On September 14, Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi (D) and other elected officials from around the commonwealth convened in Charlottesville on the latest stop of Hashmi’s Energy Costs Listening Tour. The tour is intended to hold “community conversations on the Dominion-NextEra takeover and your utility bills,” according to its website.
Ever since NextEra energy announced in May that it would acquire Dominion Energy, Virginia’s largest electric utilities company, the public and some elected officials have voiced concerns about subjects like the company becoming a monopoly, how it would affect consumers’ monthly electric bills, and so on.
At the Charlottesville event, officials fielded questions and concerns about the merger from Virginians, along with pushback and calls for the deal to be stopped. One of the strongest voices opposing the merger came from the podium.
Callsen speaks out against merger
Speaking to the crowd, Delegate Katrina Callsen (D-Albermarle) called explicitly for an end to the merger and for the companies to be held accountable for its potential consequences.
“They need the public scrutiny, they need to be called out on their intentions, and now is truly the time to speak up,” Callsen said. “We have to ask those questions, and we have to, hopefully, I will just say it on record, stop the acquisition.”
Callsen also addressed a recent announcement by Dominion and NextEra that they would provide Virginians with additional benefits should the merger proceed, which Dogwood reported on last week.
The companies’ offer now includes a new headquarters tower in downtown Richmond, a promise of 600 new jobs, and doubling ratepayers’ $10 monthly bill credits from the previous two years to four.
The new offer was met with criticism by attendees, many of whom considered them a temporary fix without real long-term solutions.
Callsen agreed.
“When I see a list of new things that they have to offer us, it looks a lot less like generosity and a lot more like gaslighting,” she said. “What would be an actual gift would be a binding cap on their profit margins so that we could actually have renewable energy growth that shows up on our bills as a benefit and not a cost billed to us.”
Opposition to merger grows among officials
With her comments, Callsen joined the growing chorus of voices of elected officials declaring public and explicit opposition to the deal.
On a previous stop in Norfolk, Hashmi’s tour faced similar concerns from the audience, prompting Delegate Phil Hernandez (D-Norfolk) to say, “If the merger does not advance affordability, it should not go through. Period. Full stop.”
Energy affordability is a big issue in Virginia. In July, many Virginians’ electric rates increased after state regulators approved a Dominion rate hike, which some experts attributed to dependence on fossil fuels.
Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-Dale City) wrote a letter to the Virginia State Corporation Commission, the office overseeing the merger, urging them to reject it. Vindman released a statement on his website that said “Virginians have made their voices heard loud and clear: they do not want a merger that puts corporate profits ahead of affordable, reliable energy. The Virginia State Corporation Commission should listen to the people it represents and reject this merger.”
They join state Sen. Mike Jones (D-Richmond), who may be the first lawmaker to take a stand against the proposed deal. On July 21, Jones joined a rally in front of the Capitol Bell Tower in downtown Richmond and spoke to those gathered.
“We know NextEra has done some shady things down in Florida,” Jones said. “We know they’ve had the support of the government in Florida. So the question is: will they have that same access and that same ease right here in Virginia? And I’m here to stand and say, along with you: no, we won’t go that easily.”
Jones’s allegation of NextEra doing “shady things down in Florida” may be in reference to any number of controversies the company and its subsidiary, Florida Power & Light (FPL), have been involved in. In 2023, FPL’s CEO, Eric Silagy, announced his retirement amid accusations that the company “backed sham election candidates” and spied on Florida Times-Union columnist Nate Monroe, according to AP News.
The previous year, investment firm Seaport Global downgraded its NextEra stock recommendation from “buy” to “neutral” after the Miami Herald reported that Silagy had been influencing the Tallahassee-based news outlet The Capitolist for positive coverage of FPL. Their story claimed that Silagy could influence The Capitolist because it was “bankrolled and controlled by executives of the power company through a small group of trusted intermediaries from an Alabama consulting firm.”
Throughout these investigations, FPL conducted an internal investigation and denied any wrongdoing, but in March of this year, NextEra agreed to a settlement in relation to many of the claims. In June, it was announced that the amount of the settlement was $150 million.
Opposition to the merger also reaches beyond officials currently holding office.
Taylor, Perriello object to energy deal
At least two Congressional candidates running for office in 2026 have also voiced their opposition to the Dominion-NextEra merger. Former US Rep. Tom Perriello, a Democrat, is currently running to unseat Republican John McGuire in Virginia’s 5th District.
“These giant monopolies keep sticking Virginia families with higher bills, hidden costs, and horrendous transmission lines and data centers that communities clearly do not want,” Perriello said. “Monopolies corrupting our politics is a big part of what got Virginia into this mess, and handing even more power to a Florida monopoly is guaranteed to make things worse for our electric bills, our rural communities, and our ability to land the clean energy jobs of the future.”
Henrico County Commonwealth Attorney Shannon Taylor (D), who is running to replace US Rep. Rob Wittman (R) in the 1st District, spoke in even starker terms.
“Handing control of Virginia’s power to out-of-state interests and creating the largest utility monopoly in the country is not the answer at a time of rising energy costs,” Taylor said. “Virginians already pay too much to keep the lights on. They cannot and will not shoulder even higher bills so massive corporations can make bigger profits.
“Leaders of both parties here in Virginia must oppose this merger.”
Read more: The Dominion-NextEra merger is messy. Rob Wittman stands to benefit from it.
