Virginia Governor Will Intervene in NextEra-Dominion Case
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger plans to formally intervene in NextEra Energy Inc.’s planned acquisition Dominion Energy Inc., writing last week that she wants to prioritize cutting energy costs in her state while safeguarding jobs and continuing to invest in clean energy.
In a piece published in The Washington Post, Spanberger said she is “deeply skeptical about whether selling our primary, state-regulated utility to an out-of-state company” is a good thing for Virginina. Spanberger was elected late last year by the largest margin in Virginia since 2009 and has made affordability issues a core tenet of her leadership.
That includes the energy sector, which in Virginia almost inevitably centers on the growth of data centers and their impact on other stakeholders in the electric grid. Last month, her office filed with the State Corporation Commission on behalf of taxpayers to call on data center operators to pick up the cost for transmission infrastructure needed to power their facilities.
“This action is unprecedented by a Virginia governor – but so, too, is the size of this proposed merger and its potential impact on the commonwealth,” Spanberger wrote in the Post.
In separate statements to various media outlets, leaders of NextEra and Dominion said they share Spanberger’s goals and noted that they have formally committed to measures that would address affordability and job security. NextEra’s purchase plan includes nearly $1.8 billion in bill credits for Dominion’s Virginia customers, for instance.
“We welcome the governor’s participation in the regulatory process and agree with her priorities,” Dominion Chair, President and CEO Bob Blue said in a statement. “As the governor noted, the SCC is the appropriate forum to evaluate this transaction and balance the interests of the Commonwealth, and we are confident its established, fact-based review will demonstrate the benefits this proposal offers Virginia.”
About the Author
Geert De Lombaerde
Senior Editor
A native of Belgium, Geert De Lombaerde has more than two decades of business journalism experience and writes about markets and economic trends for Endeavor Business Media publications T&D World, Healthcare Innovation, IndustryWeek, FleetOwner and Oil & Gas Journal. With a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, he began his reporting career at the Business Courier in Cincinnati and later was managing editor and editor of the Nashville Business Journal. Most recently, he oversaw the online and print products of the Nashville Post and reported primarily on Middle Tennessee’s finance sector as well as many of its publicly traded companies.