State Corporation Commission

Clean Virginia is reacting after the State Corporation Commission (SCC) indicated it likely won't delay reviewing the proposed Dominion-NextEra merger. The nonprofit had sought a delay in the merger's approval process.

Virginia lawmakers are urging Gov. Abigail Spanberger to call a special session to extend the State Corporation Commission's review of Dominion Energy's proposed $67 billion merger with NextEra Energy. The merger, which would serve 10 million utility customers across four states, requires regulatory approvals and faces a 60-day review period extendable by 120 days under Virginia law. Lawmakers argue the commission needs additional time to assess the deal's risks and conditions.

Virginia lawmakers urge Gov. Abigail Spanberger to call a special session to extend the State Corporation Commission's review period for the proposed $67 billion Dominion Energy-NextEra Energy merger. The merger, which would create the largest U.S. utility, requires approvals from multiple states and federal agencies. Lawmakers argue acting first would weaken Virginia's negotiating leverage and harm ratepayers.

Dominion Energy has filed a merger proposal with the State Corporation Commission to merge with NextEra. The paperwork marks the beginning of the proposed merger process between the two companies.

State regulators have six months to review the proposed merger between Dominion and NexEra, with a decision to approve or reject it required within that timeframe.

The State Corporation Commission (SCC) is considering requiring data centers to cover costs of transmission lines they exclusively use, as part of Dominion Energy's case to recover $1.5 billion in grid expansion costs. Governor Abigail Spanberger’s administration and consumer advocates argue high-load customers should pay for infrastructure they trigger, while data centers and Microsoft contend they already pay allocated costs legally. Dominion revised projected rate impacts for households multiple times.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger wants data centers to pay for the cables that carry electricity. She is urging regulators to assign costs of transmission projects driven by data center needs to those facilities.

The Southern Environmental Law Center and advocacy groups filed an appeal to Virginia's Supreme Court over the State Corporation Commission's approval of Dominion Energy's Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center, a natural gas plant opposed for environmental justice concerns and alleged violations of the Virginia Clean Economy Act. The groups argue the SCC failed to properly analyze disproportionate impacts on communities and allowed cost recovery without meeting energy efficiency requirements.

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signed legislation directing regulators to assign electricity costs to data centers and allowing Dominion Energy to spend $900,000 per mile to bury local distribution lines. The bills removed a requirement for data centers to pay capacity market costs but expanded regulatory authority to address rising grid strain and customer bills.

Dominion Energy proposes a method to reduce residential monthly bills by $0.90 for its Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, which now costs $11.4 billion due to delays and tariffs. The State Corporation Commission disputes the calculation approach, suggesting a potential $1 increase in customer bills instead.