Spanberger pushes for 6-year rate-hike freeze if Dominion-Next Era merger approved

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) is pushing for a six-year pause on electricity rate hikes in the commonwealth as part of a merger between NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy.

Spanberger on Monday filed expert testimony with the State Corporation Commission (SCC), urging it to reject the proposed merger if the two companies do not agree to halt increases to base electricity rates for six years — three rate case cycles.

Dominion, which is headquartered in Richmond, Va., and NextEra announced plans to merge in May. The deal would create the world’s largest regulated electric utility business by market capitalization, the companies said at the time.

Under the deal, which the two companies said in May they expect to close in 12 to 18 months, NextEra will acquire Dominion for nearly $67 billion in equity.

The two companies have said customers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia would receive $2.25 billion in shareholder-funded bill credits upon closing.

But Spanberger outlined her stipulations for the deal to go through, calling on the companies to triple the ratepayer benefits to Virginians, which would increase the rebate to $29 per month for four years.

The first-year Virginia governor, who campaigned on lowering the cost of living, clarified Tuesday that her proposal would allow for electricity rates to decrease if economic conditions warrant.

“In the event that rates would otherwise be going down, there could be a review by the SCC that would … revisit that pricing if it’s going down,” Spanberger told reporters on a press call.

Virginia’s average residential electricity rate is 17.55 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), below the national average of 18.31 cents per kWH, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration .

Spanberger acknowledged Tuesday that SCC commissioners are “still a ways away” from deciding whether to greenlight the NextEra-Dominion merger. But she said the deal “is not nearly good enough” for Virginians.

“I am going to make clear the very long, very clear and … I would call it aggressive, but also quite realistic, requirements that I think would be necessary to meet for this potential merger to actually meet the stated benefits for Virginians,” the Virginia governor added.