Last Friday evening, I ventured over to the Fairfax County Government Center for a public hearing on the $67 billion NextEra-Dominion merger proposal.
My story today focuses on why state leaders and residents are frustrated with the SCC.
A lot of those frustrations were aired at the hearing in Fairfax.
“ I think that the SCC has not been transparent about their rules and their own guidelines,” State Del. Irene Shin (D-Herndon) told me in an interview. “Even if it’s not their intent, I don’t think that they’re sending a clear signal to the public that we can trust this process to be fair, transparent, and accountable.”
By contrast, two unions, the Mid-Atlantic Pipe Trades Association and the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local Lodge 45, sent people to speak in favor of the merger.
The representative for the boilermakers union noted that Dominion and NextEra’s merger proposal includes committing $100 million to support workforce development in Virginia and partnering with unions on this effort.
Jason Ascher, the political director for the Mid-Atlantic Pipe Trades Association, said that it’s notable that both companies operate in “right-to-work” states—Virginia and Florida—while also having unionized workforces.
I also caught up with State Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim (D-Merrifield)and State Del. John McAuliff (D-The Plains) on Friday, and they all expressed concerns about the deal. So too did Cindy Burbank of Fauquier County, who’s angry about how Virginia is managing its development of energy infrastructure.
