Virginia’s Lt. Gov. wants to know what citizens think of proposed power company merger – WTOP News
Virginia’s lieutenant governor is hitting the road this month, traveling across the commonwealth to hear from citizens about a proposed merger between Dominion Energy and a Florida-based power company that would create one of the largest utilities in the country. Her first stop was in Loudoun County.
Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi and other elected leaders heard about the proposed $67 billion merger between Dominion and NextEra from a crowd Wednesday night at the Dreamscapes Performing Arts Center in Sterling, Virginia.
“We have to think about the public benefit, if there is any, with this decision. We’re talking about a proposed transaction worth roughly $67 billion that could fundamentally reshape Virginia’s largest electric utility,” Hashmi said during a news conference before the listening session.
Hashmi has asked for an extended review from the State Corporation Commission, which is deciding if this deal is in the public interest.
Ashburn residents like Vicky Hsu claim this will not lower costs for her and her neighbors — and fear that more large transmission lines serving data centers will eat up space in Northern Virginia.
“Already, our energy bill has doubled in the last six years, and Dominion wants to build this monster line next to the school or through — and through the community,” she said. “We are paying more and lose more to the company, who doesn’t care about us, but their own profit. The merger just means more power, more profit for them.”
State Senator Russet Perry vowed that she would fight this merger at the SCC, saying, “In Loudoun and Fauquier counties, we do not exist to be a pass-through state for corporate power grids.”
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Hashmi will make four more stops across the commonwealth in September, including Roanoke, Richmond and Charlottesville.
Last month, Gov. Abigail Spanberger said she would seek intervener status in the case, which gives her administration the ability to question both companies.
Ultimately, the decision rests with the SCC.
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