Risk Management and Hedging Activities - MEC - Derivative Contract Volumes (Details) - Commodity derivative [Member] MWh in Millions, Dth in Millions	Sep. 30, 2016 MWh Dth	Dec. 31, 2015 MWh Dth
Electricity purchases (in megawatt hours) [Member]
Notional Amounts of Outstanding Derivative Positions [Line Items]
Derivative, nonmonetary notional amount | MWh	2	10
Natural gas purchases (in decatherms) [Member]
Notional Amounts of Outstanding Derivative Positions [Line Items]
Derivative, nonmonetary notional amount | Dth	321	317
MidAmerican Energy Company [Member] | Electricity purchases (in megawatt hours) [Member]
Notional Amounts of Outstanding Derivative Positions [Line Items]
Derivative, nonmonetary notional amount | MWh	0	15
MidAmerican Energy Company [Member] | Natural gas purchases (in decatherms) [Member]
Notional Amounts of Outstanding Derivative Positions [Line Items]
Derivative, nonmonetary notional amount | Dth	17	17