Virginia AG says Dominion-NextEra 'put a different deal on the table,' seeks merger review reset

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones is asking the State Corporation Commission to restart the clock on the proposed merger between Dominion Energy and NextEra, saying new commitments filed by the companies amount to an amendment of the original merger proposal — not a simple supplement to existing testimony.

"The Joint Petitioners have put a different deal on the table," Jones said in the Sept. 18 SCC filing.

On Sept. 14, Dominion Energy and NextEra announced new promises, including doubling bill credits, creating 1,000 new jobs, building a new office tower for NextEra employees, and maintaining current Virginia employee headcount levels for five years.

Jones said those new commitments require more time for review.

"By filing the Motion under Rule 240, the Joint Petitioners frame the additional testimony as a supplement to the initially filed Joint Petition. But considering the contents of the filing a supplement to testimony miscasts what is in fact an amendment of pleadings," Jones said.

If the State Corporation Commission agrees, the statutory clock would reset to Sept. 14, 2026, triggering new public notice, a reopened intervention period, extended testimony deadlines, and an evidentiary hearing pushed back roughly two months — from Nov. 17, 2026 to approximately Jan. 19, 2027.

Jones said the current schedule does not give intervenors enough time to fully examine the new commitments.

"Simply put, the filing of significant expansions to the Joint Petitioners proposal in this extremely important case just over a month before the filing deadline for intervenor testimony does not ensure intervenors have adequate time to analyze, conduct discovery on, and compile testimony regarding these significant expansions," Jones said.

One area drawing particular scrutiny is the proposed new office tower. Jones' consumer counsel has filed discovery questions about what operations would take place in the building, whether a cost-benefit analysis has been conducted, and whether the costs of owning, operating, or maintaining the tower could be passed on to Virginia ratepayers. The questions also ask whether the project could receive tax abatements.

Jones is also seeking more information about the new employee headcount commitments, including whether the cost of maintaining that workforce could ultimately be passed on to ratepayers.

The State Corporation Commission will now have to decide whether the new commitments are simply additional testimony or a substantial change to the merger proposal that warrants a new review timeline. A decision on the merger is currently expected in January.

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