Related Party Transactions - MidAmerican Funding (Details) $ in Millions		12 Months Ended
		Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity	[1]	$ 9,114	$ 9,051
Related Party Transaction, Cash Received for Income Taxes, Net		900	600	$ 1,053
MidAmerican Funding, LLC and Subsidiaries [Domain]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Notes Payable, Related Parties, Current		$ 156	164
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		$ 44	46	35
Due from Affiliate, Current		5	9
Due to Affiliate, Current		12	14
Due from Affiliate, Noncurrent		20	16
Due to Affiliate, Noncurrent		36	45
MidAmerican Funding, LLC and Subsidiaries [Domain] | BHE [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Related Party Transaction, Proceeds From Transfer of Asset		15
Related Party Transaction, Expenses from Transactions with Related Party		11	9	6
Income Taxes Receivable From (Payable To) Related Parties Current		(156)	64
Related Party Transaction, Cash Received for Income Taxes, Net		511	472	609
MidAmerican Funding, LLC and Subsidiaries [Domain] | Northern Natural Gas and BNSF Railway Company [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Purchases from Related Party		127	122	$ 135
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		$ 156	$ 164
Debt, Weighted Average Interest Rate		2.629%	1.629%
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
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]
Debt, Weighted Average Interest Rate		0.00%	0.00%

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