NextEra Energy is seeking to acquire Dominion Energy in an all-stock deal valued at about $67 billion, creating a massive power company as the energy needs of artificial intelligence drive demand higher in the U.S. It is one of the biggest proposed mergers so far this year and would create the world’s biggest regulated electric utility business by market capitalization, the companies said on Monday. The combined company will serve approximately 10 million utility customer accounts across Florida, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Dominion, based in Richmond, Virginia, helps to power hundreds of data centers across the state. It also provides regulated electricity service to 3.6 million homes and businesses in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, and regulated natural gas service to 500,000 customers in South Carolina.
Juno Beach, Florida-based NextEra owns Florida Power & Light Company, which provides electricity to about 12 million people across the state. In December NextEra and Google Cloud announced that they were expanding their existing partnership to build new data center campuses across the U.S.
The potential tie-up of the two companies comes at a time when consumers worried about escalating electric bills are pushing back against AI data centers. Some governors, attorneys general and others protesting rising electricity bills say cash-strapped residents are stuck in a broken system.
