Virginia governor requests rate freeze for proposed Dominion and NextEra merger

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger has proposed a six-year electricity rate freeze as a required condition if state regulators approve the proposed merger between Dominion Energy and NextEra Energy. The announcement was reported by Utility Dive, Bloomberg, WUSA9, and 13newsnow. Spanberger also asked regulators to increase the debt share of Dominion's capital structure from 48 percent to 60 percent to lower its return rate, according to Utility Dive. [1][3][4][6]

Regulatory staff and the state attorney general have proposed their own conditions for the utility deal, Utility Dive reported. Separately, Virginia State Corporation Commission staff recommended rejecting the proposed merger, according to Virginia Business. The transaction is valued at 67 billion dollars, Virginia Business reported. IndexBox noted that a coalition is also opposing the merger due to competition concerns in Virginia. [1][2][5]

As FTMQ Climate reported earlier, NextEra Energy announced its intention to acquire Dominion Energy in an all-stock deal in May. The combined utility company would serve 10 million customers across four states and feature a 130-gigawatt load pipeline. Virginia Lieutenant Governor Ghazala Hashmi previously formally declared her opposition to the planned acquisition following a statewide tour. [10]

State regulators and commission staff will continue to evaluate the proposed deal and the recommended conditions before deciding whether to approve the merger. [1][5]