Virginia Lawmakers Raise Concerns Over Proposed Dominion-NextEra Merger Ahead of Loudoun Energy Costs Tour

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Lieutenant Governor of Virginia Ghazala Hashmi has emphasized that the proposed $67 billion merger between NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy could affect jobs, infrastructure and families across the commonwealth, underscoring the need for public participation in the decision-making process.

Addressing a press conference on September 2 in Sterling, Virginia, ahead of launching the first of five stops on the Energy Costs Listening Tour in Loudoun County, Lt. Gov. Hashmi said she would spend much of September visiting regions across Virginia. Her next stops include Norfolk, Richmond, Charlottesville and Roanoke.

Hashmi said the Loudoun County event would give Virginians an opportunity to voice concerns about their energy bills.

“This tour is not just about listening; it’s really about giving Virginians a voice. The proposed Dominion Energy and NextEra merger is not simply a corporate deal to be hammered out in boardrooms. It is a decision that affects all of our electric bills,” she said.

“And that’s why the public needs to have a voice. Electricity, as we know, is a public necessity. It is one of our most essential public goods,” she emphasized.

According to Hashmi, Florida-based NextEra is proposing to take over Dominion Energy, a transaction she said could affect Virginia jobs, energy infrastructure, as well as the energy future of millions of residents.

“We know that the rising costs are impacting every family, small businesses, and local economies all throughout the Commonwealth. When electric bills go up, families have to make a choice,” she added.

“We’re talking about a proposed transaction worth roughly $67 billion that could fundamentally reshape Virginia’s largest electric utility,” Hashmi said, noting that customers are already facing higher electricity costs.

She said the companies involved would have teams of lawyers, financial experts, lobbyists and public relations officials presenting their case, but Virginia consumers also need a seat at the table.

Hashmi said she was particularly concerned about older residents living on fixed incomes who cannot switch to another electricity provider when their bills increase.

“They are captive customers. We all are,” she stressed.

Hashmi said the public deserves “straightforward” answers about whether the merger would lower costs or improve service, what protections families would have against future rate increases and how Virginia jobs would be affected.

Responding to a question from South Asian Herald about what she hoped to hear from Loudoun County residents on September 2, Hashmi said, “We really want to make sure that we hear from the community. We are going to open the floor to hear the thoughts of the community. We hope to have a robust conversation with our broader community members.”

Hashmi said she and other elected officials were there not only to listen but also to offer a plan of action.

“We are hoping that once our community members are able to get the information that we’re going to share with them this evening, they will be equipped to take their concerns to the State Corporation Commission,” she added.

The State Corporation Commission has opened a public comment period. Hashmi encouraged Virginians to submit comments and contact their elected representatives.

“We’re also encouraging all of our participants across Virginia to reach out to their elected officials,” she said.

Hashmi said that as she travels across the state, it is important for community members to contact her and other elected officials to share their concerns and perspectives.

Hashmi was joined at the press conference by Virginia Senators Kannan Srinivasan and Russet Perry, Delegates Atoosa Reaser and JJ Singh, along with Ashburn community leader Vicky Hu.

The leaders voiced strong opposition to the proposed merger, expressing concern that it could increase profits for shareholders and executives at the expense of ratepayers. They also raised questions about rising energy costs, the potential environmental and health effects of new transmission lines, and the possible loss of homes and land.

“We are home now to over 50 million square feet of data centers, with millions of square feet actively under construction and more coming. And we have felt every phase of it. The noise complaints from construction and operation, the air quality concerns, the transmission lines cutting straight through the backyards and green spaces our children play in,” Srinivasan said.

Srinivasan said monthly utility bills have increased rapidly in recent years, adding that data center facilities consume exponentially greater amounts of energy.

“We are staring down a real possibility of rolling blackouts right here,” he said, adding that this was the backdrop for the proposed $67 billion transaction that would place Dominion Energy Virginia under NextEra’s control.

Srinivasan said Virginians should be clear about what a merger of this size is expected to deliver: “scale, efficiency, and lower cost.”

“Well, if those benefits are real, they should show up as ‘lower bills,’ not ‘higher ones’ for Virginians,” he added.

Perry expressed unequivocal opposition to the merger, describing it as a $67 billion mega-“monopoly” deal. She criticized plans to install 765-kilovolt transmission lines through residential areas to support continued data center growth and called for an immediate moratorium on new data centers to address what she described as a “grid-threatening” crisis.

Perry also said Dominion had acknowledged exceeding its fuel budget by nearly $1 billion because of rapidly increasing demand from data centers.

Singh raised concerns that $1.78 billion in utility credits would disproportionately benefit major energy users, such as data centers, rather than typical households.

According to Singh, data centers account for 28 percent of the commonwealth’s electricity load and could receive approximately $498 million in credits.

Singh argued that instead of receiving credits, data centers should be required to address noise, air pollution, PFAS contamination of water and the development of on-site renewable energy.

Reaser said the proposed merger between Dominion and NextEra would create the world’s largest electric utility. She questioned how the transaction would affect ratepayer “affordability, energy reliability, Virginia jobs, and clean energy.”

Expressing concern about transferring control of Virginia’s power system to a Florida-based company, Reaser called for regional, in-person public comment hearings that would allow residents to speak directly with decision-makers.

Hu argued that the proposed merger was driven by profit rather than customer service or reliability.