The amount paid to satisfy a pre-existing guarantee.

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- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ Details

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- Definition

Disclosure of the effect on depreciation expense of the current period when a change in accounting estimate affects several future periods.

+ Details

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- Definition

Disclosure of the effect on net income attributable to the parent company of the current period when a change in accounting estimate affects several future periods.

+ Details

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- Definition

Disclosure of the per share effect on net income attributable to the parent company of the current period when a change in accounting estimate affects several future periods.

+ Details

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- Definition

The amount of the gain (loss) for the period due to deconsolidation of a subsidiary or derecognition of a group of assets that is deferred pending completion of bankruptcy proceedings.

+ Details

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- Definition

Total generation capacity of the subsidiary, in megawatts.

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- Definition

Sum of the carrying amounts as of the balance sheet date of all assets that are recognized. Assets are probable future economic benefits obtained or controlled by an entity as a result of past transactions or events.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher SEC

-Name Regulation S-X (SX)

-Number 210

-Article 7

-Section 03

-Paragraph 12

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Topic 210

-SubTopic 10

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

-Section S99

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Publisher FASB

-Paragraph 1

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Concepts (CON)

-Number 6

-Paragraph 25

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher SEC

-Name Regulation S-X (SX)

-Number 210

-Section 02

-Paragraph 18

-Article 5

Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 210

-SubTopic 10

-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.18)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

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Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

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Sum of the carrying amounts as of the balance sheet date of all liabilities that are recognized. Liabilities are probable future sacrifices of economic benefits arising from present obligations of an entity to transfer assets or provide services to other entities in the future.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 210

-SubTopic 10

-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.19-26)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

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Financial Statement Presentation (Details) (USD $) In Millions, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified			9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Sep. 30, 2011 Thames [Member]	Feb. 01, 2011 Thames [Member] mw	Sep. 30, 2011 Brazil Depreciation Rates and Salvage Value [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Brazil Depreciation Rates and Salvage Value [Member]
Bankruptcy Proceedings [Line Items]
Generation Capacity (MW)				208
Assets	$ 40,883	$ 40,511		$ 158
Liabilities				170
Deconsolidation Gain Or Loss Amount Deferred			7
Amount Paid To Satisfy Guarantee			5
Change In Accounting Estimate [Line Items]
Increase in depreciation expense from change in estimate					17	52
Decrease in net income attributable to AES from change in estimate					$ 5	$ 14
Per share impact of decrease in net income attributable to AES from change in estimate					$ 0.01	$ 0.02