Earnings Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019	Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2019
BASIC EARNINGS (LOSS) PER SHARE
Income from continuing operations attributable to The AES Corporation common stockholders (Income)	$ (333)	$ 210	$ (275)	$ 380
Income from continuing operations attributable to The AES Corporation common stockholders (Shares)	665	664	665	663
Income from continuing operations attributable to The AES Corporation common stockholders (Per Share)	$ (0.50)	$ 0.32	$ (0.41)	$ 0.57
EFFECT OF DILUTIVE SECURITIES
Dilutive Securities, Effect on Basic Earnings Per Share, Options and Restrictive Stock Units	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0
Stock options (Shares)			0	1
Dilutive Securities Effect On Basic EPS, dilutive Stock Options, per diluted share			$ 0	$ 0
Restricted stock units (Shares)	0	3	0	3
Dilutive Securities Effect On Basic EPS, dilutive Restricted Stock Units, per diluted share	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0
DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE:
Income from continuing operations, diluted	$ (333)	$ 210	$ (275)	$ 380
Weighted average number of shares outstanding, diluted	665	667	665	667
Income from continuing operations, per diluted share	$ (0.50)	$ 0.32	$ (0.41)	$ 0.57
Share-based Payment Arrangement [Member]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share, Amount	6	1	6	1
Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) [Member]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share, Amount	3		3