Long-Term Debt and Liquidity Matters (Details) (USD $)							3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2014 Pinnacle West	Dec. 31, 2013 Pinnacle West	Mar. 31, 2014 APS	Dec. 31, 2013 APS	Mar. 31, 2014 APS SCE Four Corners Units 4 and 5 item	Dec. 30, 2013 APS SCE Four Corners Units 4 and 5	Mar. 31, 2014 APS ACC	Mar. 31, 2014 APS ACC Minimum	Mar. 31, 2014 Long term debt APS item	Jul. 12, 2013 Pollution Control Revenue Refunding Bonds, 1994 Series A APS	Oct. 11, 2013 Pollution Control Revenue Refunding Bonds, 1994 Series C APS	Mar. 31, 2014 Revolving credit facility maturing in 2016 Pinnacle West	Mar. 31, 2014 Revolving credit facility maturing in 2016 APS	Mar. 31, 2014 Revolving credit facility maturing in 2018 APS	Jan. 10, 2014 4.70% unsecured senior notes that mature on January 15, 2044 APS	May 01, 2014 Pollution Control Revenue Refunding Bonds, 2009 Series A, D and E Subsequent event
Long-Term Debt and Liquidity Matters
Current borrowing capacity on credit facility											$ 1,000,000,000			$ 200,000,000	$ 500,000,000	$ 500,000,000
Maximum commercial paper support available under credit facility											250,000,000			200,000,000
Maximum borrowing capacity on credit facility upon satisfaction of certain conditions and consent of lenders														300,000,000	700,000,000	700,000,000
Outstanding borrowings											0			0
Outstanding letters of credit											0			0
Commercial paper borrowings outstanding											0			10,000,000
Outstanding amount of debt												33,000,000	32,000,000					100,000,000
Notes issued																	250,000,000
Interest rate (as a percent)																	4.70%
Ownership interest acquired							48.00%	48.00%
Number of tax-exempt indebtedness series re-acquired							2
Estimated fair value of long-term debt, including current maturities
Carrying Amount	3,586,000,000	3,337,000,000	125,000,000	125,000,000	3,461,000,000	3,212,000,000
Fair Value	3,919,000,000	3,579,000,000	125,000,000	125,000,000	3,794,000,000	3,454,000,000
Debt Provisions
Required common equity ratio ordered by ACC (as a percent)										40.00%
Total shareholder equity	4,222,786,000	4,194,470,000			4,331,661,000	4,308,884,000			4,300,000,000
Total capitalization									7,800,000,000
Dividend restrictions, shareholder equity required									$ 3,100,000,000
Number of line of credit facilities											2