Contingencies and Commitments	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2023
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Contingencies and Commitments	Note 23. Contingencies and commitments We are parties in a variety of legal actions that routinely arise out of the normal course of business, including legal actions seeking to establish liability directly through insurance contracts or indirectly through reinsurance contracts issued by Berkshire subsidiaries. Plaintiffs occasionally seek punitive or exemplary damages. Generally, we do not believe that such normal and routine litigation will have a material effect on our financial condition or results of operations. Berkshire and certain of its subsidiaries are also involved in other kinds of legal actions, some of which assert or may assert claims or seek to impose fines and penalties. We currently believe that any liability that may arise as a result of other pending legal actions will not have a material effect on our consolidated financial condition or results of operations. PacifiCorp, a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire’s 92% owned subsidiary, Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company (“BHE”), operates as a regulated electric utility in Oregon and other Western states. In September 2020, a severe weather event resulting in high winds, low humidity and warm temperatures contributed to several major wildfires (the “2020 Wildfires”), which resulted in real and personal property and natural resource damage, personal injuries and loss of life and widespread power outages in Oregon and Northern California. The wildfires spread across certain parts of PacifiCorp’s service territory and surrounding areas across multiple counties in Oregon and California, including Siskiyou County, California; Jackson County, Oregon; Douglas County, Oregon; Marion County, Oregon; Lincoln County, Oregon; and Klamath County, Oregon, burning over 500,000 acres in aggregate. Third-party reports for these wildfires indicate over 2,000 structures destroyed, including residences; several structures damaged; multiple individuals injured; and several fatalities. Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued) Note 23. Contingencies and commitments (Continued) Investigations into the cause and origin of each wildfire are complex and ongoing and being conducted by various entities, including the U.S. Forest Service, the California Public Utilities Commission, the Oregon Department of Forestry, the Oregon Department of Justice, PacifiCorp and various experts engaged by PacifiCorp. Numerous lawsuits on behalf of plaintiffs related to the 2020 Wildfires have been filed in Oregon and California, including a class action complaint against PacifiCorp that was filed in 2020, captioned Jeanyne James et al. v. PacifiCorp et al., in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Oregon (the “James case”). Amounts sought in the lawsuits, complaints and demands filed in Oregon total over $7 billion, excluding any doubling or trebling of damages included in the complaints. Generally, the complaints filed in California do not specify damages sought and are not included in this amount. Final determinations of liability will only be made following the completion of comprehensive investigations, litigation and similar processes. Several insurance carriers have filed subrogation complaints in Oregon and California with allegations similar to those made in the aforementioned lawsuits. Additionally, certain governmental agencies have informed PacifiCorp that they are contemplating filing actions in connection with certain of the Oregon 2020 Wildfires. In June 2023, a jury issued a verdict for the 17 named plaintiffs in the James case. The plaintiffs seek damages for economic losses, non-economic losses, including mental suffering, emotional distress, personal injury and loss of life, punitive damages, other damages and attorneys’ fees. PacifiCorp intends to vigorously appeal the jury’s findings and damage awards, including whether the case can proceed as a class action. The appeals process and further actions could take several years. Based on the facts and circumstances available to us as of the date of this filing, which includes the status of the verdict in the James case with respect to the 17 named plaintiffs, other litigation and recent settlements, PacifiCorp has accrued cumulative estimated pre-tax probable losses associated with the 2020 Wildfires of $1,018 million through June 30, 2023, or $608 million net of probable insurance recoveries. PacifiCorp’s cumulative accrual includes estimates of probable losses for fire suppression costs, real and personal property damages, natural resource damages for certain areas and non-economic damages such as personal injury damages and loss of life damages that are considered probable of being incurred and that it is reasonably able to estimate at this time. For certain aspects of the 2020 Wildfires for which loss is considered probable, information necessary to reasonably estimate the potential losses, such as those related to certain areas of natural resource damages, is not currently available. It is reasonably possible PacifiCorp will incur significant additional losses beyond the amounts currently accrued; however, we are currently unable to reasonably estimate the range of possible additional losses that could be incurred due to the number of properties and parties involved, including claimants in the class to the James case, the variation in those types of properties and lack of available details and the ultimate outcome of legal actions. On July 10, 2023, BHE announced that it had executed an agreement to acquire an additional 50% interest in Cove Point LNG, LP, which would increase its interest to 75%. The transaction is valued at $3.3 billion and is subject to applicable regulatory approvals.

