Virginia regulators are moving the proposed Dominion Energy–NextEra Energy combination into its public-testimony phase, giving customers two local hearings in October and additional statewide opportunities in November. The State Corporation Commission has scheduled local hearings for Oct. 7 in Newport News and Oct. 9 in Fairfax County on the proposed acquisition of control of Virginia Electric and Power Company, which operates as Dominion Energy Virginia.
The commission’s case calendar also provides telephonic testimony sessions on Nov. 5, 9 and 10, along with an in-person Richmond session on Nov. 5. Written comments are due Nov. 9, and the evidentiary hearing is scheduled to begin Nov. 17. The proceeding, PUR-2026-00112, will determine whether the transfer of control satisfies Virginia’s public-utility requirements; the public hearings gather customer testimony but do not themselves decide the case.
The stakes extend well beyond corporate ownership. Governor Abigail Spanberger described the transaction as a proposed $67 billion merger when she formally intervened in the case in August, citing energy affordability, reliability, Virginia jobs and the future of clean-energy investment. Intervention gives the governor a formal role in the regulatory record, while the commission remains responsible for evaluating the evidence and imposing or rejecting conditions.
The companies’ original merger announcement says Dominion shareholders would receive 0.8138 NextEra shares for each Dominion share and that the combined company would serve about 10 million utility customer accounts. It proposed $2.25 billion in bill credits across Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina over two years after closing. Those figures are company commitments subject to regulatory review, not guaranteed outcomes. The companies have said they expect the transaction to close in the second half of 2027, leaving time for Virginia and other state and federal approvals as well as shareholder votes.
In September, Dominion and NextEra expanded their proposed Virginia package. The companies said residential bill credits would run for four years, EnergyShare assistance would increase by $100 million through 2038, Virginia employment would be maintained for five years and 1,000 direct jobs would be added. They also proposed a $100 million workforce fund and a Virginia supplier program. Regulators and intervenors can test the enforceability, duration and ratepayer consequences of each promise. The proposal also calls for continued Richmond headquarters operations and local utility leadership, issues that can be converted into binding conditions if the commission finds them necessary.
The upcoming hearings create the clearest route for residents to put local concerns into the official record before the evidentiary phase. For regulators, the central question is not the merger’s scale alone but whether the proposed protections are measurable and durable: who bears transaction and infrastructure costs, how service reliability will be enforced, what happens to Virginia-based employment and governance, and whether promised credits offset longer-term rate pressures. The SCC’s final decision will follow the formal record rather than the companies’ promotional claims or opponents’ assertions.
