NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy have filed rebuttal testimony with the Virginia State Corporation Commission accepting most of the conditions proposed by commission staff and the Attorney General’s Division of Consumer Counsel for their proposed 67 billion dollar merger. The companies said they agreed to 101 of 117 proposed conditions as written and to another 13 with modifications, and offered alternatives for the small number they did not accept as proposed.
The package includes four years of shareholder funded residential bill credits, an additional 100 million dollars for EnergyShare, the energy assistance and weatherisation programme, 100 million dollars for workforce development and skilled trades training, 1,000 new jobs, and a commitment to maintain Dominion’s current Virginia employee headcount for at least five years. The companies also accepted stronger financial separation between Dominion Energy Virginia and affiliated businesses, more independent oversight and greater Virginia representation on the utility’s board, and they maintain that customers will not bear the merger costs.
What the companies did not accept is as important as what they did. They did not agree to freeze rates for six years, as Governor Abigail Spanberger urged in October, and reporting on the filing says they also rejected a three year rate freeze and a ten year staffing commitment proposed by staff, offering shorter or alternative versions instead. Commission staff and the governor’s administration had recommended in October that the merger be rejected as filed.
The all stock transaction would create the largest regulated utility in the United States. A public hearing begins this week, and the commission is expected to rule by January 15, 2027, after which the merger would be automatically approved under state law if no ruling is made. The companies continue to expect closing in the second half of 2027.