Contingencies and Commitments

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2023

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Note 23. Contingencies and commitments

We are parties in a variety of legal actions that routinely arise out of the normal course of business, including legal actions seeking to establish liability directly through insurance contracts or indirectly through reinsurance contracts issued by Berkshire subsidiaries. Plaintiffs occasionally seek punitive or exemplary damages. Generally, we do not believe that such normal and routine litigation will have a material effect on our financial condition or results of operations.

Berkshire and certain of its subsidiaries are also involved in other kinds of legal actions, some of which assert or may assert claims or seek to impose fines and penalties. We currently believe that any liability that may arise as a result of other pending legal actions will not have a material effect on our consolidated financial condition or results of operations.

PacifiCorp, a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire’s 92% owned subsidiary, Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company (“BHE”), operates as a regulated electric utility in Oregon and other Western states. In September 2020, a severe weather event resulting in high winds, low humidity and warm temperatures contributed to several major wildfires (the “2020 Wildfires”), which resulted in real and personal property and natural resource damage, personal injuries and loss of life and widespread power outages in Oregon and Northern California. The wildfires spread across certain parts of PacifiCorp’s service territory and surrounding areas across multiple counties in Oregon and California, including Siskiyou County, California; Jackson County, Oregon; Douglas County, Oregon; Marion County, Oregon; Lincoln County, Oregon; and Klamath County, Oregon, burning over 500,000 acres in aggregate. Third-party reports for these wildfires indicate over 2,000 structures destroyed, including residences; several structures damaged; multiple individuals injured; and several fatalities.

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

Note 23. Contingencies and commitments (Continued)

Investigations into the cause and origin of each wildfire are complex and ongoing and being conducted by various entities, including the U.S. Forest Service, the California Public Utilities Commission, the Oregon Department of Forestry, the Oregon Department of Justice, PacifiCorp and various experts engaged by PacifiCorp.

Numerous lawsuits on behalf of plaintiffs related to the 2020 Wildfires have been filed in Oregon and California, including a class action complaint against PacifiCorp that was filed in 2020, captioned Jeanyne James et al. v. PacifiCorp et al., in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Oregon (the “James case”). Amounts sought in the lawsuits, complaints and demands filed in Oregon total over $7 billion, excluding any doubling or trebling of damages included in the complaints. Generally, the complaints filed in California do not specify damages sought and are not included in this amount. Final determinations of liability will only be made following the completion of comprehensive investigations, litigation and similar processes.

Several insurance carriers have filed subrogation complaints in Oregon and California with allegations similar to those made in the aforementioned lawsuits. Additionally, certain governmental agencies have informed PacifiCorp that they are contemplating filing actions in connection with certain of the Oregon 2020 Wildfires.

In June 2023, a jury issued a verdict for the 17 named plaintiffs in the James case. The plaintiffs seek damages for economic losses, non-economic losses, including mental suffering, emotional distress, personal injury and loss of life, punitive damages, other damages and attorneys’ fees. PacifiCorp intends to vigorously appeal the jury’s findings and damage awards, including whether the case can proceed as a class action. The appeals process and further actions could take several years.

Based on the facts and circumstances available to us as of the date of this filing, which includes the status of the verdict in the James case with respect to the 17 named plaintiffs, other litigation and recent settlements, PacifiCorp has accrued cumulative estimated pre-tax probable losses associated with the 2020 Wildfires of $1,018 million through June 30, 2023, or $608 million net of probable insurance recoveries. PacifiCorp’s cumulative accrual includes estimates of probable losses for fire suppression costs, real and personal property damages, natural resource damages for certain areas and non-economic damages such as personal injury damages and loss of life damages that are considered probable of being incurred and that it is reasonably able to estimate at this time. For certain aspects of the 2020 Wildfires for which loss is considered probable, information necessary to reasonably estimate the potential losses, such as those related to certain areas of natural resource damages, is not currently available.

It is reasonably possible PacifiCorp will incur significant additional losses beyond the amounts currently accrued; however, we are currently unable to reasonably estimate the range of possible additional losses that could be incurred due to the number of properties and parties involved, including claimants in the class to the James case, the variation in those types of properties and lack of available details and the ultimate outcome of legal actions.

On July 10, 2023, BHE announced that it had executed an agreement to acquire an additional 50% interest in Cove Point LNG, LP, which would increase its interest to 75%. The transaction is valued at $3.3 billion and is subject to applicable regulatory approvals.