Short-term Debt and Credit Facilities - Narrative (Details) £ in Millions, $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2021 USD ($) option	Dec. 31, 2021 GBP (£)	Dec. 31, 2021 CAD ($)	Dec. 31, 2020 USD ($)
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facilities	$ 11,281,000,000			$ 11,030,000,000
Short-term debt	2,009,000,000			2,286,000,000
BHE
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facilities	3,500,000,000			3,500,000,000
Short-term debt	0			0
BHE Renewables
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Letters of credit outstanding	311,000,000			305,000,000
PAC
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facilities	1,200,000,000			1,200,000,000
Letters of credit outstanding	19,000,000			11,000,000
Short-term debt	0			93,000,000
MEC
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facilities	1,505,000,000			1,505,000,000
NPC
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facilities	400,000,000			400,000,000
Letters of credit outstanding	15,000,000
Short-term debt	180,000,000			0
SPPC
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facilities	250,000,000			250,000,000
Short-term debt	159,000,000			45,000,000
Northern Powergrid
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facilities	271,000,000			228,000,000
Line of credit, amount drawn	1,000,000			23,000,000
Short-term debt	1,000,000			23,000,000
HomeServices
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facilities	3,300,000,000			3,020,000,000
Short-term debt	$ 1,424,000,000			1,900,000,000
Line of credit | BHE
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Debt to capitalization ratio	0.70	0.70	0.70
Line of credit | BHE Renewables
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Letters of credit outstanding	$ 101,000,000			$ 105,000,000
Line of credit | MEC
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Debt to capitalization ratio	0.65	0.65	0.65
Line of credit | NPC
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Debt to capitalization ratio	0.65	0.65	0.65
Weighted average interest rate	0.86%	0.86%	0.86%	0.90%
Short-term debt	$ 339,000,000			$ 45,000,000
Line of credit | SPPC
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Weighted average interest rate	0.86%	0.86%	0.86%	0.90%
Line of credit | AltaLink
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Debt to capitalization ratio	0.75	0.75	0.75
Weighted average interest rate	0.35%	0.35%	0.35%	0.36%
Short-term debt	$ 108,000,000			$ 113,000,000
Line of credit | AltaLink Investments, L.P.
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Debt to capitalization ratio	0.8	0.8	0.8
Weighted average interest rate	1.46%	1.46%	1.46%	1.47%
Short-term debt	$ 137,000,000			$ 112,000,000
EBITDA to interest expense ratio	2.25	2.25	2.25
Letter of credit | AltaLink Investments, L.P.
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facilities			$ 10
Unsecured credit facility, $3.5 billion, expiring June 2024 | Line of credit | BHE
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facilities	$ 3,500,000,000
Unsecured Credit Facility, $1.5 Billion, Expiring June 2024 | Line of credit | MEC
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facilities	$ 1,500,000,000
Unsecured credit facility, $900 million, expiring June 2022 | Line of credit | MEC
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facilities				900,000,000
Unsecured credit facility, $600 million, expiring August 2021 | Line of credit | MEC
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facilities				$ 600,000,000
Multicurrency revolving credit facility, expiring December 2024 | Line of credit | Northern Powergrid
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Debt to regulated asset value	0.8	0.8	0.8
Interest coverage ratio	2.5	2.5	2.5
Multicurrency revolving credit facility, expiring December 2024 | Line of credit | Northern Powergrid (Northeast)
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Debt to regulated asset value	0.65	0.65	0.65
Multicurrency revolving credit facility, expiring December 2024 | Revolving credit facility | Northern Powergrid
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facilities | £		£ 200
Number of extension options | option	2
Extension period	1 year
Secured credit facility, C$500 million, expiring December 2026 | Line of credit | AltaLink
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facilities			$ 500
Secured credit facility, C$75 million, expiring December 2026 | Line of credit | AltaLink
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facilities			75
Unsecured credit facility, C$300 million, expiring December 2026 | Line of credit | AltaLink Investments, L.P.
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facilities			300
Revolving credit facility, C$200 million, expiring April 2022 | Line of credit | AltaLink Investments, L.P.
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facilities			$ 200
Extension period	1 year
Unsecured credit facility, $700 million, expiring September 2026 | Line of credit | HomeServices
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Weighted average interest rate	0.95%	0.95%	0.95%	1.15%
Short-term debt	$ 250,000,000			$ 100,000,000
Mortgage lines of credit, expiring February through September 2022 | Line of credit | HomeServices
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facilities	$ 2,600,000,000			$ 2,400,000,000
Weighted average interest rate	1.91%	1.91%	1.91%	2.03%
Short-term debt	$ 1,200,000,000			$ 1,800,000,000
Line of credit | NPC
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Weighted average interest rate	0.86%	0.86%	0.86%
Short-term debt	$ 180,000,000			0
Line of credit | Unsecured credit facility, expiring June 2024 | PAC
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facilities	$ 1,200,000,000
Debt to capitalization ratio	0.65	0.65	0.65
Line of credit | Unsecured credit facility, expiring June 2024 | Commercial paper | PAC
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Line of credit, amount drawn	$ 0			$ 93,000,000
Weighted average interest rate				0.16%
Line of credit | Secured credit facility, $400 million, expiring June 2024 | NPC
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facilities	$ 400,000,000
Debt to capitalization ratio	0.65	0.65	0.65
Line of credit | Secured credit facility, $250 million, expiring June 2024 | SPPC
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facilities	$ 250,000,000
Debt to capitalization ratio	0.65	0.65	0.65
Line of credit | Unsecured credit facility, $700 million, expiring September 2026 | HomeServices
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Credit facilities	$ 700,000,000