A group of Virginia Democratic lawmakers led by State Sen. Jeremy McPike has formally requested to Gov. Abigail Spanberger that she call a special session of the General Assembly “to extend the State Corporation Commission‘s timeframe for reviewing the proposed merger between Dominion Energy and NextEra Energy.”
Dominion and NextEra formally filed applications seeking regulatory approval of their proposed $66.8 billion merger with the SCC on July 15, starting the clock – and it’s a quick one – on the state review.
“Under current law, the SCC must issue a determination within 180 days of a completed application, with approval automatically granted if no decision is reached in that window. A transaction of this magnitude cannot be meaningfully examined on that schedule,” the group of Dems wrote to Spanberger in their letter, which was made public on Monday.
“Six months is not enough time for the Commission to build a complete evidentiary record, for intervenors and expert witnesses to test the companies’ claims, or for the public to understand and respond to what is being proposed — and the consequence of running out the clock is not a denial but an automatic approval.”
We can assume that Spanberger will be amenable to the request – earlier this month, the governor took the legal step of formally requesting to be a formal party to the case, giving her and her administration “the legal right to engage, bring concerns forward, request detailed information about the proposed merger, and make clear that Virginians expect to see long-term, tangible benefits of any potential deal.”
“A deal involving tens of billions of dollars and the long-term ownership structure of the Commonwealth’s largest utility warrants a review process matched to its complexity,” the lawmakers wrote to Spanberger in their letter. “The Commission needs time to fully evaluate the terms being offered, including the long-term impacts on energy bills. Ratepayers, local governments, businesses, and consumer advocates need a real opportunity to examine the filings, participate in hearings, and submit comment — not a compressed window that forecloses genuine scrutiny.
“As legislators, we want to ensure ratepayers, communities, and the reliability of Virginia’s energy system are protected throughout this process, and that requires a timeline set by the demands of the review rather than by an arbitrary statutory clock.”
The request is for a special session that would convene in September to “allow legislation extending the review period to take effect within the necessary timeframe, giving the Commission the time it needs without disrupting the overall review timeline.”
“We support calling the General Assembly back into session for this urgent purpose, so that a merger of this scale receives the rigorous public and regulatory examination Virginians deserve,” the lawmakers concluded their letter.
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Chris Graham
