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Benefit Plans (Narrative) (Details) $ in Millions | 12 Months Ended
--- | ---
Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) plan | Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) | Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items] |  |  |
Defined contribution plan, number of plans | 4 |  |
Defined contribution plan, award vesting period | 5 years |  |
Defined contribution plan contributions | $ | $ 23 | $ 15 | $ 18
Defined benefit plan, number of plans disclosure | 31 |  |
U.S. Non-Union Number of Defined Contribution Plans | 2 |  |
Parent Company Number of Defined Contribution Plans | 1 |  |
IPL Number of Non-Union and Union Defined Contribution Plans | 1 |  |
UNITED STATES |  |  |
Defined Benefit Plan Disclosure [Line Items] |  |  |
Defined benefit plan, number of plans disclosure | 5 |  |

X
- Definition Represents the number of defined benefit plans covering the employees at certain subsidiaries + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Defined Contribution Plan, Award Vesting Period + References No definition available. + Details
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Namespace Prefix: | aes_
Data Type: | xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type: | na
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X
- Definition The amount of the contributions made during the period to defined contribution plans + References No definition available. + Details
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Namespace Prefix: | aes_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
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- Definition Defined Contribution Plan, Number of Plans + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | aes_DefinedContributionPlanNumberofPlans
Namespace Prefix: | aes_
Data Type: | xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type: | na
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X
- Definition IPL Number of Non-Union Defined Contribution Plans + References No definition available. + Details
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Namespace Prefix: | aes_
Data Type: | xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type: | na
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- Definition Parent Company Number of Defined Contribution Plans + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | aes_ParentCompanyNumberofDefinedContributionPlans
Namespace Prefix: | aes_
Data Type: | xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type: | na
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- Definition U.S. non-union Defined Contribution Plans + References No definition available. + Details
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Balance Type: | na
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X
- 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. + References No definition available. + Details
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Balance Type: | na
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- Details
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Namespace Prefix: |
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Balance Type: |
Period Type: |