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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	9 Months Ended
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	Sep. 30, 2011
Other Cash Flow Information Disclosure [Abstract]
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Other Cash Flow Information NRG’s investing activities exclude capital expenditures of $217 million which were accrued and unpaid at September 30, 2011. Recent Accounting Developments ASU No. 2011-08 — On September 15, 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, issued Accounting Standards Update, or ASU, No. 2011-08, Intangibles — Goodwill and Other (Topic 350) - Testing Goodwill for Impairment, or ASU 2011-08. The objective of ASU 2011-08 is to simplify how entities test goodwill for impairment. The amendments in ASU 2011-08 permit an entity to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount as a basis for determining whether it is necessary to perform the two-step goodwill impairment test described in Topic 350. The more-likely-than-not threshold is defined as having a likelihood of more than 50 percent. ASU 2011-08 is effective for annual and interim goodwill impairment tests performed in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011. Early adoption is permitted. The Company will evaluate whether it will early adopt ASU 2011-08 for its annual impairment analysis in the fourth quarter 2011, and therefore has not yet determined whether there will be any impact on its results of operations, financial position or cash flows.