v2.4.0.6

Commitments and Contingencies (Narrative) (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified | 12 Months Ended
--- | ---
Dec. 31, 2012 | Dec. 31, 2011 | Dec. 31, 2010
Commitments and Contingencies [Line Items] |  |  |
Schedule of Guarantor Obligations | At December 31, 2012, guarantees of subsidiary debt, standby letters of credit and surety bonds to third parties and guarantees of subsidiary operating lease payments and their respective expiration dates were as follows (in millions):
Guarantee Commitments |  | 2013 |  | 2014 |  | 2015 |  | 2016 |  | 2017 |  | Thereafter |  | Total
Guarantee of subsidiary debt(1) |  | $ | 47 |  |  | $ | 36 |  |  | $ | 37 |  |  | $ | 36 |  |  | $ | 26 |  |  | $ | 209 |  |  | $ | 391 |
Standby letters of credit(2)(4) |  | 536 |  |  | 41 |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | 19 |  |  | 30 |  |  | 626 |
Surety bonds(3)(4)(5) |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | 4 |  |  | 4 |
Guarantee of subsidiary operating lease payments(4) |  | 7 |  |  | 3 |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | 10 |
Total |  | $ | 590 |  |  | $ | 80 |  |  | $ | 37 |  |  | $ | 36 |  |  | $ | 45 |  |  | $ | 243 |  |  | $ | 1,031 |
____________
(1) | Represents Calpine Corporation guarantees of certain power plant capital leases and related interest. All guaranteed capital leases are recorded on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.
(2) | The standby letters of credit disclosed above represent those disclosed in Note 6.
(3) | The majority of surety bonds do not have expiration or cancellation dates.
(4) | These are contingent off balance sheet obligations.
(5) | As of December 31, 2012, $3 million of cash collateral is outstanding related to these bonds.
Guarantor Obligations, Current Carrying Value | $ 3 |  |
Outstanding claims related to guarantees | 0 |  |
Royalty Expense | 22 | 22 | 25
LTSA [Member] |  |  |
Unrecorded Unconditional Purchase Obligation |  |  |
Unrecorded Unconditional Purchase Obligation | 68 |  |
Term of Unrecorded Unconditional Purchase Obligation Lower Limit | P1Y |  |
Term of Unrecorded Unconditional Purchase Obligation Upper Limit | P5Y |  |
Public Utilities, Inventory, Fuel [Member] |  |  |
Unrecorded Unconditional Purchase Obligation |  |  |
Unrecorded Unconditional Purchase Obligation | $ 3,000 |  |
Term of Unrecorded Unconditional Purchase Obligation Lower Limit | P1Y |  |
Term of Unrecorded Unconditional Purchase Obligation Upper Limit | P13Y |  |
Term of Unrecorded Unconditional Purchase Obligation Outlier | 29 years |  |

X
- Details
Name: | cpn_CommitmentsAndContingenciesLineItems
Namespace Prefix: | cpn_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Outstanding claims related to guarantees + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | cpn_OutstandingClaimsRelatedToGuarantees
Namespace Prefix: | cpn_
Data Type: | xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Term of Unrecorded Unconditional Purchase Obligation Lower Limit + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | cpn_TermOfUnrecordedUnconditionalPurchaseObligationLowerLimit
Namespace Prefix: | cpn_
Data Type: | us-types:dateStringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Term of Unrecorded Unconditional Purchase Obligation Outlier + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | cpn_TermOfUnrecordedUnconditionalPurchaseObligationOutlier
Namespace Prefix: | cpn_
Data Type: | xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Term of Unrecorded Unconditional Purchase Obligation Upper Limit + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | cpn_TermOfUnrecordedUnconditionalPurchaseObligationUpperLimit
Namespace Prefix: | cpn_
Data Type: | us-types:dateStringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition The current carrying amount of the liability for the freestanding or embedded guarantor's obligations under the guarantee or each group of similar guarantees. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 5 -Paragraph 9 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 460 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 4 -Subparagraph (c) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6851643&loc=d3e12069-110248 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name FASB Interpretation (FIN) -Number 45 -Paragraph 13 -Subparagraph c -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_GuaranteeObligationsCurrentCarryingValue
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | credit
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Amount of expense related to royalty payments under a contractual arrangement such as payment for mineral and drilling rights and use of technology or intellectual property. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 225 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 2 -Subparagraph (SX 210.5-03.3) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6880815&loc=d3e20235-122688 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_RoyaltyExpense
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Tabular disclosure of each guarantee obligation, or each group of similar guarantee obligations, including (a) the nature of the guarantee, including its term, how it arose, and the events or circumstances that would require the guarantor to perform under the guarantee; (b) the maximum potential amount of future payments (undiscounted) the guarantor could be required to make under the guarantee; (c) the current carrying amount of the liability, if any, for the guarantor's obligations under the guarantee; and (d) the nature of any recourse provisions under the guarantee, and any assets held either as collateral or by third parties, and any relevant related party disclosure. Excludes disclosures about product warranties. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name FASB Interpretation (FIN) -Number 45 -Paragraph 13, 16 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 460 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 4 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6851643&loc=d3e12069-110248 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 5 -Paragraph 9, 10, 11, 12 -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 460 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 6 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6851643&loc=d3e12265-110248 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_ScheduleOfGuaranteeObligationsTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_UnrecordedUnconditionalPurchaseObligationAbstract
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Amount of the unrecorded obligation to transfer funds in the future for fixed or minimum amounts or quantities of goods or services at fixed or minimum prices (for example, as in take-or-pay contracts or throughput contracts). + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 440 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 4 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6394976&loc=d3e25336-109308 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) -Number 47 -Paragraph 7 -Subparagraph b -LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_UnrecordedUnconditionalPurchaseObligationBalanceSheetAmount
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | credit
Period Type: | instant