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Virginia Lieutenant Governor Ghazala Hashmi launched her Energy Costs Listening Tour on September 2 at the Dreamscapes Performing Arts Center in Sterling, Virginia, with more than 200 Loudoun County residents and community members in attendance.
The tour features a series of community conversations across the Commonwealth examining rising energy costs and NextEra Energy’s proposed $67 billion acquisition of Dominion Energy, which would create the largest utility merger in U.S. history.
According to a statement from the Lieutenant Governor’s office, the Loudoun event brought together residents, community organizations, elected officials and energy experts to discuss the proposed acquisition and its potential impact on Virginia families. Hashmi was joined onstage by state Senators Danica Roem and Russet Perry and Delegate John McAuliff.
Roem discussed the risks of corporate consolidation and monopolies, emphasizing the importance of protecting Virginia consumers from excessive corporate power.
Perry said unchecked data center growth has made the acquisition more attractive to NextEra, while raising concerns that corporate interests are being prioritized over Virginia families and consumer protections. She called for the merger to be rejected and for a moratorium on new data center development.
McAuliff discussed the connections among the proposed merger, the rapid growth of data centers and the need for new transmission infrastructure. He also addressed what continued growth could mean for Virginia’s energy future and ratepayers.
During the event, community members raised questions and concerns about “utility rates, grid reliability, data centers, corporate ownership, clean energy, and regulatory oversight.”
Shelby Green, the tour’s energy policy researcher for Loudoun, provided information about the proposed acquisition, including its “implications for utility regulation, ratepayers, and Virginia’s broader energy system.” Green, an expert in utility law and energy policy, will provide residents with information and context about the proposal.
“Virginia stands at an energy crossroads, and this case could decide the Commonwealth’s energy future for generations. The State Corporation Commission has less than 150 days to determine whether Virginians would be better served by NextEra Energy, a company facing allegations that it misled investors about its role in bribing elected officials and interfering in elections,” Green said. “If the SCC grants NextEra’s petition, NextEra would become the new owner of Dominion and the world’s largest regulated electric utility. The SCC has a tall task, and state leaders must ensure regulators are equipped with the time and resources to determine whether Virginia’s grid should be handed to an out-of-state company outside of the state’s oversight.”
The Chesapeake Climate Action Network also attended the Loudoun event to listen to residents, document public comments and help ensure that community perspectives are preserved and presented to the State Corporation Commission, or SCC, according to the statement.
The Energy Costs Listening Tour builds on conversations held across Virginia this summer and is part of Hashmi’s Virginia’s Voices initiative. On July 6, Hashmi sent a letter to the SCC urging the commission to seek responses from Dominion Energy and NextEra to 64 detailed questions about the proposed acquisition.
The letter followed an opinion piece she wrote for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, in which she called for a stronger review process and greater scrutiny of the proposal.
“A takeover of this magnitude and with such long-term consequences for Virginia’s energy system must have a rigorous and transparent review. Energy is one of our most critical public goods; it is important that the SCC weighs the public benefit of this decision. The impacts on Virginia families, ratepayers, and our communities must be the first consideration,” Hashmi said.
The Loudoun event was the first of five stops on the Energy Costs Listening Tour. Additional conversations will be held in Norfolk, Richmond, Charlottesville and Roanoke, providing residents across the Commonwealth with opportunities to learn about the proposed acquisition and share their perspectives.
Upcoming Energy Costs Listening Tour Stops
- September 8: The Slover in Norfolk, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
- September 9: Diversity Richmond in Richmond, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
- September 14: Jefferson School African American Heritage Center in Charlottesville, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
- September 24: Roanoke City Market Building in Roanoke, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Virginians who wish to participate directly in the SCC proceedings may register as public witnesses through November 2. Public witness testimony is scheduled for November 5, 9 and 10. Written comments will be accepted through November 9, ahead of the evidentiary hearing beginning November 17, the statement said.
Public input gathered during the tour is expected to inform continuing discussions about Virginia’s energy future and the regulatory review of the proposed acquisition.
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