The State Corporation Commission will hold three in-person hearings to collect public testimony on the proposed $67 billion merger between Dominion Energy and NextEra Energy, in addition to three anticipated days of testimony by phone.
If approved by multiple state and federal agencies, the merger would create the largest regulated utility in the country.
The dates and locations of the in-person hearings are:
Oct. 7, 6-8 p.m. at Christopher Newport University Freeman Center (Gaines Theater), 1 University Pl., Newport News, Va, 23606.
Oct. 9, 6-8 p.m. at Fairfax County Government Center (Board Auditorium), 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax, Va. 22035
Nov. 5, 2-5 p.m. at the second-floor courtroom of the State Corporation Commission building, 1300 E. Main St., Richmond, Va., 23219.
Members of the public do not have to register in advance to speak at the in-person hearings. If people are still waiting to testify when a hearing’s scheduled end time is reached, the hearing examiner will determine how to proceed, according to an SCC spokesperson.
Details of the days and times for testimony by phone can be found on the SCC website. The deadline to register to testify by phone is Nov. 2.
Written testimony is encouraged because of time constraints, and the deadline to submit comments is Nov. 9.
The regional hearings are an unusual step by the commission for a case with statewide implications. Typically, in-person hearings are held for infrastructure projects that affect a specific community, such as transmission lines.
The SCC is also considering a couple of actions taken by intervenors in the case.
One is a move by Attorney General Jay Jones, who argues that Dominion and NextEra’s September amendment to its application, which laid out a new deal that included expanding bill credits to four years and a promise to build a skyscraper in Richmond, should reset the 180-day clock for reviewing the case.
The SCC has yet to rule on whether the timeline will be pushed back two months, as requested by the attorney general.
The commission has also heard from Clean Virginia, a clean energy advocacy group, which argued that NextEra’s alleged political activities and past attempts to acquire other utilities should be considered relevant information in the case in Virginia.
Dominion’s lawyers argued that the commission does not regulate political activity and called the request to include it in the proceedings a “political spectacle.” The SCC has also yet to rule on the motion to compel.
