Photo Credit: Event flyer: We Are CASA and American Economic Liberties Project
We Are CASA and the American Economic Liberties Project, two groups that oppose the proposed $67 billion merger of NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy, will host a bilingual roundtable in Woodbridge on Wednesday, Oct. 28, on what the deal could mean for Virginia customers, according to a media advisory.
The event, titled “Main Street vs. The Merger: Who Pays for the NextEra-Dominion Deal?” runs from 6 to 8 p.m. at We Are CASA’s Prince William Center, 2359 Research Ct. It will be held in English and Spanish. The groups say it will bring together workers, consumers and small businesses to hear from local officials and utility and antitrust experts and give residents a chance to share their own experiences with rising energy costs and service problems.
Speakers are Sen. Jeremy McPike (District 29); Dels. Elizabeth Guzmán (District 22), Margaret Franklin (District 23) and J.R. Henson Jr. (District 19); Marissa Paslick Gillett, a senior fellow at the American Economic Liberties Project and former chair of Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority; Alvaro Bedoya, a senior advisor at the project and former Federal Trade Commission commissioner; and George Escobar, We Are CASA’s executive director. Bedoya and Escobar will co-moderate. Organizers say all are expected to attend.
The groups argue the combined company would be the largest electric utility in the country, serving roughly 10 million customers in Florida, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. They say both companies have told shareholders they plan to grow the capital spending that drives up rates by 11% a year, with the data center boom as the justification, and that the “benefits package” the utilities have promised Virginians cannot protect customers from higher costs if the deal goes through.
The merger is under review by the State Corporation Commission. In testimony filed Oct. 19, Gov. Abigail Spanberger called for a six-year freeze on electric rate increases. Expert testimony filed on her behalf says tripling the customer rebate would bring it to $29 a month for four years. Commission staff has recommended denial. Commissioners face a mid-January deadline, and the application is approved by default if they take no action.
The advisory says the roundtable is open to press and gives an email address for press RSVPs. It does not say whether members of the public can attend.
More information is available from We Are CASA and the American Economic Liberties Project.
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