FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT:
Amy Bacigalupo, Communications Manager
July 15, 2026
The Clock is Ticking, But Virginia Regulators, Lawmakers Still Have Time to Ensure Review Process Puts Virginia Families First
Richmond, Va. — Dominion Energy today filed its application with the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) seeking approval of NextEra Energy’s proposed $66.8 billion acquisition. This filing starts the clock for state regulators to determine whether the deal serves the public interest. Virginia law gives regulators as little as 60 days to review the largest utility acquisition in U.S. history, but the SCC and the General Assembly have the power to extend this window and strengthen review standards.
“This deal would hand Virginia’s electric grid to a company with a troubling track record of raising bills in Florida, heavily interfering in state politics and prioritizing corporate profit over the public interest,” said Brennan Gilmore, executive director of Clean Virginia. “Virginia deserves a rigorous, transparent review with strong standards. Everything we know about NextEra’s record demands that this deal be rejected.”
Virginia is the data center capital of the world, and both the industry — and the energy demand that comes with it — are still growing. The proposed acquisition would significantly expand the combined utility’s financial incentive to build infrastructure to support that growing energy demand. Until data centers start paying their fair share, the costs to support that growth will be paid for by Virginia ratepayers.
The companies have also offered no commitment to reduce the merged utility’s authorized return on equity (ROE), the profit rate used to determine customer rates. At the same time, NextEra has told investors it expects the combined company to achieve approximately 11% annual rate base growth through 2032, meaning Virginians’ bills would continue to skyrocket. In Florida, similar rate base expansion has been accompanied by substantial customer rate increases, including a four-year settlement that raised rates by roughly $7 billion. NextEra subsidiary Florida Power & Light now retains more than 27 cents of every customer dollar as profit, nearly double the national utility average of approximately 14 cents.
The proposal also raises broader questions about excessive corporate influence in Virginia, one of only four states with no limits on corporate political campaign contributions. Dominion has spent decades cultivating a network of political influence that NextEra stands to inherit. NextEra is already active in Virginia politics — including a $100,000 contribution to former Gov. Glenn Youngkin in 2021 and $15,000 to Governor Spanberger’s inaugural committee — and its political spending footprint beyond Virginia is massive. Since 2010, NextEra has reported more than $126 million in political spending (double Dominion’s $63 million), with investigative reporting finding tens of millions more routed through undisclosed channels. In Florida, reporting tied that spending to a notorious 2020 “ghost candidate” scheme to siphon votes in three state Senate races.
Even with the review officially underway, a responsible path forward remains possible through regulatory and legislative action:
“This acquisition will create a supercharged version of the monopoly Virginians already know: one with deeper pockets and a proven playbook for buying political outcomes at the expense of customers,” Gilmore said. “The SCC and the General Assembly have the tools to slow this process down and strengthen the rules — and a responsibility to use them to protect Virginia families.”
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Clean Virginia is a nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to removing corporate money from Virginia politics and reforming utility regulation to put customers first. Learn more at cleanvirginia.org.