The State Corporation Commission held its final in-person public comment hearing on Dominion Energy’s proposed $67 billion merger with NextEra Energy in Richmond on Thursday, drawing a mix of supporters and opponents as regulators prepare to begin weighing the deal and the protections that should accompany it.
The evidentiary hearing is scheduled to begin Nov. 17, when the commission will hear arguments from Dominion, NextEra, SCC staff and other parties involved in the case. The proceeding will help determine whether the proposed merger can move forward and what conditions should be imposed on the companies.
Jessica Schneider, who serves on the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors, was among those who spoke against the merger, raising concerns about NextEra’s history of disconnecting customers who fall behind on their utility bills.
“NextEra has shown they have a history of turning off people’s utilities, which is not something that I am in favor of at all,” Schneider said. “I, as a single mother, struggled sometimes when I had my kids as a young single mother. It was difficult to make ends meet…turning off electricity does not help the person.”
Marie Anne Lako, who traveled from Vienna and represented a group called Advocates for Women and Families, also spoke against the proposal.
“Based on information received from other states where similar mergers have occurred, there is deep concern that monthly energy bills for Virginia families will increase,” Lako said. “Having to worry about another increased monthly expense will create immeasurable stress on Virginia families.”
State Sen. Kannan Srinivasan, D-Loudoun, also opposed the proposal’s current structure, arguing that the deal’s benefits are weighted toward shareholders rather than customers.
“The deal before this commission clearly shows the primary benefits are for shareholders,” Srinivasan said. “Affordability and reliability are not competing priorities, and Virginians should not be asked to trade one for the other in order to approve this deal. Virginians deserve a merger that works for them first. Without that, it should not be approved.”
Faith-based groups also gathered outside the SCC building before the hearing to protest the merger, raising concerns about the financial pressures facing Virginia households.
“48 hours ago, people went to the polls and exercised their right and exercised their voice to say that we don’t want ICE in our streets. We don’t want needless wars. We don’t want to be squeezed at the grocery store, or the gas pump, or the doctor’s office, and we don’t want to be squeezed even further when we look at our electric bills,” said the Rev. Daniel Wilson of First UUC of Chesterfield.
Others who spoke Thursday argued that the merger could provide economic benefits and give Dominion access to additional resources to meet Virginia’s growing electricity demands.
Wesley Mullins, a Richmond realtor, spoke in support of the proposal, pointing to the proposed customer bill credits and the companies’ commitments to protect customers from certain merger-related costs.
“The proposed four years of residential bill credits would provide meaningful help. So would the commitment to protect customer costs related to this big company deal,” Mullins said. “As a former business owner, I also understand the value of combining local experience with the research, with the resources of a larger organization. Access to capital, stronger purchasing power, and experienced teams can make a real difference in what a business can deliver. I believe bringing those strengths together gives Dominion a better opportunity to improve the grid.”
Virginia Chamber of Commerce President Brad Hall also attended in support of the merger. Speaking with Virginia Scope before the hearing, Hall said the Chamber commissioned an independent study that found the proposed merger could produce positive results for job creation and economic output.
“On that alone, we are supportive of the merger,” Hall said. “But in addition to that, in a free enterprise system, these two companies want to come together. And in this critical time, we need strategic infrastructure to be built, generation to be built to meet the needs and demands of businesses and residences. We believe that it’s important for this merger to happen.”
Dan Weber, president of Boilermakers Local 45, also spoke in support of the proposal, pointing to the union’s longstanding relationship with Dominion and its role in maintaining and building energy infrastructure.
“The Boilermakers have a longstanding partnership with Dominion, built over decades of work,” Weber said. “That experience shapes how we view this merger. We understand what it takes to keep existing facilities operating, build new generation, and turn an investment announcement into a working power plant.”
Former state Del. Chris Saxman did not take a position on the merger itself, instead thanking the commission for its handling of the review.
“This proceeding is working the way Virginia designed it to work,” Saxman said.
The hearing comes as SCC staff, the Virginia Attorney General’s Office and Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s administration have called for additional commitments from the companies to protect ratepayers and Dominion employees.
Dominion and NextEra responded to several of those recommendations in testimony filed earlier this week, agreeing to some proposed protections while rejecting or modifying others.
Among the recommendations the companies rejected were a three-year freeze on electricity rates, a requirement to maintain current staffing levels for 10 years and a proposal to require SCC approval before reducing the size of their Virginia offices.
The companies also proposed changes to recommendations involving financial safeguards, including a mechanism intended to protect Dominion’s utility operations and assets in the event of a bankruptcy involving its parent company.
Spanberger’s administration has separately called for a more substantial package of consumer protections, including increasing a proposed monthly bill credit for residential customers from approximately $10 to $29 and freezing Dominion’s residential base rates for six years. Her administration has also proposed creating a separate subsidiary to develop zero-carbon electricity generation for large data centers.
Dominion did not address those requests in its latest rebuttal testimony. Dominion CEO Bob Blue argued that several of the administration’s proposals are better suited for consideration in the utility’s regular rate proceedings rather than the merger case.
The overall merger proposal continues to include an approximately $10 monthly bill credit for the average residential customer, maintaining current staffing levels for five years, building a new office in downtown Richmond, and investing in weatherization and workforce development.
Thursday’s public comment hearing gave residents and other interested parties another opportunity to voice their opinions on the proposed merger before the case moves into its evidentiary phase.