Acquisitions, Development and Divestures (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended					9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended	1 Months Ended		9 Months Ended																				3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended				1 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended				3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended				3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended				3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012 MW	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012 Proposed Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle Turbine [Member] Integer MW	Sep. 30, 2012 Proposed Bell Bend Nuclear Unit [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Proposed Bell Bend Nuclear Unit [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Susquehanna Roseland Transmission Line [Member] Integer	Dec. 31, 2011 Susquehanna Roseland Transmission Line [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 UK Regulated [Member] One Time Termination Benefits [Member] Integer	Dec. 31, 2011 UK Regulated [Member] One Time Termination Benefits [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 UK Regulated [Member] One Time Termination Benefits Member Specific Employee Class [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 UK Regulated [Member] One Time Termination Benefits Member Specific Employee Class [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 UK Regulated [Member] Severance Compensation [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 UK Regulated [Member] Severance Compensation [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 UK Regulated [Member] Seperation Benefits [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 UK Regulated [Member] Seperation Benefits [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 UK Regulated [Member] Seperation Benefits [Member]	Apr. 30, 2012 Ironwood [Member]		Sep. 30, 2012 Ironwood [Member]		Sep. 30, 2011 WPD Midlands [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 WPD Midlands [Member] 2011 Bridge Facility Costs [Member]		Sep. 30, 2012 WPD Midlands [Member] Foreign Currency Loss On 2011 Bridge Facility [Member]		Sep. 30, 2011 WPD Midlands [Member] Foreign Currency Loss On 2011 Bridge Facility [Member] PPL Capital Funding [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 WPD Midlands [Member] Foreign Currency Loss On 2011 Bridge Facility [Member] PPL WEM [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 WPD Midlands [Member] Net Hedge Gains Associated With 2011 Bridge Facility [Member]		Sep. 30, 2012 WPD Midlands [Member] Hedge Ineffectiveness [Member]		Sep. 30, 2012 WPD Midlands [Member] UK Stamp Duty Tax [Member]		Sep. 30, 2012 WPD Midlands [Member] Seperation Benefits [Member]		Sep. 30, 2012 WPD Midlands [Member] Other Acquisition Related Adjustments [Member]		Sep. 30, 2012 Terminated Bluegrass Plant Acquisition [Member] MW	Sep. 30, 2012 PPL Energy Supply LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 PPL Energy Supply LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 PPL Energy Supply LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 PPL Energy Supply LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 PPL Energy Supply LLC [Member] Proposed Bell Bend Nuclear Unit [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 PPL Energy Supply LLC [Member] Proposed Bell Bend Nuclear Unit [Member]	Apr. 30, 2012 PPL Energy Supply LLC [Member] Ironwood [Member]		Sep. 30, 2012 PPL Energy Supply LLC [Member] Ironwood [Member]		Sep. 30, 2012 PPL Electric Utilities Corp [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 PPL Electric Utilities Corp [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 PPL Electric Utilities Corp [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 PPL Electric Utilities Corp [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 PPL Electric Utilities Corp [Member] Susquehanna Roseland Transmission Line [Member] Integer	Dec. 31, 2011 PPL Electric Utilities Corp [Member] Susquehanna Roseland Transmission Line [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 LG And E And KU Energy LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 LG And E And KU Energy LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 LG And E And KU Energy LLC [Member] MW	Sep. 30, 2011 LG And E And KU Energy LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 LG And E And KU Energy LLC [Member] Proposed Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle Turbine [Member] MW Integer	Sep. 30, 2012 LG And E And KU Energy LLC [Member] Terminated Bluegrass Plant Acquisition [Member] MW	Sep. 30, 2012 Louisville Gas And Electric Co [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Louisville Gas And Electric Co [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Louisville Gas And Electric Co [Member] MW	Sep. 30, 2011 Louisville Gas And Electric Co [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Louisville Gas And Electric Co [Member] Proposed Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle Turbine [Member] MW Integer	Sep. 30, 2012 Louisville Gas And Electric Co [Member] Terminated Bluegrass Plant Acquisition [Member] MW	Sep. 30, 2012 Kentucky Utilities Co [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Kentucky Utilities Co [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Kentucky Utilities Co [Member] MW	Sep. 30, 2011 Kentucky Utilities Co [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Kentucky Utilities Co [Member] Proposed Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle Turbine [Member] MW Integer	Sep. 30, 2012 Kentucky Utilities Co [Member] Terminated Bluegrass Plant Acquisition [Member] MW
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquisition date																					Apr. 13, 2012		Apr. 01, 2011																										Apr. 13, 2012
Capacity of non-purchased units (in MW)																																								495																						495						495						495
Purchase price																																								$ 110																						$ 110						$ 110						$ 110
Fair Value of Consideration Paid for Acquisition [Abstract]
Aggregate enterprise consideration																			326																												326
Less: Estimated fair value of long-term debt outstanding assumed through consolidation																			258	[1]																											258	[1]
Plus: Restricted cash debt service reserves																			17																												17
Cash consideration paid for equity interests (including estimated working capital adjustments)																			85																												85
Original amount outstanding of debt assumed																			226																												226
Interest rate of debt assumed																			8.857%																												8.857%
Maturity date (in year)																			Dec. 31, 2025																												Dec. 31, 2025
Debt service reserve loans																			8																												8
Estimated fair value adjustment related to debt																			24																												24
Business Acquisition, Preliminary Purchase Price Allocation [Abstract]
PP&E																					505																												505
Long term debt (current and noncurrent)																					(258)	[2]																											(258)	[2]
Tolling agreement assets eliminated																					(170)	[3]																											(170)	[3]
Other net assets																					8																												8
Net identifiable assets acquired																					85	[4]																											85	[4]
Future minimum lease payments that will no longer be payable after acquisition																			270																												270
Future amortization 2012 through 2016																			15																												15
Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Information [Abstract]
Operating Revenues - PPL consolidated pro forma																							8,922
Net Income (Loss) Attributable to PPL Shareowners - PPL consolidated pro forma																							1,322
Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Information, Pre-tax Nonrecurring Credits (Expenses) [Line Items]
Interest Expense	248	240	714	678																				(43)	[5]							(12)	[6]								43	52	123	150							25	26	73	74			37	36	112	108			10	11	31	34			18	18	52	53
Other Income (Expense) - net	(44)	37	(31)	(2)																						(57)	[7]			55	[8]			(21)	[9]			(45)	[10]		4	2	14	20							3	3	6	4			(4)		(14)	(1)			(3)		(3)				1		(5)	1
Other operation and maintenance	650	735	2,095	2,041																																(92)	[11]				220	208	769	741							148	146	431	402			186	187	589	566			87	91	277	272			93	90	286	274
Foreign currency loss																												42	15
Separation Benefits - U.K. Regulated Segment
Accrued severance at beginning of period														8	21
Severance compensation											104	3	9	2	12		84	84
Severance paid														(2)	(25)
Accrued severance at end of period														8	8
Number of employees impacted										700
Portion of total related to early retirement deficiency costs																2	43	43
Portion of total related to severance compensation																7	41	41
Development Projects [Abstract]
Planned capacity expansion (in MW)					640																																																								640						640						640
Expected capital cost of an expansion project					600			560	500																																														560	500					600
Ownership percentage in a jointly owned plant																																																																			22.00%						78.00%
Number of plants anticipated to retire based on stricter EPA regulations or new construction					6																																																								6						6						6
Combined capacity of plants anticipated to retire based on stricter EPA regulations or new construction (in MW)			797		797																																																						797		797				797		797				797		797
Amount currently authorized by Board of Directors to spend on Bell Bend COLA						162																																							162
Capitalized costs associated with licensing efforts						$ 148	$ 131																																						$ 148	$ 131
Total length (in miles) of the expansion project to be routed through Pennsylvania								101																																															101

