PARTNERS' EQUITY - ATM Equity Issuance Program (Details) - USD ($) shares in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2018	Mar. 31, 2017
PARTNERS' EQUITY
Net proceeds from issuance of common units	$ 40
General Partner
PARTNERS' EQUITY
Net proceeds from issuance of common units	$ 1
TC PipeLines GP, Inc. \| General Partner
PARTNERS' EQUITY
Ownership interest in the Partnership (as a percent)	2.00%	2.00%
ATM Equity Issuance Program \| Common Units
PARTNERS' EQUITY
Units sold	0.7
Sales agent commissions	$ 0
Net proceeds from issuance of common units	39
ATM Equity Issuance Program \| TC PipeLines GP, Inc. \| General Partner
PARTNERS' EQUITY
Equity contribution	$ 1

Percentage investment held by the managing member or general partner of the limited liability company (LLC) or limited partnership (LP).

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 272
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6373374&loc=d3e70478-108055

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- Definition

Total contributions made by each class of partners (i.e., general, limited and preferred partners).

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 505
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.3-04)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=27012166&loc=d3e187085-122770

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 505
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SAB Topic 4.F)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=27012166&loc=d3e187085-122770

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- Definition

Total change in each class of partners' capital accounts during the year due to the sale of units. All partners include general, limited and preferred partners.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 505
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.3-04)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=27012166&loc=d3e187085-122770

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 505
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 5
-Subparagraph (SAB Topic 4.F)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=27012166&loc=d3e187171-122770

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- Definition

The number of units sold in a public offering of each class of partners' capital account. Units represent shares of ownership of the general, limited, and preferred partners.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 505
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.3-04)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=27012166&loc=d3e187085-122770

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 505
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 5
-Subparagraph (SAB Topic 4.F)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=27012166&loc=d3e187171-122770

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- Definition

The cash outflow for cost incurred directly with the issuance of an equity security.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 15
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=98514028&loc=d3e3291-108585

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- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

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