Virginia's lieutenant governor opposes NextEra's purchase of Dominion
Serguey Asael Shinder1 min readVirginia Lieutenant Governor Ghazala Hashmi said in a report released on 6 October that NextEra Energy's planned acquisition of Dominion Energy is "not in the best interest of Virginians", Utility Dive reported. The report summarised a five-city public listening tour and landed the day before the State Corporation Commission's first local hearing on the merger.
Why it matters. It is the most formal opposition from Virginia's executive branch so far. Governor Abigail Spanberger has not taken a definitive position but called herself "skeptical" in August, when she filed with the commission as a respondent — a role that would let her appeal its final order to the Supreme Court of Virginia.
The deal. NextEra announced the all-stock acquisition in May. It would create what the companies call the largest regulated utility in the world, with 10 million customers in four states and a 130 GW large-load pipeline. They expected closing in 12 to 18 months, subject to approvals.
The objections. Hashmi's tour stopped in Loudoun County, Norfolk, Richmond, Charlottesville and Roanoke. In Loudoun — home to a dense cluster of data centres — the report says most speakers opposed the deal or asked for heightened scrutiny. Her central concern is risk: NextEra's "thousands of individual project entities, many in businesses far riskier than a regulated utility", and, she writes, its refusal so far to give assurances on future acquisitions or on the commission's review authority.
NextEra's answer. A spokesperson said the company is disappointed and "respectfully disagree[s]", arguing the merger would help Virginia build more power at home and rely less on expensive imported electricity.