Arlington County and the City of Alexandria are teaming up on proceedings related to a massive proposed merger involving Dominion Energy.
The county announced plans earlier this month to intervene in NextEra Energy’s bid to acquire Dominion for $67 billion, an energy merger that the county says would be the largest in U.S. history. Today (Monday), officials announced that Arlington’s legal efforts will be in partnership with its next-door neighbor.
“Arlington and Alexandria share common interests in championing reliable, affordable, and equitable clean energy for the residents and businesses we serve,” Arlington County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said in a press release. “We are proud to stand together to put forward a unified voice in advocating for just and reasonable rates, reliable service, and the clean energy future our Commonwealth deserves.”
Intervening in the proceeding means that Arlington and Alexandria can provide expert testimony about impacts on local residents, question witnesses in the hearing and engage in any potential settlement discussions.
“By participating directly in these proceedings, Arlington and Alexandria can bring our local perspective and expertise to the table, ensure the impacts on our communities are fully considered, and advocate for an outcome that protects Virginia customers,” Alexandria Mayor Aliya Gaskins said in the release.
NextEra and Dominion filed a joint petition with the State Corporation Commission on July 15, and the County Board voted to intervene at a special meeting on Sept. 2, citing concerns about rising electric bills.
Energy costs have run through Virginia politics all year, after spiking electric bills over the winter drew new scrutiny to data centers’ power usage. County Board members have said that the data center boom in outer Northern Virginia is likely to reach Arlington too, and Northern Virginia lawmakers have been watching the merger since it was announced in May.
Vice-Chair Maureen Coffey said earlier this month that becoming a party to the case is the only way for the county to weigh in on a deal that, if approved, “would shape energy in Arlington for generations to come.”
“It is imperative that we remain active and engaged over the coming months,” she said.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) has also involved herself in the case, becoming the first Virginia governor to intervene in an SCC proceeding in an August filing.
Earlier this month, NextEra and Dominion announced plans to sweeten the deal in Virginia, where the merger would affect about 2.7 million households.
The companies said in a news release that in “response to feedback from policymakers” and others, they would commit to a set of Virginia benefits that includes: a new shareholder-funded co-headquarters tower in the capital city’s downtown, a promise of 600 new jobs, more money toward workforce development and a doubling of previously announced residential bill credits.
Amid rising voter frustration toward data centers and concerns about their impact on electric bills, the companies said they plan to extend a $10 monthly bill credit for residential customers to four years from two years. That would mostly be paid for by ending bill credits that previously would have gone to large data center customers.
NextEra currently calls itself North America’s largest electric power and energy infrastructure company. It owns the Florida Power & Light Company, which provides electricity to about 12 million people in that state. Richmond-based Dominion powers about 3.6 million homes and businesses in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, and provides natural gas service in South Carolina. It is the developer of the largest offshore wind project in the U.S.
The companies say that customers will eventually benefit from the larger scale of a combined company, which they argue will allow them to buy equipment and build new power generation more efficiently and at a lower cost, partly due to reduced borrowing expenses.
The commission is taking public comment under docket PUR-2026-00112. Nov. 2 is the last day to sign up as a public witness, with testimony set for Nov. 5, 9 and 10, and written comments are due Nov. 9, according to the county. A decision is expected in early 2027.
