New Accounting Pronouncements	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015
New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles [Abstract]
Description of New Accounting Pronouncements Not yet Adopted [Text Block]	New Accounting Pronouncements In February 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2015-02, Consolidation (Topic 810): Amendments to the Consolidation Analysis (ASU 2015-02). ASU 2015-02 changes the analysis that reporting organizations must perform to evaluate whether they should consolidate certain legal entities, such as limited partnerships. The changes include, among others, modification of the evaluation of whether limited partnerships and similar legal entities are variable interest entities (VIEs) or voting interest entities and elimination of the presumption that a general partner should consolidate a limited partnership. ASU 2015-02 does not amend the related party guidance for situations in which power is shared between two or more entities that hold interests in a VIE. ASU 2015-02 is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2015. CERC will adopt ASU 2015-02 on January 1, 2016 and is currently assessing the impact, if any, that this standard will have on its financial position, results of operations, cash flows and disclosures. In April 2015, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2015-03, Interest-Imputation of Interest (Subtopic 835-30): Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Cost (ASU 2015-03). ASU 2015-03 requires that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability, consistent with debt discounts. The recognition and measurement guidance for debt issuance costs are not affected by ASU 2015-03. CERC will adopt ASU 2015-03 retrospectively on January 1, 2016, which will result in a reduction of both other long-term assets and long-term debt on its Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. CERC had debt issuance costs of $17 million and $18 million included in other long-term assets on its Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively. In April 2015, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2015-05, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other-Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40) (ASU 2015-05). ASU 2015-05 provides guidance to customers about whether a cloud computing arrangement includes a software license. If a cloud computing arrangement includes a software license, the customer should account for the software license element of the arrangement consistent with the acquisition of other software licenses. If a cloud computing arrangement does not include a software license, the customer should account for the arrangement as a service contract. The guidance will not change a customer’s accounting for service contracts. ASU 2015-05 is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within the fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2015 and may be adopted either prospectively or retrospectively. CERC will adopt ASU 2015-05 on January 1, 2016 and is currently assessing the impact that this standard will have on its financial position, results of operations, cash flows and disclosures. Management believes that other recently issued standards, which are not yet effective, will not have a material impact on CERC’s consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows upon adoption.

New Accounting Pronouncements

In February 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2015-02, Consolidation (Topic 810): Amendments to the Consolidation Analysis (ASU 2015-02). ASU 2015-02 changes the analysis that reporting organizations must perform to evaluate whether they should consolidate certain legal entities, such as limited partnerships. The changes include, among others, modification of the evaluation of whether limited partnerships and similar legal entities are variable interest entities (VIEs) or voting interest entities and elimination of the presumption that a general partner should consolidate a limited partnership. ASU 2015-02 does not amend the related party guidance for situations in which power is shared between two or more entities that hold interests in a VIE. ASU 2015-02 is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2015. CERC will adopt ASU 2015-02 on January 1, 2016 and is currently assessing the impact, if any, that this standard will have on its financial position, results of operations, cash flows and disclosures.

In April 2015, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2015-03, Interest-Imputation of Interest (Subtopic 835-30): Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Cost (ASU 2015-03). ASU 2015-03 requires that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability, consistent with debt discounts. The recognition and measurement guidance for debt issuance costs are not affected by ASU 2015-03. CERC will adopt ASU 2015-03 retrospectively on January 1, 2016, which will result in a reduction of both other long-term assets and long-term debt on its Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. CERC had debt issuance costs of $17 million and $18 million included in other long-term assets on its Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively.

In April 2015, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2015-05, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other-Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40) (ASU 2015-05). ASU 2015-05 provides guidance to customers about whether a cloud computing arrangement includes a software license. If a cloud computing arrangement includes a software license, the customer should account for the software license element of the arrangement consistent with the acquisition of other software licenses. If a cloud computing arrangement does not include a software license, the customer should account for the arrangement as a service contract. The guidance will not change a customer’s accounting for service contracts. ASU 2015-05 is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within the fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2015 and may be adopted either prospectively or retrospectively. CERC will adopt ASU 2015-05 on January 1, 2016 and is currently assessing the impact that this standard will have on its financial position, results of operations, cash flows and disclosures.

Management believes that other recently issued standards, which are not yet effective, will not have a material impact on CERC’s consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows upon adoption.