Nature of Business and Basis of Presentation	3 Months Ended
Nature of Business and Basis of Presentation	Mar. 31, 2020
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Nature of Business and Basis of Presentation	Nature of Business and Basis of Presentation General NRG Energy, Inc., or NRG or the Company, is an integrated power company built on dynamic retail brands with diverse generation assets. NRG brings the power of energy to consumers by producing and selling electricity and related products and services in major competitive power markets in the U.S. and Canada in a manner that delivers value to all of NRG's stakeholders. NRG is a customer-driven business focused on perfecting the integrated model by balancing retail load with generation supply within its deregulated markets. The Company sells energy, services, and innovative, sustainable products and services directly to retail customers under the brand names NRG, Reliant, Green Mountain Energy, Stream, and XOOM Energy, as well as other brand names owned by NRG, supported by approximately 23,000 MW of generation as of March 31, 2020. The accompanying unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the SEC's regulations for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. The following notes should be read in conjunction with the accounting policies and other disclosures as set forth in the notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements in the Company's 2019 Form 10-K. Interim results are not necessarily indicative of results for a full year. In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements contain all material adjustments consisting of normal and recurring accruals necessary to present fairly the Company's consolidated financial position as of March 31, 2020, and the results of operations, comprehensive income, cash flows and statements of stockholders' equity for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019. Segments As part of perfecting the integrated model, in which the majority of the Company’s generation serves its retail customers, the Company began managing its operations based on the combined results of the retail and wholesale generation businesses with a geographical focus in 2020. As a result, the Company changed its business segments from Retail and Generation to Texas, East and West/Other beginning in the first quarter of 2020. The Company's updated segment structure reflects how management currently makes financial decisions and allocates resources. The Company's businesses are segregated as follows: •Texas, which includes all activity related to customer, plant and market operations in Texas; •East, which includes the remaining activity related to customer operations and all activity related to plant and market operations in the East; •West/Other, which includes the following assets and activities: (i) all activity related to plant and market operations in the West, (ii) activity related to the Cottonwood power plant that was sold to Cleco on February 4, 2019 and is being leased back until 2025, (iii) the remaining renewables activity, including the Company’s equity method investments in Ivanpah Master Holdings, LLC and Agua Caliente, the remaining Home Solar assets and the NFL stadium solar generating assets, and (iv) activity related to the Company’s equity method investment for the Gladstone power plant in Australia; and •Corporate activities. All affected disclosures have been recast to reflect these changes for all periods presented. For further discussion of segment reporting, refer to Note 13, Segment Reporting. COVID-19 In March 2020, the World Health Organization categorized COVID-19 as a pandemic and the President of the United States declared the COVID-19 outbreak a national emergency. Electricity has been deemed a 'critical and essential business operation' under various state and federal governmental COVID-19 mandates. NRG remains focused on protecting the health and well-being of its employees, while supporting its customers and the communities in which it operates and assuring the continuity of its operations. NRG activated its Crisis Management Team ("CMT") in January 2020, which proactively began managing the Company's response to the impacts of COVID-19. The CMT implemented the business continuity plans for the Company and has taken a variety of measures to ensure the ongoing availability of the Company’s services, while maintaining the Company's commitment to its core values of health and safety. Pursuant to the Company’s Infectious Disease & Pandemic Policy, NRG implemented restrictions on business travel and face-to-face sales channels, instituted remote work practices and enhanced cleaning and hygiene protocols in all of its facilities. In order to effectively serve the Company’s customers, select essential employees and contractors are continuing to report to plant and certain office locations. The Company is also requiring pre-entry screening, including temperature checks, separation of work crews, additional personal protective equipment for employees and contractors when social distancing cannot be maintained, and a ban on all non-essential visitors. As a result of these business continuity measures, the Company has not experienced any material disruptions in its ability to continue its business operations to date. Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from these estimates. Reclassifications Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified for comparative purposes.