Debt Obligations 2 Narrative (Details) (USD $)			9 Months Ended					9 Months Ended	6 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012 Fair Value of Debt [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Fair Value of Debt [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Revolver 2012 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Seventh Amended and Restated Credit Agreement [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Term Loan Due August 2013 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Term Loan Due June 2012 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Term Loan Due March 2012 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Note payable - ETE [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Successor [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Successor [Member] Southern Union [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Successor [Member] Southern Union [Member] 7.20% Junior Subordinated Notes due 2066 [Member]		Dec. 31, 2011 Successor [Member] Southern Union [Member] 7.20% Junior Subordinated Notes due 2066 [Member]		Sep. 30, 2012 Successor [Member] Panhandle [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Successor [Member] Panhandle [Member] Senior Notes due 2013 [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 LIBOR [Member] Southern Union [Member] 7.20% Junior Subordinated Notes due 2066 [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt	$ 3,520,000,000	$ 3,700,000,000				$ 342,400,000		$ 221,200,000		$ 1,339,997,000	$ 600,000,000	[1]	$ 600,000,000	[1]	$ 1,764,179,000
Senior Notes																250,000,000
Debt, face amount			700,000,000	550,000,000	250,000,000	465,000,000	455,000,000
Debt, Weighted Average Interest Rate			1.83%
Debt instrument, maturity date			May 20, 2016
Debt instrument, LIBOR, basis spread on variable rate																	3.0175%
Debt Instruments Fair Value	3,550,000,000	3,960,000,000
Interest rate								3.75%
Repayments of Long-term Debt								$ 55,000,000	$ 297,000

[1] Effective November 1, 2011, the interest rate on the Junior Subordinated Notes changed to a variable rate based upon the three-month LIBOR rate plus 3.0175%, reset quarterly. See Interest Rate Swaps below for more information regarding the interest rate on these notes.