Equity and Distributions (Details) (USD $) In Millions, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended							3 Months Ended			12 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended	1 Months Ended			9 Months Ended		5 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2011		Sep. 30, 2010	Sep. 30, 2011		Sep. 30, 2010	Dec. 31, 2010		Nov. 22, 2010 Holdings [Member]	Sep. 07, 2011 Duncan Energy Partners [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Enterprise [Member] Cash Distribution [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 Enterprise [Member] Cash Distribution [Member]	Mar. 31, 2011 Enterprise [Member] Cash Distribution [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Common units [Member] Holdings Merger [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Common units [Member] Duncan Merger [Member]	Dec. 31, 2009 Class B units [Member] TEPPCO Merger [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Common units [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Common units [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Class B units [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Class B units [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Treasury Units [Member]	Aug. 31, 2011 Distribution Reinvestment Plan [Member]	May 31, 2011 Distribution Reinvestment Plan [Member]	Feb. 28, 2011 Distribution Reinvestment Plan [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Distribution Reinvestment Plan [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Enterprise EUPP [Member]	May 31, 2011 Employee Unit Purchase Plan [Member]
Mergers [Line Items]
Units outstanding (in units)									139,195,064	24,036,950							870,649,071	843,681,572	4,520,431	4,520,431
Common unit exchange ratio in connection with merger														1.5	1.01
Common units issued in connection with merger (in units)														208,813,454	24,277,310
Number of quarters Class B units are not entitled to regular quarterly cash distributions																16
Number of Designated Units (in units)														30,610,000
Summary of changes in outstanding units [Roll Forward]
Balance, December 31, 2010 (in units)																	843,681,572		4,520,431		0
Common units issued in connection with Duncan Merger (in units)																	24,277,310		0		0
Common units issued in connection with DRIP and EUPP (in units)																	1,694,292		0		0	582,387	551,058	474,706	1,608,151	0	86,141
Restricted common units issued (in units)																	1,381,530		0		0
Forfeiture of restricted common units (in units)																	(129,899)		0		0
Acquisition of treasury units in connection with equity-based awards (in units)																	(241,432)		0		241,432
Cancellation of treasury units (in units)																	0		0		(241,432)
Other (in units)																	(14,302)		0		0
Balance, September 30, 2011 (in units)																	870,649,071		4,520,431		0
Conversion of restricted units to common units (in units)																	886,508
Registration Statements and Equity Offerings [Line Items]
Remaining units available for issuance (in units)																									26,806,721
Net Cash Proceeds from Sale of Common Units [Abstract]
Number of Common Units Issued (in units)																	1,694,292		0		0	582,387	551,058	474,706	1,608,151	0	86,141
Net Cash Proceeds				$ 67.1																		$ 22.0	$ 21.9	$ 19.6	$ 63.5		$ 3.6
Maximum common units permitted under the plan (in units)																										440,879	1,200,000
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Abstract]
Commodity derivative instruments	(32.2)	[1]		(32.2)	[1]		(31.8)	[1]
Interest rate derivative instruments	(303.6)	[1]		(303.6)	[1]		(2.1)	[1]
Foreign currency translation adjustment	1.7	[2]		1.7	[2]		1.7	[2]
Pension and postretirement benefit plans	(1.0)			(1.0)			(0.4)
Proportionate share of other comprehensive loss of Energy Transfer Equity	(1.7)			(1.7)			(1.0)
Subtotal	(336.8)			(336.8)			(33.6)
Amounts attributable to noncontrolling interests	0			0			1.1
Total accumulated other comprehensive loss in partners' equity	(336.8)			(336.8)			(32.5)
Components of noncontrolling interests [Abstract]
Former owners of Duncan Energy Partners	0			0			412.1
Joint venture partners	112.8	[3]		112.8	[3]		115.6	[3]
Accumulated other comprehensive loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	0			0			(1.1)
Total noncontrolling interests	112.8			112.8			526.6
Components of net income attributable to noncontrolling interests [Abstract]
Limited partners of Enterprise	0		296.6	0		887.3
Former owners of Duncan Energy Partners	3.6		8.5	20.9		26.8
Joint venture partners	4.5		5.5	15.8		19.3
Total	8.1		310.6	36.7		933.4
Cash distributions paid to noncontrolling interests:
Limited partners of Enterprise				0		1,045.0
Former owners of Duncan Energy Partners				32.9		32.1
Joint venture partners				19.1		21.9
Total cash distributions paid to noncontrolling interests				52.0		1,099.0
Cash contributions from noncontrolling interests:
Limited partners of Enterprise				0		1,031.6
Former owners of Duncan Energy Partners				2.6		1.2
Joint venture partners				2.1		1.6
Total cash contributions from noncontrolling interests				$ 4.7		$ 1,034.4
Distributions to Partners [Abstract]
Distribution Per Common Unit (in dollars per unit)											$ 0.6125	$ 0.6050	$ 0.5975
Record Date											2011-10-31	2011-07-29	2011-04-29
Payment Date											2011-11-09	2011-08-10	2011-05-06

[1] See Note 4 for additional information regarding these components of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss).

[2] Relates to transactions of our Canadian NGL marketing subsidiary.

[3] Represents third-party ownership interests in joint ventures that we consolidate, including Seminole Pipeline Company, Tri-States NGL Pipeline L.L.C., Independence Hub LLC, Rio Grande Pipeline Company, and Wilprise Pipeline Company LLC.