Consolidated Balance Sheets - USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 1,089,000,000	$ 1,029,000,000
Restricted cash	297,000,000	336,000,000
Short-term investments	335,000,000	400,000,000
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $13 and $20, respectively	1,300,000,000	1,479,000,000
Inventory	461,000,000	487,000,000
Prepaid expenses	102,000,000	80,000,000
Other current assets, net of allowance of $0	726,000,000	802,000,000
Current held-for-sale assets	1,104,000,000	618,000,000
Total current assets	5,414,000,000	5,231,000,000
Property, Plant and Equipment:
Land	417,000,000	447,000,000
Electric generation, distribution assets and other	26,707,000,000	25,383,000,000
Accumulated depreciation	(8,472,000,000)	(8,505,000,000)
Construction in progress	4,174,000,000	5,249,000,000
Property, plant and equipment, net	22,826,000,000	22,574,000,000
Other Assets:
Investments in and advances to affiliates	835,000,000	966,000,000
Debt service reserves and other deposits	441,000,000	207,000,000
Goodwill	1,061,000,000	1,059,000,000
Other intangible assets, net of accumulated amortization of $330 and $307, respectively	827,000,000	469,000,000
Deferred Tax Assets, Tax Deferred Expense	288,000,000	156,000,000
Loan receivable, net of allowance of $0	0	1,351,000,000
Other noncurrent assets, net of allowance of $21 and $0, respectively	1,660,000,000	1,635,000,000
Noncurrent held-for-sale assets	1,251,000,000	0
Total other assets	6,363,000,000	5,843,000,000
TOTAL ASSETS	34,603,000,000	33,648,000,000
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Accounts payable	1,156,000,000	1,311,000,000
Accrued interest	191,000,000	201,000,000
Accrued non-income taxes	257,000,000	253,000,000
Deferred Income	438,000,000	34,000,000
Accrued and other liabilities	1,223,000,000	987,000,000
Non-recourse debt, including $336 and $337, respectively, related to variable interest entities	1,430,000,000	1,868,000,000
Current held-for-sale liabilities	667,000,000	442,000,000
Total current liabilities	5,362,000,000	5,096,000,000
NONCURRENT LIABILITIES
Recourse debt	3,446,000,000	3,391,000,000
Non-recourse debt, including $3,918 and $3,872, respectively, related to variable interest entities	15,005,000,000	14,914,000,000
Deferred income taxes	1,100,000,000	1,213,000,000
Other noncurrent liabilities	3,241,000,000	2,917,000,000
Noncurrent held-for-sale liabilities	857,000,000	0
Total noncurrent liabilities	23,649,000,000	22,435,000,000
Commitments and Contingencies (see Notes 12 and 13)
Redeemable stock of subsidiaries	872,000,000	888,000,000
THE AES CORPORATION STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Common stock ($0.01 par value, 1,200,000,000 shares authorized; 818,398,654 issued and 665,370,128 outstanding at December 31, 2020 and 817,843,916 issued and 663,952,656 outstanding at December 31, 2019)	8,000,000	8,000,000
Additional paid-in capital	7,561,000,000	7,776,000,000
Accumulated deficit	(680,000,000)	(692,000,000)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(2,397,000,000)	(2,229,000,000)
Treasury stock, at cost (153,028,526 and 153,891,260 shares at December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively)	(1,858,000,000)	(1,867,000,000)
Total AES Corporation stockholders’ equity	2,634,000,000	2,996,000,000
NONCONTROLLING INTERESTS	2,086,000,000	2,233,000,000
Total equity	4,720,000,000	5,229,000,000
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY	34,603,000,000	33,648,000,000
Consolidated Variable Interest Entities [Member]
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Non-recourse debt, including $336 and $337, respectively, related to variable interest entities	336,000,000	337,000,000
NONCURRENT LIABILITIES
Non-recourse debt, including $3,918 and $3,872, respectively, related to variable interest entities	$ 3,918,000,000	$ 3,872,000,000