale of an entity that is related to it but not strictly controlled during the period (for example, an unconsolidated subsidiary, affiliate, joint venture or equity method investment).

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Acquisitions and Dispositions (Details) $ in Millions							3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
Acquisitions and Dispositions (Details) $ in Millions	Jan. 27, 2016 USD ($)	Jan. 01, 2016 USD ($)	Jul. 01, 2015 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Nov. 20, 2014 USD ($)	Aug. 22, 2014 USD ($) project	Jun. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Sep. 16, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Aug. 21, 2015
Income Statement Balance Sheet And Additional Disclosures By Disposal Groups Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Business								$ 29		$ 29	$ 358
Proceeds from Divestiture of Businesses and Interests in Affiliates								631		138	1,807
Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations Attributable to Parent								8		331	705
Dispositions and Held-for-Sales Businesses
Proceeds from Sale of Ownership Interests								$ 0		154	83
Ebute [Member]
Dispositions and Held-for-Sales Businesses
Pre-tax loss of disposed businesses, Excluding gain on disposal, included in continuing operations											(27)
UK Wind Projects
Dispositions and Held-for-Sales Businesses
Number of U.K. Wind Projects Sold \| project						4
Disposal Group, Disposed of by Sale, Not Discontinued Operations [Member] \| AES Nigeria Barge limited [Member]
Dispositions and Held-for-Sales Businesses
Ownership interest sold					95.00%
Disposal Group, Disposed of by Sale, Not Discontinued Operations [Member] \| Armenia Mountain [Member]
Income Statement Balance Sheet And Additional Disclosures By Disposal Groups Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Proceeds from Divestiture of Businesses			$ 64
Dispositions and Held-for-Sales Businesses
Ownership interest sold				100.00%
Pre-tax gain on disposal			$ 22
Sale Agreement, Buyer Option To Purchase Ownership Interest, Sales Price				$ 75
Disposal Group, Disposed of by Sale, Not Discontinued Operations [Member] \| Ebute [Member]
Dispositions and Held-for-Sales Businesses
Proceeds from Sale of Ownership Interests					$ 22
Pre-tax gain on disposal					$ (6)
Disposal Group, Disposed of by Sale, Not Discontinued Operations [Member] \| AES NBO [Member]
Dispositions and Held-for-Sales Businesses
Ownership interest sold					100.00%
Disposal Group, Disposed of by Sale, Not Discontinued Operations [Member] \| UK Wind Projects
Dispositions and Held-for-Sales Businesses
Proceeds from Sale of Ownership Interests						$ 158
Pre-tax gain on disposal						$ 78
Pre-tax loss of disposed businesses, Excluding gain on disposal, included in continuing operations											(18)
Number of U.K. Wind Projects Sold \| project						4
Distributed energy [Domain]
Income Statement Balance Sheet And Additional Disclosures By Disposal Groups Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Business Combination, Consideration Transferred									$ 43
Armenia Mountain [Member]
Dispositions and Held-for-Sales Businesses
Pre-tax income of disposed businesses, Excluding gain on disposal, included in continuing operations										6	7
UK Wind Projects
Income Statement Balance Sheet And Additional Disclosures By Disposal Groups Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Business							$ (20)
DPLER [Member]
Income Statement Balance Sheet And Additional Disclosures By Disposal Groups Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Business		$ 49
Proceeds from Divestiture of Businesses and Interests in Affiliates										76
Dispositions and Held-for-Sales Businesses
Pre-tax income of disposed businesses, Excluding gain on disposal, included in continuing operations										11	(129)
Kelanitissa [Member]
Income Statement Balance Sheet And Additional Disclosures By Disposal Groups Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Business	$ (5)
Proceeds from Divestiture of Businesses and Interests in Affiliates	$ 18
Dispositions and Held-for-Sales Businesses
Pre-tax income of disposed businesses, Excluding gain on disposal, included in continuing operations										$ (7)	$ 1
Investment In Affiliate Ownership Percentage												90.00%