| Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... |
See below for a press release from Clean Virginia, regarding the latest on the proposed NextEra acquisition of Dominion Energy. As Clean Virginia says:
- “promises of benefits cannot substitute for Virginia’s statute that requires the SCC to reject an acquisition unless it finds with certainty that the deal will not put ratepayers at risk of higher rates or impaired service, now or in the future”
- “Substantially revising the merger terms at this late stage makes the call to extend the SCC’s review timeline more urgent than ever.”
- ” This latest development proves exactly why this proceeding needs more time. We once again call on the Governor and leadership in the General Assembly to convene a special session to protect Virginians by treating this unprecedented proposal with the time and attention it warrants.”
- “Notably, the announcement of additional promises does nothing to address one of the biggest risks of the deal: a utility with even greater ability to influence Virginia politics. Dominion has long wielded substantial political influence in the Commonwealth, butNextEra brings a particularly troubling record…”
I couldn’t agree more. Also, it should go without saying that the SCC Chair should recuse herself immediately, given that she worked a senior attorney for NextEra, the company which wants to acquire Dominion Energy!
In addition to the statement by Clean Virginia, see below for additional commentary, including from Rep. Eugene Vindman, who says:
“The merger between Dominion and NextEra is a bad deal for Virginians, plain and simple. No ‘incentives’ package can make up for the higher utility costs that will hit Virginia families as a result of this merger with a Florida-based company that isn’t going to put Virginia first. We deserve better.”
Bingo!
Dominion-NextEra Revised Acquisition Package Underscores Need for More Review Time, Does Not Change Legal Standard
New Proposal Raises Additional Questions that Regulators Need Time to Evaluate
Charlottesville, Va. — Clean Virginia responded today to Dominion Energy and NextEra Energy’s newly announced acquisition proposal, arguing that the companies’ decision to unveil substantial changes after the merger review is already well underway is further evidence that their original application was incomplete. Moreover, promises of benefits cannot substitute for Virginia’s statute that requires the SCC to reject an acquisition unless it finds with certainty that the deal will not put ratepayers at risk of higher rates or impaired service, now or in the future. Neither the original filing nor this supplemental filing offers meaningful consumer protections against the increased customer risk associated with NextEra’s proposed acquisition of Dominion.
“The SCC needs more time to review this unprecedented deal, and their review requires the utilities to file a complete application,” said Brennan Gilmore, Clean Virginia executive director. “Virginia’s energy future is too important to be negotiated through a series of last-minute, repackaged promises from companies with long track records of breaking them. Approval of this transaction is not contingent on whether Dominion and NextEra have assembled an attractive enough package of benefits — it’s whether this change in control risks reliable service at a rate Virginians can afford.”
Intervenors to the acquisition case have spent weeks preparing for an evidentiary hearing scheduled to begin on November 17. Substantially revising the merger terms at this late stage, makes the call to extend the SCC’s review timeline more urgent than ever. The compressed timeline and last-minute changes are further aggravated by the barriers intervenors have faced in obtaining information necessary to evaluate the transaction, as evidenced by a motion to compel adequate discovery responses currently before the Commission.
“Dominion and NextEra’s announcement clearly shows that the utilities’ initial filing did not provide the full information necessary for the Commission to evaluate the proposed transaction,” said Gilmore. “You don’t fill in the blanks of an incomplete application in the middle of the review process and expect regulators to reach a decision by the same deadline. This latest development proves exactly why this proceeding needs more time. We once again call on the Governor and leadership in the General Assembly to convene a special session to protect Virginians by treating this unprecedented proposal with the time and attention it warrants.”
Notably, the announcement of additional promises does nothing to address one of the biggest risks of the deal: a utility with even greater ability to influence Virginia politics. Dominion has long wielded substantial political influence in the Commonwealth, butNextEra brings a particularly troubling record of using its political spending and influence to advance its interests, raising the stakes of concentrating the power of both companies under one roof. Because Virginia is one of only four states that allow unlimited corporate political contributions, there is nothing to prevent the new utility from using its political power to push for changes that benefit the company, or even undermine the promises it is making today, leaving the Commonwealth uniquely vulnerable to outsized corporate influence.
###
Clean Virginia is a nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to removing corporate money from Virginia politics and reforming utility regulation to put customers first. Learn more at cleanvirginia.org.
