A pair of state legislators has formally asked Gov. Abigail Spanberger to call a special session that would give the Virginia General Assembly the ability to extend the timeframe for reviewing the proposed $67 billion merger of NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy.
As of this writing, we have crickets from Spanberger on the request.
“Policies affecting the Dominion service area inevitably impact Virginians’ budgets in every corner of the Commonwealth. Affording the SCC the necessary time for a conscientious review is absolutely critical. Virginia should not be rushed,” the lawmakers, State Sen. David Sutterlein and Del. Joseph McNamara, wrote in their letter to the governor, dated July 21.
NextEra and Dominion formally filed applications seeking regulatory approval of their proposed merger with the Virginia State Corporation Commission last week starting the clock – and it’s a quick one – on the state review.
State law gives the SCC 60 days to review the applications, though the commission can move to extend that time frame by an additional 120 days.
A deal is approved by default if the clock runs out, under the current regulatory framework.
State Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell told WTOP on Wednesday that the commission “needs an additional six months to look at the merger.
“I reached out to the SCC and talked to them about it, and they’ve indicated they could use the additional time,” Surovell told the radio station.
ICYMI: Dominion-NextEra merger
- NextEra, Dominion file paperwork on proposed merger, getting SCC review clock ticking
- NextEra Energy wants to buy Dominion Energy: This one’s about data centers, AI
- Word for the good guys who oppose the Next Era-Dominion merger: Good luck
- Virginia groups pushing for changes to laws governing utility mergers
- Ghazala Hashmi takes leadership role on state review of proposed NextEra-Dominion merger