NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy’s merger could be jeopardized as the Virginia State Corporation Commission’s staff urge the commission to reject the proposal as it currently stands.
In a Monday 201-page filing, the Virginia State Corporation Commission staff said the proposed merger application fails to prove that the merger would provide adequate service to Virginia customers at just and reasonable rates. The staff additionally said it did not believe the merger commitments would do enough to maintain Dominion Energy Virginia staffing to provide adequate service to Virginia customers.
“Staff believes the merger commitments and supplemental merger commitments are not sufficient to ensure the corporate separateness of DEV [Dominion Energy Virginia] from NextEra’s other businesses,” according to the document. “Therefore, staff concludes that the proposed merger would expose DEV to additional financial and business risks of NextEra’s unregulated, competitive businesses that could threaten DEV’s ability to provide adequate service to its customers at just and reasonable rates.”
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D), who opposes the merger, said in a Monday press release that if the merger is approved, then she would call for a six-year freeze to electricity rates and tripling monthly customer bill credits. However, Spanberger continued to call for the Virginia State Corporation Commission to reject the $67 billion merger, if the proposal remains unchanged.
“As governor, I will continue to advocate aggressively on behalf of Virginians over the coming months, and I remain deeply skeptical that the proposed $67 billion merger, as currently structured, will adequately protect consumers and deliver meaningful public benefits,” Spanberger said in the release. “Without enforceable commitments that meaningfully prioritize ratepayers, lower energy costs, protect Virginia’s utility workforce, and advance Virginia’s energy goals, the State Corporation Commission should reject this merger.”
While Virginia State Corporation Commission staff urges the full commission to reject the current proposal, it recommends changes to the merger that would make it more favorable. It recommended that Dominion Energy Virginia have an independent board of directors post-merger to make local decisions and have the commission require Dominion Energy Virginia to maintain its employee levels in the state for the next 10 years.
NextEra and Dominion announced their proposed merger in May and filed their paperwork with several agencies in July.
