Abigail Spanberger demands 6-year rate freeze as condition for NextEra-Dominion merger approval

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger warned regulators on October 19, 2026, to reject NextEra Energy's proposed $67 billion acquisition of Dominion Energy unless the companies freeze residential electricity rates for six years. Spanberger also demanded tripling monthly customer bill credits to $29 for four years, securing job commitments, protecting households from data center costs, and ensuring construction of a Richmond headquarters tower.

Spanberger's rate freeze proposal

• ▪Governor Abigail Spanberger stated on October 20, 2026, that her six-year rate freeze proposal for the NextEra-Dominion merger would still allow the State Corporation Commission to decrease rates if economic conditions warrant.
• ▪Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger filed expert testimony on October 19, 2026, urging the State Corporation Commission to reject the NextEra-Dominion merger unless residential base electricity rates are frozen for six years.

Additional ratepayer protections

• ▪Governor Abigail Spanberger demanded that NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy triple promised ratepayer credits for Virginians to $29 per month for four years, totaling an additional $912 per household.
• ▪Governor Abigail Spanberger also demanded protections against customer disconnections and increased clean energy investments as conditions for supporting the NextEra-Dominion merger.
• ▪Governor Abigail Spanberger requested protections against data center costs shifting to households, including a requirement for a separate company to build clean energy infrastructure for large data centers.

Proposed Richmond headquarters tower

• ▪Governor Abigail Spanberger demanded legally enforceable guarantees that NextEra Energy construct a promised downtown Richmond headquarters tower following the proposed merger with Dominion Energy.
• ▪A Virginia Chamber of Commerce report indicated NextEra Energy's proposed downtown Richmond office tower could generate nearly $1 billion in statewide economic activity, following Dominion Energy's 2021 cancellation of a second Richmond tower.

NextEra and Dominion merger details

• ▪NextEra Energy announced plans in May 2026 to acquire Dominion Energy for nearly $67 billion in equity, creating the world's largest regulated electric utility business by market capitalization.
• ▪Under the proposed merger expected to close in 12 to 18 months, Dominion Energy and NextEra Energy promised $2.25 billion in shareholder-funded bill credits across North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.