Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
Net income	$ 98	$ 74
Adjustments to net income:
Depreciation and amortization	291	290
Gain on sales and disposals of businesses	0	(47)
Impairment expenses	168	161
Deferred income taxes	(6)	31
Provisions for (reversals of) contingencies	12	(1)
Gain on extinguishment of debt	(17)	(4)
Loss on sales of assets	12	0
Other	43	(3)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities
(Increase) decrease in accounts receivable	50	37
(Increase) decrease in inventory	(16)	(24)
(Increase) decrease in prepaid expenses and other current assets	120	274
(Increase) decrease in other assets	(43)	(21)
Increase (decrease) in accounts payable and other current liabilities	(74)	(72)
Increase (decrease) in income tax payables, net and other tax payables	38	(148)
Increase (decrease) in other liabilities	27	93
Net cash provided by operating activities	703	640
INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Capital expenditures	(474)	(640)
Acquisitions, net of cash acquired	0	(6)
Proceeds from the sale of businesses, net of cash sold, and equity method investments	4	115
Sale of short-term investments	907	1,603
Purchase of short-term investments	(716)	(1,708)
(Increase) decrease in restricted cash, debt service reserves and other assets	(22)	96
Other investing	(39)	(8)
Net cash used in investing activities	(340)	(548)
FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Borrowings under the revolving credit facilities	225	248
Repayments under the revolving credit facilities	(84)	(116)
Repayments of recourse debt	(341)	(116)
Issuance of non-recourse debt	569	161
Repayments of non-recourse debt	(295)	(248)
Payments for financing fees	(18)	(11)
Distributions to noncontrolling interests	(33)	(78)
Contributions from noncontrolling interests and redeemable security holders	29	28
Proceeds from the sale of redeemable stock of subsidiaries	0	134
Dividends paid on AES common stock	(79)	(73)
Payments for financed capital expenditures	(26)	(10)
Purchase of treasury stock	0	(79)
Other financing	(26)	(20)
Net cash used in financing activities	(79)	(180)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash	6	6
(Increase) decrease in cash of discontinued operations and held-for-sale businesses	(7)	4
Total increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	283	(78)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning	1,305	1,257
Cash and cash equivalents, ending	1,588	1,179
SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURES:
Cash payments for interest, net of amounts capitalized	195	228
Cash payments for income taxes, net of refunds	74	182
SCHEDULE OF NONCASH INVESTING AND FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Assets acquired through capital lease and other liabilities	0	3
Dividends declared but not yet paid	79	75
Reclassification of Alto Maipo loans and accounts payable into equity (see Note 11—Equity)	$ 279	$ 0