JUNO BEACH, Fla. & RICHMOND, Va. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — In direct response to feedback from policymakers and other stakeholders, NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) and Dominion Energy, Inc. (NYSE: D) today announced a transformational Virginia benefits package as part of their proposed combination, designed to put customers first while positioning the Commonwealth as a global energy leader with long-term bill relief for residential customers, long-term affordability benefits, data center cost protections, accelerated clean energy deployment and thousands of new direct and indirect jobs in Richmond and across the Commonwealth.
The package is organized around the priorities Virginians have made clear: affordability, jobs, and building more clean energy and battery storage faster to decrease reliance on expensive imports. It puts customers first by proposing four years of residential bill credits, delivering long-term affordability benefits, expanding low-income financial assistance and ensuring data centers pay their fair share. At the same time, it would position Virginia as a global energy leader, with a major new NextEra Energy presence in Richmond, significant new jobs across Virginia, a stronger local supply chain and national-scale energy innovation anchored in the Commonwealth.
“This is a Virginia-first package, and it starts with customers,” said John Ketchum, chairman, president and CEO of NextEra Energy. “We are proposing to double residential bill relief from two years to four years, along with expanded low-income financial assistance and long-term affordability benefits. We are also reaffirming our support for the State Corporation Commission, Governor, and General Assembly’s efforts to protect residential and small business customers from costs associated with serving data centers. Just as important, this package would help Virginia build more of the clean energy and infrastructure it needs faster, so the Commonwealth can reduce its reliance on expensive imported power. And it would do that while positioning Virginia as a major energy leader, bringing NextEra Energy jobs, good-paying supplier jobs, workforce investment, economic development and national-scale energy technology and innovation to Virginia. This is the kind of customer-focused, job-creating package this combination makes possible.”
“Dominion Energy Virginia will remain locally led, separately regulated and accountable to the State Corporation Commission,” said Robert Blue, chair, president and CEO of Dominion Energy. “The same local teams, led by Ed Baine, that customers know and trust will continue serving the Commonwealth. This package builds on that foundation by adding NextEra Energy’s scale, capital and capabilities to help support Virginia’s growth while keeping customers, reliability and affordability at the center of everything we do. It brings new jobs, maintains our existing Virginia employee headcount levels for five years and positions the Commonwealth to become a global energy leader. The benefits to our customers and the Commonwealth from this combination are things we cannot deliver on our own.”
Putting customers first
Under the expanded package, the companies would seek to double residential bill relief, extending $10 per month in bill credits from the previously proposed two years to four years, by working with the State Corporation Commission (SCC) to redirect the portion of credits that would otherwise go to large-scale data centers toward additional relief for residential customers and increasing the aggregate shareholder-funded Virginia customer credit amount.
The companies would also expand low-income financial assistance by increasing EnergyShare, Dominion Energy’s shareholder-funded energy bill assistance program, by $100 million through 2038 and reaffirm their existing commitment to hold customers harmless from all merger costs. Customers will not pay one cent for this combination.
The companies said the package would support long-term affordability by using the combined company’s scale to buy, build, finance and operate more efficiently over time, with future base rates continuing to be set by the SCC once every two years. When combined with the credits, customers are receiving long-term affordability benefits that a standalone Dominion Energy cannot offer.
The benefits of scale
The long-term customer benefits in the expanded package are grounded in NextEra Energy’s operating track record and scale advantages that have translated into lower costs and stronger outcomes for customers over time. The ability to buy, build, operate and finance more efficiently helps drive affordability over the long term.
Since 2006, NextEra Energy’s utility subsidiary, Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), has increased customer accounts by more than 36% and generation capacity by more than 60%, while improving reliability by more than 40% and lowering bills by 20% in real dollars. Today, FPL’s non-fuel operations and maintenance expense is more than 70% below the national average, its typical residential bills are 37% below the national average, and its reliability is more than 60% better than the national average, all while making investments in affordable generation to keep pace with increasing electric demand in the 14th largest economy in the world.
While Dominion Energy Virginia would remain locally led, separately regulated and accountable to the SCC, those same scale advantages and operating efficiencies are some of the core long-term benefits NextEra Energy would bring to Virginia.
Ensuring data centers pay their fair share
NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy also reaffirmed their support for the efforts of the SCC, General Assembly and Governor to protect residential and small business customers from costs associated with serving data centers.
The companies said that principle is consistent with Dominion Energy’s GS-5 rate class, FPL’s large-load tariff (which is one of the most protective in the nation), both companies’ support for the Ratepayer Protection Pledge and Virginia’s recently passed legislation, which reinforces that data centers should pay their fair share.
