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Segments (Details) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
Segments (Details) $ in Millions	Jun. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2017 USD ($) segment	Jun. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of strategic business units \| segment			6
Number of reportable segments \| segment			6
Adjusted PTC
Adjusted Pretax Contribution	$ 243	$ 160	$ 433	$ 345
Reconciliation To Income From Continuing Operations Before Taxes
Unrealized derivative losses (gains)	2	30	1	(4)
Unrealized foreign currency transaction losses (gains)	(24)	17	(33)	9
Disposition/acquisition losses (gains)	54	17	106	(2)
Impairment losses	94	235	262	285
Extinguishment of debt losses (gains)	11	6	(5)	6
Pretax contribution	106	(145)	102	51
Net equity in earnings of affiliates	2	7	9	14
Less: Income (loss) from continuing operations before taxes, attributable to noncontrolling interests	136	130	306	114
Income (loss) from continuing operations before taxes and equity in earnings of affiliates	240	(22)	399	151
Assets
Total Assets	36,469		36,469		$ 36,119
Operating Segments [Member]
Revenue
Total Revenue	3,470	3,229	6,962	6,500
Adjusted PTC
Adjusted Pretax Contribution	243	160	433	345
Intersegment Eliminations [Member]
Revenue
Total Revenue	(5)	(6)	(7)	(11)
UNITED STATES
Assets
Total Assets	9,283		9,283		9,333
UNITED STATES \| Operating Segments [Member]
Revenue
Total Revenue	785	811	1,593	1,666
Adjusted PTC
Adjusted Pretax Contribution	63	58	111	143
Andes - Generation [Member]
Assets
Total Assets	9,171		9,171		8,971
Andes - Generation [Member] \| Operating Segments [Member]
Revenue
Total Revenue	672	575	1,290	1,197
Adjusted PTC
Adjusted Pretax Contribution	82	84	170	145
BRAZIL
Assets
Total Assets	6,347		6,347		6,448
BRAZIL \| Operating Segments [Member]
Revenue
Total Revenue	982	895	2,021	1,734
Adjusted PTC
Adjusted Pretax Contribution	13	7	52	12
MCAC - Generation [Member]
Assets
Total Assets	5,435		5,435		5,162
MCAC - Generation [Member] \| Operating Segments [Member]
Revenue
Total Revenue	635	530	1,221	1,049
Adjusted PTC
Adjusted Pretax Contribution	99	75	158	123
Europe [Member]
Assets
Total Assets	2,575		2,575		2,664
Europe [Member] \| Operating Segments [Member]
Revenue
Total Revenue	209	222	446	468
Adjusted PTC
Adjusted Pretax Contribution	54	34	109	103
Asia [Member]
Assets
Total Assets	3,203		3,203		3,113
Asia [Member] \| Operating Segments [Member]
Revenue
Total Revenue	186	201	378	395
Adjusted PTC
Adjusted Pretax Contribution	26	26	48	48
Corporate Other And Other Eliminations [Member]
Assets
Total Assets	353		353		428
Corporate Other And Other Eliminations [Member] \| Operating Segments [Member]
Revenue
Total Revenue	6	1	20	2
Adjusted PTC
Adjusted Pretax Contribution	(94)	$ (124)	(215)	$ (229)
Disposal Group, Held-for-sale, Not Discontinued Operations [Member]
Assets
Total Assets	$ 102		$ 102		$ 0