Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations - USD ($) shares in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2017
Total Revenue	$ 2,837	$ 2,693	$ 8,114	$ 7,887
Cost of Goods and Services Sold	2,166	2,053	6,187	6,067
Operating margin	671	640	1,927	1,820
General and administrative expenses	(43)	(52)	(134)	(155)
Interest expense	(255)	(297)	(799)	(860)
Interest income	79	63	231	185
Loss on extinguishment of debt	(11)	(49)	(187)	(44)
Other expense	(29)	(36)	(42)	(67)
Other income	10	16	30	103
Loss (gain) on disposal and sale of businesses	(21)	(1)	856	(49)
Asset impairment expense	(74)	(2)	(166)	(260)
Foreign currency transaction gains (losses)	5	22	(44)	14
INCOME FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS BEFORE TAXES AND EQUITY IN EARNINGS OF AFFILIATES	332	304	1,672	687
Income tax expense	(146)	(93)	(509)	(246)
Net equity in earnings of affiliates	6	24	31	33
INCOME FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS	192	235	1,194	474
Income (loss) from operations of discontinued businesses, net of income tax expense of $0, $17, $2 and $24, respectively	(4)	26	(9)	35
Gain from disposal of discontinued businesses, net of income tax expense of $2, $0, $44 and $0, respectively	3	0	199	0
NET INCOME	191	261	1,384	509
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests and redeemable stock of subsidiaries	(90)	(88)	(311)	(298)
NET INCOME (LOSS) ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE AES CORPORATION	101	152	1,075	181
Income (Loss) from Discontinued Operations, Net of Tax, Attributable to Noncontrolling Interest	0	(21)	2	(30)
AMOUNTS ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE AES CORPORATION COMMON STOCKHOLDERS:
Income from continuing operations, net of tax	102	147	883	176
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax	(1)	5	192	5
NET INCOME (LOSS) ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE AES CORPORATION	$ 101	$ 152	$ 1,075	$ 181
BASIC EARNINGS PER SHARE:
Income from continuing operations attributable to The AES Corporation common stockholders, net of tax	$ 0.15	$ 0.22	$ 1.33	$ 0.27
Income from discontinued operations attributable to The AES Corporation common stockholders, net of tax	0	0.01	0.29	0.01
NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE AES CORPORATION COMMON STOCKHOLDERS	0.15	0.23	1.62	0.28
DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE:
Income from continuing operations attributable to The AES Corporation common stockholders, net of tax	0.15	0.22	1.33	0.27
Income from discontinued operations attributable to The AES Corporation common stockholders, net of tax	$ 0	$ 0.01	$ 0.29	$ 0.01
DILUTED SHARES OUTSTANDING	665	663	664	662
DIVIDENDS DECLARED PER COMMON SHARE	$ 0.13	$ 0.12	$ 0.26	$ 0.24
NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE AES CORPORATION COMMON STOCKHOLDERS	$ 0.15	$ 0.23	$ 1.62	$ 0.28
Electric Transmission [Member]
Total Revenue	$ 777	$ 853	$ 2,215	$ 2,449
Cost of Goods and Services Sold	638	704	1,856	2,088
Electricity, Generation [Member]
Total Revenue	2,060	1,840	5,899	5,438
Cost of Goods and Services Sold	$ 1,528	$ 1,349	$ 4,331	$ 3,979