Governor’s Merger Testimony Is a Roadmap to Approval. Virginians Need a No.
The Attorney General, Lieutenant Governor, and SCC staff have all called for rejecting NextEra’s takeover of Dominion. The Stop NextEra Coalition says the Governor should join them.
RICHMOND, VA — The Stop NextEra Coalition today called on Gov. Abigail Spanberger to fully oppose NextEra Energy’s $67 billion takeover of Dominion Energy. The Governor’s testimony, filed Monday at the State Corporation Commission, lays out what the companies must do “in order for the Commission to approve” the deal. It asks for rejection only if those commitments aren’t “substantially addressed or alternative solutions are identified.” At a press briefing Tuesday, she called her conditions “very, very real,” signaling she expects NextEra can meet them.
“The Governor says this deal is ‘not nearly good enough.’ But there’s no version of a NextEra takeover that’s good enough for Virginia,” said Melissa Thomas, Co-Director of the Stop NextEra Coalition. “Virginians don’t want a better deal. They don’t want this deal at all. Her testimony invites NextEra to come back with ‘alternative solutions,’ but the only solution is a no. The Governor shouldn’t be the one negotiating terms for a company that isn’t welcome in Virginia.”
The Governor is now the only statewide official asking the SCC to approve the deal on conditions instead of rejecting it. Attorney General Jay Jones’s office filed expert testimony Monday concluding the merger “should be denied.” Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi came out against it on October 6. Reps. Eugene Vindman and Suhas Subramanyam oppose it, and 17 state legislators have signed on as Ratepayer Champions, committing to oppose the merger.
The Governor’s conditions also protect Virginians less than they appear to. Her “six-year rate freeze” covers base rates only, about 45% of a typical Dominion bill, leaving fuel costs and riders open to increases. Her centerpiece condition, a separate company to build power for data centers, would be unregulated and sell under private contracts, which is the business NextEra already runs. A condition NextEra can comfortably accept is not a condition that protects Virginians.
SCC staff, the commission’s own nonpartisan experts, recommended denial Monday, finding the deal would expose Dominion to the risks of NextEra’s unregulated businesses. A staff consultant wrote that “NextEra needed this Merger to avoid pressure on its credit metrics,” and staff warned the merger “would not be easily undone.”
Opposition reaches well beyond Virginia. Four New England attorneys general and PJM’s independent market monitor, the watchdog for the regional grid that serves Virginia, have asked federal regulators to reject the merger, and a bipartisan group of five New England governors has warned it would concentrate too much power in NextEra.
“This is the same approach the Governor took on data centers,” Thomas said. “Her framework writes new rules for an industry that’s reshaping Virginia, but it left out the pause communities asked for. On data centers and on NextEra, she’s using surgical precision when Virginia needs an advocacy sledgehammer.”
“We are extremely concerned about the impact of a merger this large. Is it an ethical good for the people of Virginia to have a utility too large to regulate? We think it isn’t. Houses of worship bear an often unseen responsibility to support community members with utility bills when they get behind or disconnected. We are convinced this merger will lead to increases in utility costs for Virginians and should be rejected,” said Rev. Dr. Faith Harris, Executive Director, Virginia Interfaith Power & Light. “Conditions written for shareholders won’t protect the families in our pews.”
“NextEra told investors this merger is about capturing data center demand, and Virginia families are being asked to pay for it,” said Jennifer Corpus, co-founder of Stop Virginia Data Centers. “The Governor should say no.”
“By choosing to intervene in the case, Governor Spanberger gave Virginians a false hope that she would protect us from being exploited by a harmful merger, not provide the cheat code to assist in making the deal,” said Patrice Smallwood, Chairperson, Virginia Organizing State Governing Board. “We counted on her to do better.”
The coalition’s analysis of the Governor’s testimony, “Conditions Aren’t Protection,” is available at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MwT7Uc_G3bOf78FZAWD9WnPSMDLhpy1swFB3jME5cSU/.
The coalition is calling on every elected leader in Virginia to oppose the merger, and on the SCC to reject it. Virginians can submit public comments to the SCC through November 12 at stopnextera.com.
To interview a spokesperson, contact Michelle Tabbanor at mtabbanor@virginia-organizing.org, 434-422-1012.
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About the Stop NextEra Coalition
The Stop NextEra Coalition is a statewide coalition of Virginians and organizations working to ensure that the proposed Dominion–NextEra merger receives meaningful public scrutiny and that Virginia’s energy future puts families, communities, affordability, accountability, and a clean energy transition first. Learn more at: https://stopnextera.com/About Virginia Interfaith Power & Light
Virginia Interfaith Power & Light (VAIPL) is the state affiliate of a national organization, Interfaith Power & Light, which is dedicated to bringing together all faith communities to mobilize a religious response to climate change through energy conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy. Learn more at: https://www.vaipl.org/
About Virginia Organizing
Virginia Organizing is a non-partisan statewide grassroots organization dedicated to challenging injustice by empowering people in local communities to address issues that affect the quality of their lives. Virginia Organizing especially encourages the participation of those who have traditionally had little or no voice in our society. By building relationships with individuals and groups throughout the state, Virginia Organizing strives to get them to work together, democratically and non-violently, for change. Learn more at: https://virginia-organizing.org/About Stop Virginia Data Centers
Stop Virginia Data Centers unites grassroots groups from every corner of the Commonwealth and is made up of residents who have been fighting data center projects in their own backyards. Developers have lobbyists; we have each other. The coalition is demanding a statewide moratorium on new data center approvals in the Commonwealth. Find out more at: https://www.stopvadatacenters.com/