NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy are joining forces. The two energy giants just announced a massive merger to create the world’s largest regulated electric utility business.

The deal is a 100% stock-for-stock transaction. When it closes, NextEra shareholders will own about 74.5% of the combined company, and Dominion shareholders will hold 25.5%. The new company will keep the NextEra Energy name and trade on the NYSE under the ticker symbol NEE.

What This Means for Energy Customers

energy demand
The merger will help support a growing energy demand; Photo: ricobarinas/Shutterstock

Electricity demand is spiking fast, and the companies say they need more size to handle the pressure. The combined business will serve about 10 million customer accounts across Florida, Virginia, and the Carolinas.

The companies plan to use this new scale to buy, build, and operate everything more efficiently, which is supposed to keep long-term bills affordable. Even better, they are proposing $2.25 billion in bill credits for Dominion customers, spread out over two years after the deal closes.

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“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,” NextEra CEO John Ketchum explained. “It enables us to buy, build, finance and operate more efficiently, which translates into more affordable electricity for our customers in the long run.”

Supporting the Local Community

Even though the company is getting even larger, both teams say they want to keep things local. The business will use a dual-headquarters model in Juno Beach, Florida, and Richmond, Virginia. Dominion’s operational hub will stay in Cayce, South Carolina.

Dominion’s local utility names won’t change, and the company is committing to keep its 15,000 current employees with their current pay and benefits.

“Most importantly, this combination is built around our customers,” Dominion Energy CEO Robert Blue emphasized. “The bill credits we are committing to, the continued investments in generation, reliability and storm resiliency and our commitments to retain our team and dual headquarters… reflect the values that have always defined Dominion Energy.”

On the tech side, the new giant plans to use data analytics and AI to build the right projects in the right spots. They also plan to increase charitable giving by $10 million annually for five years and protect low-income customer assistance.