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Virginia lawmakers are racing against a regulatory deadline as NextEra Energy pursues a $66.8 billion acquisition of Richmond-based Dominion Energy—a deal that could reshape electricity service, rates and energy policy across the state.

At a June 9 meeting in Richmond, members of the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation warned that the transaction could receive state approval before the General Assembly has time to enact additional protections for ratepayers, regulatory independence and clean-energy commitments.

“This is probably some of the biggest utility news this state has seen in decades,” Commission Chairman Sen. Scott Surovell of Fairfax said.

The legislative panel, which is scheduled to become the Energy Commission of Virginia on July 1, made its review of the proposed acquisition a top priority. Its responsibilities include monitoring the State Corporation Commission’s implementation of Virginia’s utility-regulation laws.

Lawmakers confront a six-month deadline

Staff attorney Sarah Kinzer told the commission that Virginia’s Utility Transfers Act gives the State Corporation Commission 60 days to act on a petition, with an extension of up to 120 days. That creates a maximum review period of 180 days.

Surovell said the process will probably conclude before lawmakers can reconvene and establish defensive standards governing the acquisition.

The legal test confronting state regulators is also relatively narrow. The commission must determine whether the transaction would impair or jeopardize adequate public service at just and reasonable rates.

South Carolina applies a similar standard. North Carolina and Maryland use a broader “public convenience and necessity” test that can consider additional questions, including whether a transaction offers benefits and causes no harm.

Del. Irene Shin of Fairfax said she had heard concerns about the acquisition from many constituents.

“I think it’s incumbent upon us to make sure we are protecting ratepayers through this process,” Shin said.

Public-interest utility expert Scott Hempling argued that six months would not allow enough time to scrutinize a transaction of this complexity.

“There is no way that a full hearing [on] the complexity of this transaction can occur in a six-month proceeding,” Hempling said. “That’s not possible.”

Hempling characterized the acquisition as a sale of control over a monopoly franchise and warned that corporate assurances are not substitutes for enforceable legal protections.

The merger would create a company with nearly $250 billion in market capitalization and approximately 110 gigawatts of generating capacity.

Dominion offers nearly $1.8 billion in Virginia credits

Dominion Energy Virginia President Ed Baine presented a proposed $2.25 billion package of temporary customer bill credits covering Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina during the first two years after the deal closes.

About $1.8 billion would go to Virginia customers, Baine said. Commission members cited a more precise Commonwealth allocation of $1.78 billion.

Baine said the amount was not a “magic number,” but was intended to provide meaningful short-term relief while the combined company pursues longer-term grid investments. He argued that greater corporate scale could reduce procurement and financing costs.

NextEra Chairman, President and CEO John W. Ketchum similarly told investors that the credits would provide an immediate affordability benefit. He said the company’s operating scale could help control costs beyond the initial two-year credit period as electricity demand and capital investment increase.

The companies’ presentation materials describe anticipated benefits with forward-looking language. A cautionary statement in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing notes that such expectations are not guarantees of future performance.

Clean-energy goals meet surging data-center demand

During questioning from Del. Richard C. “Rip” Sullivan Jr. of McLean, Baine said Dominion intends to comply with the Virginia Clean Economy Act.

He said the first objective would be meeting the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard while preserving grid reliability. Any departure from that course, he added, would occur only if reliability concerns required it.

Ketchum has promoted a broader national strategy for the combined business. He said it would rank first in the United States in total power generation, lead globally in renewable energy and storage, become the country’s largest gas generator and its second-largest nuclear generator.

To serve rapidly growing electricity demand from Virginia data centers, Ketchum outlined an “all of the above” approach involving renewable generation, storage, transmission, gas pipelines, natural gas plants and nuclear power.

Lawmakers are particularly concerned that the cost of serving technology companies and their data centers could be shifted onto residential customers.

Activists warn of regulatory gaps and customer hardship

During public testimony, Jimmy Lee Jarvis of Progress Virginia warned that the transaction could encourage more “behind-the-meter” gas generation. Such facilities, installed directly on customer property, could operate beyond some of the regulatory scrutiny imposed by the Virginia Clean Economy Act.

Heaven Campbell raised concerns about the treatment of customers by Florida Power & Light, a NextEra subsidiary. She described consequences from a 2025 audit that included suspending some customers’ electronic payment privileges for 12 months and requiring in-person payments.

Campbell also testified that longtime customers—including some with more than 30 years of service—were ordered to pay deposits as high as $1,450 or face possible disconnection.

Bernie Gilmore of Clean Virginia joined other interested parties in arguing that the statutory review period is too short for a transaction of this size.

Richmond operations expected to remain

Baine was also questioned about whether ownership by a Florida-based parent company could reduce Dominion’s Richmond workforce.

He acknowledged that some corporate groups could eventually face “synergies,” but said the Virginia utility would continue to require a substantial local workforce. Constituent-service employees, storm-restoration teams and other operational personnel would remain essential, he said.

Ketchum has committed to maintaining dual corporate headquarters in Juno Beach, Florida, and Richmond, along with Dominion’s regional operating headquarters in Cayce, South Carolina.

“Local operations are going to be retained,” Ketchum said, adding that customers would continue seeing the same local teams.

Northern Virginia lawmakers lead the review

Surovell chairs the legislative commission, with Del. Terry Kilgore serving as vice chairman. Its Senate members also include L. Louise Lucas, R. Creigh Deeds and Mark Obenshain.

House members include Charniele Herring of Alexandria, Sullivan, Michael Webert, Shin and Destiny LeVere Bolling. Nonvoting citizen members Meade Browder and Jesse Lynch also serve on the panel, with one citizen position vacant. John Farmer of the Office of the Attorney General is an ex-officio member.

Surovell closed the June 9 meeting by joking that the panel had “a couple little tiny issues” to resolve, drawing laughter from the audience as lawmakers contemplated the scale of the deal and the limited time available to examine it.

Dominion CEO Robert M. Blue previously indicated that the companies expected to file their Virginia application in July and could receive a State Corporation Commission decision in January. If approved, the companies say the transaction would create the world’s largest regulated electric utility business and a major North American energy-infrastructure platform.