US utilities NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy have formally submitted applications to state and federal governments to merge their companies, creating the largest regulated power utility in the world.
The companies submitted applications to the Virginia State Corporation Commission, the North Carolina Utilities Commission, the Public Service Commission of South Carolina, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, seeking regulatory approval of their merger.
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If approved, the new company would serve around 10 million customers across Virginia, the Carolinas and Florida, making it the largest single regulated power utility on earth and the largest overall power company in the US. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2027.
The companies claim that the merger would “preserve Dominion Energy’s local strengths with NextEra Energy’s added resources, balance sheet strength, supply chain expertise, construction experience and operating capabilities”, and that it would be “better positioned to buy, build, finance and operate the energy infrastructure customers need more efficiently.”
It positioned the move around the “rapidly growing electricity demand” in the US, largely from data centres, and the expansions in both power generation and grid infrastructure that growth will require.
John Ketchum, chairman, president and CEO of NextEra Energy, said: “This combination is about putting scale and a stronger, more comprehensive platform behind Dominion Energy’s local teams so they can meet growing power demand while keeping bills affordable and service reliable.
“Together, we will be better positioned to partner with states and communities to attract new investment, support new jobs and invest in the all-of-the-above energy infrastructure customers need, including renewables, battery storage, nuclear and gas-fired generation. Customers would experience immediate value through $2.25 billion in shareholder-funded bill credits and long-term value through a stronger company that can buy, build, finance and operate energy infrastructure projects more efficiently, which will result in long-term customer benefits.”
However, various groups in the US have urged caution over the merger, its potential impact on consumers in the relevant states and the massive power that a utility of that size would wield.
Groups including Secure Solar Futures, Public Citizen and Clean Virginia warned back in May that it could be “very challenging to counter the political influence” of the new entity, which would have more than five times the current net worth of Dominion Energy. They also warned that if the new entity focuses on large, costly, centralised infrastructure development it could ultimately raise rates for consumers. The growth of data centres, which is already impacting Virginia, in particular, will “likely” increase energy prices for users, according to a report by the Virginia Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC).
The groups said that amid this transformation of US power demand, regulators should ensure that the birth of a company as unprecedentedly large as the NextEra-Dominion merger prioritises modernisation, distributed energy sources and “builds an energy system designed not simply to expand, but to optimise, adapt, and evolve for the decades ahead.”
