Document and Entity Information	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Oct. 25, 2012
Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Trading Symbol	PCG
Entity Registrant Name	PG&E CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0001004980
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		429,984,324
Pacific Gas And Electric Company [Member]
Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Trading Symbol	PCG
Entity Registrant Name	PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC CO
Entity Central Index Key	0000075488
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Non-accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		264,374,809