Segment Information - Goodwill (Details) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	$ 9,595
Acquisitions	23
Foreign currency translation	45
Ending balance	9,663
PacifiCorp [Member]
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	1,129
Acquisitions	0
Foreign currency translation	0
Ending balance	1,129
MidAmerican Funding [Member]
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	2,102
Acquisitions	0
Foreign currency translation	0
Ending balance	2,102
NV Energy, Inc. [Member]
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	2,369
Acquisitions	0
Foreign currency translation	0
Ending balance	2,369
Northern Powergrid Holdings [Member]
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	952
Acquisitions	0
Foreign currency translation	14
Ending balance	966
BHE Pipeline Group [Member]
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	73
Acquisitions	0
Foreign currency translation	0
Ending balance	73
BHE Transmission [Member]
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	1,448
Acquisitions	0
Foreign currency translation	31
Ending balance	1,479
BHE Renewables [Member]
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	95
Acquisitions	0
Foreign currency translation	0
Ending balance	95
HomeServices [Member]
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	1,427
Acquisitions	23
Foreign currency translation	0
Ending balance	$ 1,450

Amount after accumulated impairment loss of an asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 45
-Paragraph 5
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Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
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Amount of increase in asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized resulting from a business combination.

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Amount of foreign currency translation gain (loss) which increases (decreases) an asset representing future economic benefits from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.

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A roll forward is a reconciliation of a concept from the beginning of a period to the end of a period.

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