[1] The estimated long-term debt assumed through consolidation consisted of $226 million aggregate principal amount of 8.857% senior secured bonds to be fully repaid by 2025, plus $8 million of debt service reserve loans, and a $24 million estimated fair value adjustment.

[2] Represents non-cash activity excluded from the Statement of Cash Flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2012.

[3] Primarily an intangible asset, which represented PPL EnergyPlus' rights to and the related accounting for the tolling agreement with PPL Ironwood, LLC prior to the acquisition. On the acquisition date, PPL Ironwood, LLC recorded a liability, recognized at estimated fair value, for its obligation to PPL EnergyPlus. The tolling agreement assets of PPL EnergyPlus and the tolling agreement liability of PPL Ironwood, LLC eliminate in consolidation for PPL and PPL Energy Supply as a result of the acquisition, and therefore the agreement is considered effectively settled. Any difference between the tolling agreement assets and liability will result in a gain or loss on the effective settlement of the agreement. That amount is currently estimated to be insignificant.

[4] Goodwill is currently estimated to be insignificant.

[5] The 2011 Bridge Facility costs, primarily commitment and structuring fees, were incurred to establish a bridge facility for purposes of funding the WPD Midlands acquisition purchase price.

[6] The hedge ineffectiveness includes a combination of ineffectiveness associated with closed out interest rate swaps and a charge recorded as a result of certain interest rate swaps failing hedge effectiveness testing, both associated with the acquisition financing.

[7] The 2011 Bridge Facility was denominated in GBP. The amount includes a $42 million foreign currency loss on PPL Capital Funding's repayment of its 2011 Bridge Facility borrowing and a $15 million foreign currency loss associated with proceeds received on the U.S. dollar-denominated senior notes issued by PPL WEM in April 2011 that were used to repay a portion of PPL WEM's borrowing under the 2011 Bridge Facility.

[8] The repayment of borrowings on the 2011 Bridge Facility was economically hedged to mitigate the effects of changes in foreign currency exchange rates with forward contracts to purchase GBP, which resulted in net hedge gains.

[9] The U.K. stamp duty tax represents a tax on the transfer of ownership of property in the U.K. incurred in connection with the acquisition.

[10] Primarily includes acquisition-related advisory, accounting and legal fees.

[11] See "Separation Benefits - U.K. Regulated Segment" above.