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Financings And Capitalization (Narrative) (Details) (USD $) | 3 Months Ended | 1 Months Ended
--- | --- | ---
Mar. 31, 2015 | Sep. 30, 2014
Financing And Capitalization [Line Items] |  |  |
Limitation on payment of stock dividends | $ 3,800,000,000 cms_AmountAvailableForDividendDistribution |  |
Common stock dividends from Consumers | 122,000,000 us-gaap_CashDividendsPaidToParentCompanyByConsolidatedSubsidiaries |  |
Consumers Energy Company [Member] |  |  |
Financing And Capitalization [Line Items] |  |  |
Unrestricted retained earnings | 860,000,000 us-gaap_StatutoryAccountingPracticesStatutoryAmountAvailableForDividendPaymentsWithoutRegulatoryApproval / dei_LegalEntityAxis = cms_ConsumersEnergyCompanyMember |  |
Consumers Energy Company [Member] | Commercial Paper [Member] |  |  |
Financing And Capitalization [Line Items] |  |  |
Short-term debt, authorized borrowings |  |  | 500,000,000 cms_ShortTermDebtAuthorizedBorrowings / dei_LegalEntityAxis = cms_ConsumersEnergyCompanyMember / us-gaap_ShortTermDebtTypeAxis = us-gaap_CommercialPaperMember
Short-term borrowings outstanding | 0 us-gaap_ShortTermBorrowings / dei_LegalEntityAxis = cms_ConsumersEnergyCompanyMember / us-gaap_ShortTermDebtTypeAxis = us-gaap_CommercialPaperMember |  |
Short Term Secured Borrowing Accounts Receivable Sales Program [Member] | Consumers Energy Company [Member] |  |  |
Financing And Capitalization [Line Items] |  |  |
Amount of accounts receivable eligible for transfer | 250,000,000 cms_AccountsReceivalbeSalesProgramMaximumBorrowingCapacity / us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis = cms_ShortTermSecuredBorrowingAccountsReceivableSalesProgramMember / dei_LegalEntityAxis = cms_ConsumersEnergyCompanyMember |  |
Short-term borrowings outstanding | 0 us-gaap_ShortTermBorrowings / us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis = cms_ShortTermSecuredBorrowingAccountsReceivableSalesProgramMember / dei_LegalEntityAxis = cms_ConsumersEnergyCompanyMember |  |
Revolving Credit Facilities December 20, 2018 [Member] | CMS Energy [Member] |  |  |
Financing And Capitalization [Line Items] |  |  |
Amount of Facility | 550,000,000 us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityMaximumBorrowingCapacity / dei_LegalEntityAxis = us-gaap_ParentCompanyMember / us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityAxis = cms_RevolvingCreditFacilitiesDecemberTwentyTwoThousandEighteenMember | [1] |
Revolving Credit Facilities December 20, 2018 [Member] | Consumers Energy Company [Member] |  |  |
Financing And Capitalization [Line Items] |  |  |
Amount of Facility | $ 650,000,000 us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityMaximumBorrowingCapacity / dei_LegalEntityAxis = cms_ConsumersEnergyCompanyMember / us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityAxis = cms_RevolvingCreditFacilitiesDecemberTwentyTwoThousandEighteenMember | [2] |
[1] | During the three months ended March 31, 2015, CMS Energy’s average borrowings totaled $68 million with a weighted-average interest rate of 1.42 percent. Obligations under this facility are secured by Consumers common stock.
[2] | Obligations under this facility are secured by FMBs of Consumers.

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