NextEra Energy has signed a deal to acquire Virginia’s main utility company, Dominion Energy, to create the world’s largest regulated electric utility business.
The deal will create the world’s biggest regulated electric utility business, serving approximately 10 million utility customer accounts across Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Collectively, the firm will own 110GW of generation across a range of energy sources.
The all-stock deal will see Dominion Energy shareholders receive a fixed exchange ratio of 0.8138 shares of NextEra Energy for each share of Dominion Energy they own at the close of the transaction. As a result, NextEra and Dominion shareholders will own approximately 74.5 percent and 25.5 percent of the combined company, respectively. The combined company will operate under the NextEra Energy name.
“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,” said John Ketchum, chairman, president, and CEO of NextEra. “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.
Following the close of the transaction, John Ketchum will serve as chairman and CEO of the combined company, and Robert Blue will serve as president and CEO of regulated utilities and as a member of the board of directors. Edward Baine will be president and CEO of Dominion Energy Virginia, Keller Kissam will be president and CEO of Dominion Energy South Carolina, and Scott Bores will be president and CEO of Florida Power & Light Company.
“Dominion Energy and NextEra Energy share a deep commitment to delivering reliable and affordable energy and to the customers and communities we are honored to serve. 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,” added Robert Blue, chair, president, and CEO of Dominion.
The deal will have significant implications for data center firms, with both utilities being key power providers for the sector. Collectively, the firms have more than 130GW of large-load opportunities in their pipeline, much of which is tied to the data center market.
In its latest earnings report, Dominion reported that it has more than 48GW of data center capacity in its contracted pipeline as of December 2025, up from approximately 47GW in September.
NextEra revealed in January that it has approximately 20GW of interest from large load users, predominantly from hyperscale data center customers. Of the 20GW, 9GW is in the advanced discussions phase. The company has also signed several high-profile partnerships with tech firms, including a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement with Google to support the restart of the 615MW Duane Arnold Energy Center in Palo, Iowa.
The transaction is expected to close in 12 to 18 months, subject to customary closing conditions and approvals by the shareholders of the respective companies.
Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel, and Lazard acted as lead financial advisor, with BofA and Wells Fargo also serving as financial advisors, to NextEra Energy. McGuire Woods LLP served as legal counsel, and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC acted as co-financial advisors to Dominion Energy.
