Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations - USD ($) shares in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020	Mar. 31, 2019
Total Revenue	$ 2,338	$ 2,650
Cost of Goods and Services Sold	(1,831)	(2,064)
Operating margin	507	586
General and administrative expenses	(38)	(46)
Interest expense	(233)	(265)
Interest income	70	79
Loss on extinguishment of debt	(1)	(10)
Other expense	(4)	(12)
Other income	45	30
Loss on disposal and sale of business interests	0	(4)
Asset impairment expense	(6)	0
Foreign Currency Transaction Gain, before Tax	24
Foreign Currency Transaction Loss, before Tax		(4)
Other non-operating expense	(44)	0
INCOME FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS BEFORE TAXES AND EQUITY IN EARNINGS OF AFFILIATES	320	354
Income tax expense	(89)	(115)
Net equity in losses of affiliates	(2)	(6)
NET INCOME	229	233
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests and redeemable stock of subsidiaries	(85)	(79)
NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE AES CORPORATION	144	154
AMOUNTS ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE AES CORPORATION COMMON STOCKHOLDERS:
Income from continuing operations, net of tax	144	154
NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE AES CORPORATION	$ 144	$ 154
BASIC EARNINGS PER SHARE:
Income from continuing operations attributable to The AES Corporation common stockholders, net of tax	$ 0.22	$ 0.23
NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE AES CORPORATION COMMON STOCKHOLDERS	0.22	0.23
DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE:
Income from continuing operations attributable to The AES Corporation common stockholders, net of tax	$ 0.22	$ 0.23
DILUTED SHARES OUTSTANDING	668	667
NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE AES CORPORATION COMMON STOCKHOLDERS	$ 0.22	$ 0.23
Electric Transmission [Member]
Total Revenue	$ 712	$ 785
Cost of Goods and Services Sold	(592)	(635)
Electricity, Generation [Member]
Total Revenue	1,626	1,865
Cost of Goods and Services Sold	$ (1,239)	$ (1,429)