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Business Segments (Narrative) (Details) | 1 Months Ended | 12 Months Ended | 3 Months Ended | 12 Months Ended | 3 Months Ended | 12 Months Ended | 3 Months Ended
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Apr. 30, 2013 USD ($) | Sep. 30, 2013 USD ($) segment | Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($) | Sep. 30, 2011 USD ($) | Sep. 30, 2013 United States USD ($) | Sep. 30, 2012 United States USD ($) | Sep. 30, 2011 United States USD ($) | Sep. 30, 2013 Canada | Sep. 30, 2012 Canada | Sep. 30, 2011 Canada | Sep. 30, 2012 Colombia | Sep. 30, 2013 Powell Canada CAD | Sep. 30, 2011 Powell Canada USD ($) | Jun. 30, 2013 Electrical Power Products USD ($) | Sep. 30, 2013 Electrical Power Products USD ($) | Sep. 30, 2012 Electrical Power Products USD ($) | Sep. 30, 2011 Electrical Power Products USD ($) | Dec. 31, 2011 Electrical Power Products Kazakhstan Joint Venture CAD | Dec. 31, 2011 Electrical Power Products Powell Canada CAD
Number of reportable business segments |  | 2 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Gain on sale of investment |  |  |  | $ 1,229,000 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 1,200,000 |
Equity investment in Kazakhstan |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 50.00% |
Loss on impairment of intangible assets |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 7,200,000 |  |  |  |  |  | 7,200,000
Recovery relating to cost overruns on a large project |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 5,100,000 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Revenues |  | 674,772,000 | 717,194,000 | 562,397,000 | 405,114,000 | 412,756,000 | 378,865,000 |  |  |  |  | 3,800,000 |  |  | 635,253,000 | 686,581,000 | 533,339,000 |  |
Other assets |  | 7,333,000 | 6,507,000 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 1,300,000 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Proceeds from legal settlements | $ 1,700,000 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | $ 1,700,000 |  |  |  |  |
Concentration risk percentage |  |  |  |  | 60.00% | 58.00% | 67.00% | 17.00% | 13.00% | 16.00% | 11.00% |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

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- Definition For an entity that discloses a concentration risk in relation to quantitative amount, which serves as the "benchmark" (or denominator) in the equation, this concept represents the concentration percentage derived from the division. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 825 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 21 -Subparagraph (a) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=7491637&loc=d3e13537-108611 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 275 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 20 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6927468&loc=d3e6404-108592 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 825 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 20 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=7491637&loc=d3e13531-108611 Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 275 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 18 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6927468&loc=d3e6351-108592 + Details
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