NextEra Energy Confirms Deal to Acquire Dominion Energy in $400 Billion Utility Merger Fueled by AI Power Demand

NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE) and Dominion Energy (NYSE: D) on Monday confirmed plans to merge in an all-stock transaction that would create the world’s largest regulated electric utility business, validating an earlier report by the Financial Times that the two companies were in advanced talks.

Under the definitive agreement, Dominion shareholders will receive 0.8138 shares of NextEra for each Dominion share they own, resulting in NextEra shareholders owning about 74.5% of the combined company and Dominion shareholders holding the remaining 25.5%.

The combined company will continue operating under the NextEra Energy name and trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol NEE. It will maintain dual headquarters in Juno Beach, Florida, and Richmond, Virginia, while Dominion’s South Carolina operations will continue to be headquartered in Cayce.

The transaction would combine two of the largest U.S. electricity providers at a time when surging demand from AI data centers, electrification and industrial reshoring is reshaping the power sector and fueling a race for scale among utilities.

The merged company said it will serve roughly 10 million utility customer accounts across Florida, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina and own approximately 110 gigawatts of generation capacity spanning renewables, natural gas and nuclear power.

The companies said the combined business will be more than 80% regulated and backed by a combined rate base of $138 billion that is expected to grow around 11% annually through 2032.

The deal further strengthens NextEra’s position in fast-growing data center markets, particularly Virginia, which hosts the world’s largest concentration of data centers in Northern Virginia’s “Data Center Alley.” The companies said they see more than 130 GW of large-load opportunities in their development pipeline.

John Ketchum, who will remain chairman and chief executive officer of the combined company, said rising electricity demand and increasingly complex infrastructure projects made scale more important than ever.

“Customers need affordable and reliable power now, not years from now,” Ketchum said in a statement. “Scale translates into capital and operating efficiencies. It enables us to buy, build, finance and operate more efficiently.”

Robert Blue will become president and CEO of regulated utilities for the combined company and join its board.

The companies also pledged $2.25 billion in bill credits for Dominion customers in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina over two years following the deal’s close.

The merger comes amid accelerating electricity demand from hyperscalers and AI companies including Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Meta, all of which are expanding large-scale AI infrastructure across the United States.

NextEra has increasingly aligned itself with the AI infrastructure buildout. Last year, the company signed an agreement with Google to restart a shuttered nuclear plant in Iowa to help power the tech giant’s operations. It has also said it plans to build at least 15 GW of new power generation for data centers over the next nine years.

The companies said the merger is expected to be immediately accretive to adjusted earnings per share at closing and projected more than 9% annual adjusted EPS growth through 2032.

The transaction, unanimously approved by both boards, is expected to close within 12 to 18 months, subject to shareholder approvals and regulatory clearances, including reviews by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Nuclear Regulatory Commission and utility regulators in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.