FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT:
Amy Bacigalupo, Communications Manager
September 2, 2026
Filing Seeks to Require Petitioners Provide Answers About What the Deal Means for Virginians
Richmond, Va. — Clean Virginia filed a motion today formally asking the State Corporation Commission (SCC) to require NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy to answer in full a list of questions regarding the proposed acquisition, including how merger conditions would be enforced, how the deal could affect electric rates and competition and the qualifications and track record of NextEra’s management. The filing follows an earlier motion that challenged the incompleteness of the utilities’ joint application.
“For this deal to go through, the Commission must find with certainty that it will not impair or jeopardize adequate service at just and reasonable rates,” said Brennan Gilmore, Clean Virginia executive director. “All questions about how, and to what extent, its approval would impact the people living and working in the Commonwealth should be fully answered. NextEra and Dominion’s failure to fully and timely provide those answers is exactly why this proceeding needs more time.”
NextEra announced its $67 billion proposal to acquire Dominion in May 2026, and the deal is currently under review by the SCC. Under Virginia’s Utility Transfers Act, the SCC may approve the transaction only if it is satisfied that adequate service to the public at just and reasonable rates “will not be impaired or jeopardized.”
The SCC has extended its review to the full 180-day statutory timeline, the maximum period currently allowed under Virginia law, under which it is set to reach a decision in January 2027. However, experts and advocates have raised concerns that this time period may be too short to fully investigate a transaction of this size.
Clean Virginia is calling on the Virginia General Assembly to convene a special session to extend the SCC’s review period — a request the petitioners have opposed — before the window to act closes.
“The Commission has been entrusted with a critical decision that could have enormous consequences for ratepayers,” said Gilmore. “It’s up to Virginia’s leaders to ensure it has the time and resources to get it right.”
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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.