The combined entity will operate under the NextEra name and be 74.5% owned by NextEra Energy shareholders and 25.5% by Dominion Energy shareholders. It will serve around 10 million accounts across Florida, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
The combined entity will have 110 GW of generating capacity, including considerable nuclear energy capacity – NextEra Energy Resources, along with its affiliate company Florida Power & Light Company, operates seven nuclear units at four sites: Turkey Point and St Lucie in Florida; Seabrook in New Hampshire; and Point Beach in Wisconsin. Additionally, it plans to restart the Duane Arnold plant in Iowa, which ceased operations in 2020. The plant is scheduled to become operational at the beginning of 2029, pending regulatory approvals. A power purchase agreement with Google was announced last October.
In January NextEra Energy said it could add up to 6 GWe of small modular reactor generating capacity at its existing nuclear power plant sites or potential new sites, primarily to meet demand from data centres.
More than 40% of the electricity Dominion Energy generates is from its nuclear plants – Millstone Nuclear Power Station in Connecticut, North Anna and Surry nuclear power plants in Virginia and VC Summer in South Carolina.
John Ketchum, chairman, president and CEO of NextEra Energy, said: “This is a historic moment for our two companies and for the states we are privileged to serve. Electricity demand is rising faster than it has in decades. Projects are getting larger and more complex. Customers need affordable and reliable power now, not years from now. We are bringing NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy together because scale matters more than ever – not for the sake of size, but because scale translates into capital and operating efficiencies. It enables us to buy, build, finance and operate more efficiently, which translates into more affordable electricity for our customers in the long run.”
Robert Blue, chair, president and CEO of Dominion Energy, said: “This combination brings together two strong operating platforms and creates an even stronger energy partner for Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida, with the scale and balance sheet to deliver the generation, transmission and grid investments our customers and economies need.”
The proposal is that Ketchum will serve as chairman and CEO of the combined company and Blue will serve as president and CEO of regulated utilities and as a member of the board of directors. The combined company’s board of directors will include 10 directors from NextEra Energy and four from Dominion Energy. The announcement includes a proposal for USD2.25 billion in bill credits for Dominion customers in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina over the two years after the deal closes.
The two sides expect the deal to close in 12 to 18 months “subject to customary closing conditions and approvals by the shareholders of NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy, the expiration or termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission under Section 203 of the Federal Power Act and approval by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission”.
