As the State Corporation Commission prepares to begin a months-long review of the potential merger of Virginia’s largest electric utility company Dominion Energy and the Florida-based NextEra Energy, two Republican state lawmakers on Tuesday urged Gov. Abigail Spanberger to host a special legislative session that would allow a vote to extend the review period.
Clock starts for state regulators to review proposed Dominion-NextEra merger
The estimated $67 billion deal would form the largest utility in the country, combining 10 million customers and 110 gigawatts of power generation, plus a connection queue of 130 GW.
On Tuesday, Sen. David Suetterlein, R-Roanoke County, and Del. Joe McNamara, R-Roanoke County, sent a letter to the governor asking her to call the session so the General Assembly can vote on extending the statutory limit for the SCC to act on an application, which is currently capped at six months.
“By forcing Virginia to be the first state to approve, Virginians lose negotiating strength, and our ratepayers will suffer the economic consequences, Virginia has more Dominion Energy ratepayers than either North Carolina or South Carolina,” the lawmakers stated in a release.
The letter broached the $2.25 billion in bill credits for ratepayers across the three states as part of the merger deal. The lawmakers said, “If Virginia acts first, later concessions secured elsewhere may never reach Virginia customers. The Commonwealth should not spend its leverage before we know its value.”
The merger must also be approved by North Carolina and South Carolina’s utility regulators as well as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
“Their records may expose risks, produce concessions, or supply conditions unavailable to the SCC before the Commonwealth’s clock runs out,” the legislators stated.
Lieutenant Gov. Ghazala Hashmi has criticized the merger and released a list of 64 questions she asked the applicants answer before the clock started on the case. Those questions have so far gone unanswered, with a Dominion executive stating they would likely be brought up in the formal case proceedings.
The legislators explained that under state code, legislation passed during a special session is enacted four months later. A special session in August would therefore be early enough to extend the deadline before the six month window closes. Waiting to host a session in October or until the regular legislation session in January would not be enough time, they said.
Advocacy groups have raised concerns about NextEra’s political lobbying efforts and the company’s previous failed attempts to merge with other utilities around the country.
Dominion representatives have pledged to keep the lines of communication open concerning the deal, and said the utility would continue to fulfill its duties to Virginia customers.
“The person responsible for the Dominion footprint today, in terms of public policy, government affairs, is me,” Dominion’s senior vice president of corporate affairs and communications Bill Murray said in a previous interview. “After this closes it’s me, because we’ve been very clear of current leadership teams of the utilities. So nothing’s changing how we do it.”
When asked about the merger in a July 16 interview, Spanberger said she is seeking a deeper understanding of the full impact the merger could levy in terms of jobs and renewable energy investments in the state.
“How will this merger potentially really ensure that Virginia is working towards our renewable energy goals, but also that as we are continuing to expand our generation that we are doing so in a way that is sustainable and affordable?” Spanberger said.
State regulators are slated to release a schedule for the merger case in the coming weeks.
