Schedule I - Condensed Financial Information of Parent (Guarantees and Letters of Credit) (Details) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021 USD ($) agreement
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Obligations number of agreements \| agreement	149
Guarantor Obligations, Maximum Exposure, Undiscounted	$ 2,331
Guarantees [Member] \| Parent Company
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Obligations number of agreements \| agreement	90
Guarantor Obligations, Maximum Exposure, Undiscounted	$ 2,200
Standby Letters of Credit [Member] \| Minimum
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Unused Capacity, Commitment Fee Percentage	1.00%
Standby Letters of Credit [Member] \| Maximum
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Unused Capacity, Commitment Fee Percentage	3.00%
Guarantee Obligations [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Obligations number of agreements \| agreement	90
Guarantor Obligations, Maximum Exposure, Undiscounted	$ 2,162
Guarantee Obligations [Member] \| Minimum
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Loss Contingency, Estimate of Possible Loss	0
Guarantee Obligations [Member] \| Maximum
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Loss Contingency, Estimate of Possible Loss	$ 400
Unsecured Debt [Member] \| Financial Standby Letter of Credit [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Obligations number of agreements \| agreement	31
Guarantor Obligations, Maximum Exposure, Undiscounted	$ 119
Unsecured Debt [Member] \| Financial Standby Letter of Credit [Member] \| Minimum
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Loss Contingency, Estimate of Possible Loss	0
Unsecured Debt [Member] \| Financial Standby Letter of Credit [Member] \| Maximum
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Loss Contingency, Estimate of Possible Loss	$ 42
Secured Debt [Member] \| Financial Standby Letter of Credit [Member]
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Obligations number of agreements \| agreement	26
Guarantor Obligations, Maximum Exposure, Undiscounted	$ 48
Secured Debt [Member] \| Financial Standby Letter of Credit [Member] \| Minimum
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Loss Contingency, Estimate of Possible Loss	0
Secured Debt [Member] \| Financial Standby Letter of Credit [Member] \| Maximum
Condensed Financial Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Loss Contingency, Estimate of Possible Loss	$ 16

Number of agreements under which the Parent Company has contingent contractual obligations.

No definition available.

Name:	aes_ObligationsNumberOfAgreements
Namespace Prefix:	aes_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	srt_CondensedFinancialStatementsCaptionsLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	srt_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Maximum potential amount of future payments (undiscounted) the guarantor could be required to make under the guarantee or each group of similar guarantees before reduction for potential recoveries under recourse or collateralization provisions.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 460
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4
-Subparagraph (b)(1)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=124440162&loc=d3e12069-110248

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_GuaranteeObligationsMaximumExposure
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The fee, expressed as a percentage of the line of credit facility, for available but unused credit capacity under the credit facility.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityUnusedCapacityCommitmentFeePercentage
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	dtr-types:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Reflects the estimated amount of loss from the specified contingency as of the balance sheet date.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 450
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121557415&loc=d3e14435-108349

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 450
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 9
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121557415&loc=d3e14557-108349

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 460
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=124440162&loc=d3e12021-110248

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LossContingencyEstimateOfPossibleLoss
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_LossContingenciesByNatureOfContingencyAxis=us-gaap_GuaranteesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_ConsolidatedEntitiesAxis=srt_ParentCompanyMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_LossContingenciesByNatureOfContingencyAxis=us-gaap_StandbyLettersOfCreditMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_RangeAxis=srt_MinimumMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_RangeAxis=srt_MaximumMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_LossContingenciesByNatureOfContingencyAxis=us-gaap_GuaranteeObligationsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_LongtermDebtTypeAxis=us-gaap_UnsecuredDebtMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_LossContingenciesByNatureOfContingencyAxis=us-gaap_FinancialStandbyLetterOfCreditMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_LongtermDebtTypeAxis=us-gaap_SecuredDebtMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: