Vindman Opposes Terrible Deal to Hand Over Virginia’s Energy Grid to NextEra, Jack Up Virginians’ Utility Costs

Vindman: "High energy bills already top the list of concerns for Virginians, and families across the Commonwealth will not be able to endure record-setting rate hikes on top of their existing burdens"

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Eugene Vindman (Va.-07) today sent a letter to members of the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) urging them to reject the proposed merger between Dominion Energy and NextEra energy. In the letter, Vindman warned that the deal would put Wall Street profits ahead of Virginia families, weaken local accountability, and increase costs for consumers.

In the letter, Vindman wrote, "I write to express my strong opposition to the proposed merger between Dominion Energy and NextEra Energy. This deal is not right for my constituents nor Virginians at large, and I urge you to do everything in your power to stop its approval."

Vindman argued that Virginia's energy system should remain accountable to the communities it serves - not distant corporate executives or investors. He raised concerns that the transaction would reduce transparency, erode state oversight, and leave customers with higher bills while delivering significant financial benefits to shareholders.

"High energy bills already top the list of concerns for Virginians, and families across the Commonwealth will not be able to endure record-setting rate hikes on top of their existing burdens," Vindman continued. "To be specific, the merger proposes an ownership structure where three-quarters of the board is Florida-controlled. Virginians deserve a utility that is accountable to them, and they will not stand for price increases that are dictated from outside their borders.

"I will oppose any backroom deal to hand over our state's energy grid to NextEra, and I implore you to do everything in your power to block this merger and ensure that the electricity bills of Virginians are not increased," he concluded.

Full text of the letter can be found here and below.

-

Dear Chair Bagot and Commissioners Hudson and Towell:

I write to express my strong opposition to the proposed merger between Dominion Energy and NextEra Energy. This deal is not right for my constituents nor Virginians at large, and I urge you to do everything in your power to stop its approval.

NextEra is well-known for having implemented what many recognize as the largest residential electricity rate increase in history at the end of 2025. High energy bills already top the list of concerns for Virginians, and families across the Commonwealth will not be able to endure record-setting rate hikes on top of their existing burdens. Between May 2021-May 2026, Floridians who rely on NextEra's subsidiary, Florida Power & Light, have seen their utility bills rise by 33 percent. For Virginians, this merger can only mean one thing: rate increases. In their investor presentation slide deck, NextEra boasted that the merger would accompany a projected 11 percent rate base growth through 2032 underpinning an opportunity to "deliver a compelling long-term shareholder value proposition." I will not stand for Wall Street investors making a windfall when my constituents struggle to keep the lights on. A company with a demonstrated record of imposing excessive rate increases on its customers is simply not one Virginians can afford to welcome.

Over the last year, the Virginia General Assembly and this Commission have worked to shift costs of data centers away from customers and back onto the data centers themselves. However, NextEra has also told investors that this merger attempts to capture the 130 gigawatts of large-load data center demand growth. In short, whether investors see high returns is dependent on NextEra maximizing data center growth. This means NextEra's incentives will align with keeping costs low for data centers rather than ensuring they pay their fair share. In the end, consumers will see these costs shifted to them. What's more, NextEra is not only the largest single energy provider in the country, but it is also headquartered hundreds of miles away in Florida. This merger will hand over control of our local energy infrastructure to bureaucrats far removed from the communities they serve. To be specific, the merger proposes an ownership structure where three-quarters of the board is Florida-controlled. Virginians deserve a utility that is accountable to them, and they will not stand for price increases that are dictated from outside their borders.

Lastly, there is a significant trail of news articles and allegations surrounding the company's seemingly underhanded and suspicious conduct. These allegations include funding ghost candidates, offering jobs to public officials, and spying on journalists. In fact, in 2025 NextEra paid a $150 million settlement in response to allegations that it had engaged in "fraud and deceit." Virginians deserve to trust their local utility and their regulators, and welcoming a shady organization with a concerning reputation for impropriety is not right for the state.

Given the concerns expressed above, I will oppose any backroom deal to hand over our state's energy grid to NextEra, and I implore you to do everything in your power to block this merger and ensure that the electricity bills of Virginians are not increased.

BACKGROUND

NextEra is well-known for having implemented what many recognize as the largest residential electricity rate increase in history at the end of 2025. High energy bills already top the list of concerns for Virginians and Vindman has heard from hundreds of families who will not be able to endure record-setting rate hikes on top of their existing burdens.

Between May 2021-May 2026, Floridians who rely on NextEra's subsidiary, Florida Power & Light, have seen their utility bills rise by 33 percent.

As a founding member of the Congressional Lowering Utility Bills Caucus, Vindman has been a champion for bringing down utility costs.

In May, he introduced the Home Energy Affordability Act, legislation thatwould help protect consumers from repeated utility rate hikes by limiting electric utilities to one rate increase request every 365 days. This bill is based on a proposal that has received overwhelming support from constituents across Virginia's Seventh District and would amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to require states to consider policies restricting how often regulated electric utilities can seek rate increases.

He also introduced the Utility Hikes Transparency Act,legislation that would create the first comprehensive, machine-readable federal database of retail utility rate changes in the United States. The tracker would be updated quarterly which would include approved and effective electric and natural gas utility rate changes for investor-owned utilities, cooperatives, and municipally owned utilities nationwide.

###