Gov. Abigail Spanberger. Credit: Office of the Governor
Gov. Abigail Spanberger is calling for a six-year freeze on electric rate hikes if the proposed merger of Dominion Energy and Florida-based NextEra goes through. NBC4 reports the combination could become the largest electric utility in the world.
Spanberger submitted her testimony on Monday, Oct. 19. Around the same time, staff who advise the State Corporation Commission (SCC), the state body that must sign off on the deal, urged the commissioners to turn down the $67 billion application.
What the governor is asking for
According to a release from the governor’s office, Spanberger’s expert testimony asks Dominion and NextEra to freeze residential electricity rates for six years and triple monthly customer bill credits as conditions of any merger. Without those and other binding commitments, she says, the SCC should reject the deal.
The testimony comes from energy policy expert Richard McCann, who was retained on behalf of the governor and Chief Energy Officer Josephus Allmond. In it, the six-year freeze means no increase to base rates across three rate case cycles, and tripling the customer benefit would bring the rebate to $29 a month for four years.
The governor’s list of conditions goes further. It includes stronger protections against utility disconnections, more investment in energy efficiency and locally generated clean energy, and changes so that large data centers cover the cost of their own energy needs. She is also seeking enforcement provisions from the SCC to hold the companies to their promises, and wants the cap on rooftop solar eliminated, a change that would require the General Assembly.
“Any proposed merger involving Virginia’s primary state-regulated utility must benefit families, small businesses, and Virginia’s workforce — not just the shareholders of these multi-billion-dollar corporations,” Spanberger said in the release.
Allmond said the companies have not yet satisfied the legal standard that would let the commission approve the deal.
As a formal party to the proceeding, Spanberger told News4 on Tuesday that she wanted a closer look at the process on behalf of Virginians. Her verdict: “So far, not a deal that is good enough for Virginians is the short answer.” She added that her concerns “certainly outweigh any hopes for potential benefits that may exist.”
Where the companies’ offer stands
NBC4 reported on Sept. 14 that Dominion and NextEra had revised their consumer package. The $10 monthly bill credit for Virginia customers, originally planned to run two years, was extended to four years, while a credit once planned for large users such as data centers was dropped.
The package also includes a pledge to advance Virginia’s clean and renewable energy requirements, job protections for all Dominion employees for at least five years, and a promise of 1,000 additional jobs.
Dominion Energy President Ed Baine said the credits help with affordability but that more work remains. Kajsa Foskey, director of the Virginia Energy Consumer Alliance, criticized the enhanced credit as arriving too late and doing too little to address the rules behind rising bills. NBC4 noted that many residents say their Dominion bills have climbed 25% or more.
Residents weigh in
The merger has drawn pushback at the community level. At the first stop of an Energy Costs Listening Tour in early September, Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi heard from about 100 people from across Northern Virginia. Some said their bills are rising even though they are using less electricity, and some felt they were paying for power that data centers consume.
Views on the merger varied. At least one speaker said the companies are too big, while another backed the deal, arguing that growing demand for power has to be met. Hashmi said the question should be whether the companies can prove the takeover is good for Virginia.
Dominion has said higher costs to buy and deliver electricity are driven largely by data centers, and state lawmakers say data centers use almost 30% of the commonwealth’s electricity.
What happens next
Staff’s recommendation does not settle the matter. The commissioners will vote, and they have a mid-January deadline to act.
Should the commission take no action before then, the application is approved by default.
Electric bills are already a worry for many Virginians, and the proposed merger has added to those concerns.
Information from NBC4 Washington and the Office of the Governor.
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