Florida-based NextEra wants to buy Dominion Energy and take over virginia’s electric grid.
If this deal goes through, the three crises already shaping Virginia — uncontrolled data center growth, unaffordable energy bills, and a democracy corrupted by corporate money — will accelerate.
Now is the time to send a clear message: Virginia is not for sale.
What's at stake for Virginia?
NextEra’s $66.8B acquisition of Dominion would create the world’s largest regulated electric utility with serious consequences for Virginia. Learn what could happen if the deal is approved.
Who is NextEra Energy?
NextEra has a troubling track record in Florida that raises some serious red flags about this deal. Discover everything we know about the deal and the company behind it.
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New developments about this proposal are being reported regularly as the process unfolds. Be sure to check out our curated news feed for the latest updates on the merger.
Over the past decade…
Virginia became the data center capital of the world — and the growth hasn’t slowed down, driving insatiable demand for land, water, and electricity, as well as major impacts on the communities living next to the buildout. At the same time, the utility companies powering it all have donated millions to politicians to keep the rules tilted in their favor, which allows them to lock in inflated profits while families and businesses shoulder skyrocketing energy bills.
This deal has the potential to compound three of the biggest challenges facing the commonwealth right now.
Data center growth accelerates further because NextEra’s business model depends on it. Bills climb because the costs of that growth get passed straight to ratepayers. And the political system meant to check all of this gets harder to fix because the company writing the checks just got bigger.
NextEra isn’t just buying Dominion’s customers — it’s also buying the data center pipeline.
Yes, NextEra stands to gain from buying Virginia’s regulated market, but what really sweetens the deal is acquiring access to the data center pipeline. Dominion’s contracted data center capacity now stands at about 51 gigawatts (that’s enough electricity to power ~38.2M households) — the combined company would carry a 130-gigawatt large-load pipeline. Utilities profit when the grid gets bigger. Data centers make the grid bigger (like a lot bigger). The only people who don’t benefit from this arrangement are the Virginia families who will help pay for every transmission line, every substation, and every new power plant — at whatever inflated profit rate NextEra is authorized to earn.
dominion customers can expect to see their energy bills to continue climbing.
NextEra’s own projections bank on charging you more. The company has told investors to expect 11% annual growth in its rate base through 2032 — without extensive guardrails, unregulated data center expansion will continue to drive up customer bills. In Florida, NextEra’s subsidiary has embarked on extensive capital expansion producing what critics call the largest rate hike in American history. This is especially concerning when Dominion’s own projections say power demand will double by 2045.
NextEra wants the keys to dominion’s powerful political influence machine.
Virginia is one of only four states in the country without laws limiting political contributions from corporations like Dominion, which has spent decades building a powerful political operation in the Commonwealth. Now, NextEra wants to inherit it. NextEra has reported over $126 million in U.S. political spending since 2010 — more than double Dominion’s $63 million — with investigative reporting finding tens of millions more routed through undisclosed channels. Together, Dominion’s established political network and NextEra’s enormous financial resources could create one of the most politically powerful utility monopolies in the country.
Don't Florida Virginia
NextEra’s troubling track record in Florida should raise serious concerns about affordability, accountability, and consumer protections if this merger goes through.
Here's everything you need to know about the deal, and the company behind it.
Deal Terms and Consumer Protections
NextEra wants to take over Dominion Energy in a deal that would create the largest regulated electric utility monopoly in the United States — with no binding protections for customers.
- This merger would combine two of the largest utility holding companies in the country, serving approximately 10M customers. In May 2026, Dominion Energy and NextEra jointly announced plans for a $66.8B all-stock merger that would consolidate their regulated utility operations under one corporate structure.
- NextEra will offer Dominion’s customers a one-time bill credit that does not reduce long-term rates or utility profits. NextEra has proposed $2.25B in one-time bill credits over two years for Dominion’s 3.6M customers across VA, NC, and SC — averaging ~$10/month for a typical Virginia residential customer. This is a temporary sweetener to obscure the real math.
- NextEra plans to grow fast, and customers will be left to foot the bill. The company projects 11% annual rate base growth through 2032, primarily to serve data centers, and neither NextEra nor Dominion have made commitments to reduce their return on equity (ROE) — the key lever that determines how much customers actually pay for a utility’s profits.
- Neither company has made public commitments to stop fossil fuel buildout. Virginians fought for and won the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA). While any merged entity is legally bound by the VCEA, a corporate merger without an explicit commitment to its goals risks creating a corporate giant with power to exploit loopholes and undermine our clean energy progress.
Political Influence and Accountability
Virginia has no limits on corporate political donations, making it especially vulnerable to companies like NextEra, which has spent millions on political influence efforts. This merger would give a powerful financial interest in Virginia politics to a company with a proven willingness to abuse it.
- NextEra has over $126 million in reported U.S. political spending since 2010 — more than double Dominion’s $63 million. Investigative reporting confirms that tens of millions more flowed through undisclosed channels. This merger would result in a more powerful version of the utility Virginians already know: a monopoly with deep political relationships, an even deeper wallet, and a documented playbook for purchasing political outcomes.
- NextEra’s subsidiary Florida Power and Light (FPL) ran a “ghost candidate” operation to steal three state Senate seats in 2020. These astro-turfed candidates helped siphon votes to ensure a Republican supermajority in the Florida legislature to approve higher utility profits and remove regulatory oversight. FPL’s scheme crossed the legal line and led to felony convictions and the subsidiary’s CEO resigning amid Federal Election Commission investigation.
- NextEra funded a fake news outlet to manufacture pro-utility media coverage, push for rate hikes, and attack political opponents — all while posing as independent journalism. Even worse, NextEra actively surveilled a real journalist.
- NextEra has agreed to pay $150 million over a lawsuit to settle allegations that it misled investors about its involvement in these political scandals.
- NextEra is already pouring money into Virginia politics, including a $100,000 contribution to former Governor Glenn Youngkin in 2021 — the single largest candidate contribution NextEra made anywhere in the country that year — and $15,000 to Governor Spanberger’s inaugural committee.
Ratepayer Impacts and Affordability
NextEra’s customers experience significant affordability issues, and Virginians shouldn’t expect anything different.
- In Florida, NextEra’s FPL customers are experiencing what critics have called the largest rate hike in American history — a $7B rate increase over four years. This is the direct result of NextEra’s rate base growth strategy: build more, earn more, charge more.
- NextEra’s profit share is nearly twice what most customers pay elsewhere. More than 27 cents of every dollar FPL customers pay on their electric bill goes straight to NextEra’s profit. The national average is about 14 cents.
- Utility mergers rarely save customers money. Research shows that the savings companies promise before a merger often fail to materialize, and cost efficiency can worsen rather than improve.