Virginia Lt. Gov. Hashmi opposes NextEra-Dominion merger as public hearings begin

Virginia's lieutenant governor, Ghazala Hashmi, has come out against NextEra Energy's planned purchase of Dominion Energy, calling the deal "not in the best interest of Virginians." Her position follows a five-city public listening tour and comes as state regulators begin local hearings on the merger this week in Newport News and Fairfax County. Governor Abigail Spanberger has not taken a firm stance but has said she's "skeptical" of the deal and has filed to formally intervene in the case.

For Dominion customers, the merger matters because it would combine Dominion with NextEra to form the largest regulated electric utility in the world, serving 10 million customers across four states. Hashmi's report raises concerns that NextEra's many other business ventures, including riskier non-utility projects, could leave Virginia ratepayers exposed if those bets go bad, or if data center demand growth doesn't pan out as expected and leaves customers covering the cost of new infrastructure. NextEra disputes this, saying Dominion's Virginia operations would stay locally run and regulated by state officials, and points to a benefits package meant to protect residential customers from data center-related costs.

This is still playing out. The State Corporation Commission, which must approve the merger, hasn't ruled on a dispute over the case timeline, and a full evidentiary hearing is scheduled to begin November 17. Dominion customers don't need to do anything now, but the outcome could affect future electric rates and how upgrade and infrastructure costs get split between households and large users like data centers.