Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has asked the State Corporation Commission to reject NextEra Energy's proposed acquisition of Dominion Energy unless the companies substantially address a list of conditions. The list includes a six-year freeze on residential base rates and a separate, financially walled-off subsidiary to build generation for large data centers. The governor's office announced the testimony on Oct. 19, 2026. Dr. Richard McCann filed it as the witness for the governor and Chief Energy Officer Josephus Allmond. The governor is a respondent in the case. She filed a Notice of Participation in August, and her office says she is the first Virginia governor to intervene at the SCC.

"Dominion and NextEra have not yet satisfied the legal standard that would allow the Commission to approve this transaction," Allmond said in the release. Spanberger said the merger "must benefit families, small businesses, and Virginia's workforce." The governor's office puts the value of the merger at $67 billion.

The data center conditions

Two of the conditions deal directly with large data center load. The testimony asks the companies to create a separate subsidiary, headquartered in Virginia, that would build zero-carbon generation to serve large data centers. That subsidiary would be financially walled off from other customers. The release also calls for large data centers to bear the cost of their own energy needs.

Those requests build on cost-allocation questions already before the commission. Utility Dive reported in August that the SCC had ordered Dominion to directly assign some transmission costs to data centers, and that the commission may use an upcoming docket to weigh whether that policy "could or should" also apply to more upstream transmission costs.

Rates, credits and capital structure

The rest of the governor's conditions deal with residential customers and Dominion's finances:

  • Rate freeze. Residential base rates would be frozen for six years, which the release says covers three rate-case cycles.
  • Bill credits. The ratepayer benefit the companies offered would triple, to a $29 monthly rebate for four years.
  • Debt share. Dominion's debt share would rise to 60% from 48%, which the release says would reduce its rate of return.
  • Cost allocation. The companies would adopt a "Probability of Dispatch" method for allocating costs. The testimony says this would cut the residential share of the relevant costs by 25%.
  • Customer protections. Disconnection protections would extend to households with infants, serious medical conditions or financial hardship, and to days with high Air Quality Index readings.

The testimony also asks the companies to make energy efficiency and distributed energy resources the first priority for meeting forecasted load. It recommends that the General Assembly create an independent state energy efficiency utility and eliminate the cap on rooftop solar net metering.

What was said at the local hearings

The SCC held two in-person public hearings on the merger this month. The first was in Newport News on Oct. 7. The second was at the Fairfax County Government Center on Oct. 9. Utility Dive reported that much of the Fairfax testimony focused on rates and data centers.

U.S. Rep. Eugene Vindman (D) called the merger "a bad deal for Virginians" and said data centers should pay their fair share. Del. Irene Shin (D) urged the commission to reject the deal and cited a Sept. 23 letter from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission calling the merger application incomplete. Del. Kirk McPike (D) said he opposed it unless there are "ironclad guarantees that costs will not increase for Virginia taxpayers" and that large energy users such as data centers will pay for their own infrastructure. A statement from Sen. Jennifer Boysko (D), read by her chief of staff, asked for a "clear commitment" to the Virginia Clean Economy Act. Alexandria City Councilman John Taylor Chapman warned of "runaway utility costs."

Local business and union leaders spoke in favor of the deal, citing job creation and electricity demand, according to the outlet. A representative of IBEW Local 26 defended data center development and the jobs it supports for union members, though he took no position on the merger. Before the filing, Spanberger had called herself "skeptical" of the deal.

The deal and the approvals it needs

According to the deal announcement, as reported by Utility Dive, the combined company would have 10 million customers in four states, a large-load pipeline of more than 130 GW and a $138 billion rate base. Regulators in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina must approve the deal, and it also needs federal approval. FERC is weighing the bid.

The governor's testimony is one filing in the SCC's evidentiary record. The commission decides whether to approve the merger and whether to attach conditions.

What Happens Next

The SCC has scheduled telephonic public hearings for Nov. 5, 9 and 10. The evidentiary hearing begins Nov. 17, when the companies and respondents, including the governor, present their cases. Under the case's 180-day review clock, a decision is expected in January, according to Utility Dive. The North Carolina, South Carolina and FERC reviews are separate proceedings.

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