Virginia Must Extend Deadline to Review Next Era-Dominion Merger

Secure Solar Futures CEO Tony Smith, writing on behalf of the Virginia Distributed Solar Alliance, this week sent the letter below to Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger and other state leaders urging them to use the current negotiations over the state budget to change Virginia’s law on utility mergers. Current law, last amended decades ago, requires state regulators to approve or deny a company merger request within 180 days of its filing. To allow time to adequately consider the complexities involved in a utility merger of this scale, the Virginia Distributed Solar Alliance is asking the state to extend the review period to a full year.

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June 16, 2026

The Honorable Abigail Spanberger, Governor of Virginia
The Honorable Don Scott, Speaker of the House of Delegates
The Honorable Scott Surovell, Senate Majority Leader
The Honorable Louise Lucas, President Pro Tempore, Senate of Virginia
The Honorable Luke Torian, Chair, House Appropriations Committee
The Honorable Terry Kilgore, House Minority Leader
The Honorable Ryan McDougle, Senate Minority Leader

Re: Time to Get It Right Now — Additional Review Time for the Proposed Dominion–NextEra Merger

Dear Governor Spanberger and Legislative Leaders:

As CEO and Co-Founder of Secure Solar Futures and Chair and Co-Founder of the Virginia Distributed Solar Alliance (VA-DSA), I respectfully urge your support for a budget amendment providing the State Corporation Commission additional time to review the proposed acquisition of Dominion Energy by NextEra Energy.

Regardless of one’s views on the merits of the transaction, there should be broad bipartisan agreement that the largest regulated utility merger in American history deserves sufficient time for Virginia to get it right. This proposed $67 billion transaction will shape the Commonwealth’s energy future for decades, affecting affordability, reliability, resilience, energy security, economic competitiveness, and future infrastructure investments.

Recent reporting by the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism highlighted calls from consumer advocates, energy experts, and industry stakeholders for a deliberate review process, noting that the merger presents both significant opportunities and substantial risks for Virginia ratepayers and the future direction of the Commonwealth’s electric grid.

The timing is especially important because Virginia is simultaneously defining its energy future. During the 2026 Session, the General Assembly demonstrated overwhelming bipartisan support for grid modernization through HB 434 and established the Virginia Distributed Energy Resources Task Force to evaluate how rooftop solar, battery storage, virtual power plants, demand response, and other distributed energy resources can improve affordability, reliability, resilience, and energy security.

A key focus of the Task Force is identifying opportunities created by FERC Order 2222 to expand market access for distributed energy resources and improve grid performance. Providing additional review time—potentially up to twelve months—would provide the Governor’s Administration, General Assembly, Attorney General, SCC, and DER Task Force sufficient opportunity to consider how this historic transaction aligns with Virginia’s emerging energy strategy before irreversible decisions are made.

The timing of this request is critical. Should the merger application be filed shortly after July 1, the SCC review clock could begin running before Virginia’s elected leaders have an opportunity to consider whether a more deliberate review process is warranted.

The question is not whether the merger should proceed. The question is whether Virginia should have sufficient time to determine how the largest utility merger in American history fits into Virginia’s energy future.

Virginia deserves the opportunity to get it right before the review process begins.

Respectfully submitted,

Anthony E. Smith, CTA, M.Arch, PhD
CEO and Founder, Secure Solar Futures
Chair and Co-Founder, VA Distributed Solar Alliance

cc:

The Honorable Jay Jones, Attorney General of Virginia
Mr. Josephus Allmond, Chief Energy Officer, Commonwealth of Virginia
The Honorable Ghazala Hashmi, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia