Electricity rivals NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy have agreed to merge, creating the world’s largest utility with a customer base stretching from Florida to Virginia. The deal, which requires approval from state and federal regulators, will cement the merged companies’ leading position to tackle the surging energy demand crisis fueled by the rapid development of artificial intelligence data centers. NextEra Energy announced the roughly $67 billion deal on Monday, saying it was merging with Dominion in an all-stock transaction that will leave NextEra shareholders in control of nearly 75% of the joint company. Dominion shareholders will own just over 25%.
“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,” NextEra president and CEO John Ketchum said. “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,” Ketchum continued. “It enables us to buy, build, finance and operate more efficiently, which translates into more affordable electricity for our customers in the long run.”
