Commitments and Contingencies (Tables)

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2017

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Long-term Purchase Commitment [Table Text Block]

Natural gas supply commitments include natural gas contracts related to CERC’s Natural Gas Distribution and Energy Services business segments, which have various quantity requirements and durations, that are not classified as non-trading derivative assets and liabilities in CERC’s Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of June 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 as these contracts meet an exception as “normal purchases contracts” or do not meet the definition of a derivative. Natural gas supply commitments also include natural gas transportation contracts that do not meet the definition of a derivative. As of June 30, 2017, minimum payment obligations for natural gas supply commitments are approximately:

	(in millions)
Remaining six months of 2017	$	227
2018	488
2019	334
2020	167
2021	75
2022 and beyond	82