Building more clean energy and infrastructure faster
The expanded package would help accelerate the buildout of Virginia generation, including solar, storage, dispatchable resources and nuclear, while leveraging the combined company’s existing Virginia assets, like the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center, to support reliability as the Commonwealth builds the next generation of energy infrastructure.
The companies would also leverage their combined experience, supply chain, construction platform and scale to accelerate renewable energy and storage development in accordance with the Virginia Clean Economy Act.
“Virginia should not have to choose between affordability, reliability and clean energy,” Blue said. “The answer is to build affordably, build faster and build in a way that protects customers.”
Making Virginia a global energy leader
The expanded package would position Virginia, anchored by Richmond and connected to communities across the Commonwealth, as a major center for the future of energy.
NextEra Energy would maintain current employee headcount levels in Virginia for five years, add 600 new NextEra Energy jobs in Virginia and work with suppliers who are expected to bring 400 additional jobs to the Commonwealth. NextEra Energy also would build, at its shareholders’ expense, a new NextEra Energy office tower in Richmond beside the existing Dominion Energy headquarters building as a part of the combined company’s co-headquarters to accommodate the new jobs as well as existing Dominion Energy jobs and future growth.
The new Richmond presence would support work in renewable energy development and supply chain management, battery storage operations, nuclear and small modular reactor innovation, enterprise technology and cybersecurity, among others.
The companies also would host an annual global energy summit in Virginia, bringing chief executives, investors and policymakers to focus on innovation, technology and the energy infrastructure required to power economic growth.
“Virginia already leads in technology and defense,” Ketchum said. “With this combination, Virginia can also lead in energy.”
Investing in Virginia workers and suppliers
The companies would contribute $100 million to directly support workforce development in Virginia. The investment would include working with union partners to support career development, hands-on training and apprenticeships and establish a newly created independent organization to operate a workforce development fund for Virginia, governed by a board drawn from the Commonwealth’s trade schools, colleges, universities, technical colleges and community colleges, directed at training Virginians for the jobs this global leadership opportunity would create.
The companies would establish up to a $1 billion annual, five-year Virginia Supplier Program through spending commitments that support cost-competitive contractors, suppliers and service providers doing business in Virginia. They would use the combined company’s purchasing scale to bring suppliers, vendors and engineering and construction partners into the state, expand the role of the Port of Virginia in the energy supply chain and hire local firms and workers to help build the new NextEra Energy office tower. Already, more than nine other companies intend to establish or expand their presence in Virginia if the combination is approved, bringing additional investment and good-paying jobs to the Commonwealth.
Keeping Dominion Energy Virginia local
The expanded package builds on existing commitments to maintain dual headquarters in Richmond and Juno Beach, preserve Dominion Energy Virginia’s local leadership, workforce, oversight and energy mix, maintain the Virginia-based board of directors for Dominion Energy Virginia just as it is today and keep Dominion Energy Virginia locally led, separately regulated and accountable to the SCC.
Dominion Energy Virginia would retain its name. Ed Baine would continue to lead Dominion Energy Virginia. Dominion Energy Virginia’s president would remain a Virginia resident. Bob Blue would lead all NextEra Energy regulated utilities. NextEra Energy’s CEO would maintain a Virginia residence.
The companies also reaffirmed their commitment to enhanced Virginia storm response and mutual aid, with absolutely no Virginia funding for Florida storm restoration.
Building something greater together
“This package answers the central question before Virginia: how do we keep bills affordable, protect customers, create jobs and build the energy infrastructure the Commonwealth needs to grow while driving energy independence?” Ketchum said. “The answer is a stronger Dominion Energy Virginia, still local, still regulated in Virginia, with the scale, low-cost platform and capabilities of NextEra Energy behind it.”
Blue added, “This combination is about building something greater together for Virginia: stronger customer benefits, more jobs, more clean energy, more local investment and a utility that remains focused on the customers and communities it serves.”
Regulatory review and approvals
The proposed combination remains subject to required regulatory approvals, the expiration or termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, and other customary closing conditions. The companies today submitted additional information regarding this enhanced Virginia benefits package to the SCC.
These commitments are contingent upon approval and closing of the proposed combination. In the event of any inconsistency, the commitments contained in the companies’ regulatory filings, as approved by the applicable regulatory authorities, will govern.
The companies continue to expect the transaction to close in the second half of 2027.
Additional information
For more information about the proposed combination, including a presentation detailing the companies’ commitments and benefits for customers and the Commonwealth, please visit DominionNextEraFuture.com.
Tagged with Dominion Electric Supply, NextEra Energy