Acquisitions and Dispositions - Pre-tax Profit (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Gulf Power
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Earnings before income taxes	$ 140	$ 229	$ 231
Florida Plants \| Southern Power
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Earnings before income taxes	$ 49	$ 37	$ 37

Amount before tax of income (loss) from an individually significant component disposed of or held-for-sale attributable to parent. Excludes discontinued operations.

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 360
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3A
-Subparagraph (a)(2)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109226691&loc=SL51724579-110230

Name:	us-gaap_IncomeLossFromIndividuallySignificantComponentDisposedOfOrHeldForSaleExcludingDiscontinuedOperationsAttributableToParentBeforeIncomeTax
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration