Related Party Transactions - MidAmerican Funding (Details) $ in Millions		12 Months Ended
		Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity	[1]	$ 9,051	$ 6,345
Income Taxes Receivable From (Payable To) Related Parties Current		334	(27)
Related Party Transaction, Cash Received for Income Taxes, Net		600	1,100	$ 1,781
MidAmerican Funding, LLC and Subsidiaries [Domain]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Notes Payable, Related Parties, Current		$ 164	31
Maximum Debt to Capitalization Ratio		0.67
Minumum Interest Coverage Ratio		2.2
MidAmerican Funding, LLC and Subsidiaries [Domain] | Affiliated Entity [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Related Party Transaction, Expense Reimbursement		$ 46	35	35
Due from Affiliate, Current		9	7
Due to Affiliate, Current		14	12
Due from Affiliate, Noncurrent		16	12
Due to Affiliate, Noncurrent		45	36
MidAmerican Funding, LLC and Subsidiaries [Domain] | BHE [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Related Party Transaction, Expenses from Transactions with Related Party		9	6	7
Income Taxes Receivable From (Payable To) Related Parties Current		64	(7)
Related Party Transaction, Cash Received for Income Taxes, Net		472	609	631
MidAmerican Funding, LLC and Subsidiaries [Domain] | Northern Natural Gas and BNSF Railway Company [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Purchases from Related Party		122	135	$ 165
MidAmerican Funding, LLC and Subsidiaries [Domain] | Revolving Credit Arrangement, $300 million [Member] | Line of Credit [Member] | MHC, Inc. [Member] | BHE [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Line of Credit Arrangement Offered to Affiliate, Maximum Amount Available		300
Notes Payable, Related Parties, Current		$ 164	$ 31
Debt, Weighted Average Interest Rate		1.629%	0.885%
MidAmerican Funding, LLC and Subsidiaries [Domain] | Revolving Credit Arrangement, $100 million [Member] | Line of Credit [Member] | MHC, Inc. [Member] | BHE [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity		$ 100
Notes Receivable, Related Parties, Current		$ 0	$ 0

[1] (1)The table does not include unused credit facilities and letters of credit for investments that are accounted for under the equity method.