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Dominion Energy and NextEra filed an application with South Carolina regulators to merge into one mega-utility Wednesday, though new details of the deal have not assuaged detractors’ concerns about the potential impacts to ratepayers.
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The companies want South Carolina utility regulators, the Public Service Commission, to determine the planned $67 billion merger will be in the public interest. A decision could be made by January 2027.
The megamerger would give South Carolina customers about $387.5 million in bill credits, 17% of the total $2.25 billion deal. The average residential customer would see a $10 discount on their electric bills monthly for two years if the deal receives all approvals, according to filings. The amount of the bill credit would vary by energy usage. Dominion Energy of South Carolina recently raised rates $12 for the average residential customers.
But utility watchdogs and environmental advocates worry the deal could still end up costing ratepayers in the long run, as utilities gear up for more energy demand from customers and data centers and NextEra brings its alleged history of political influence to the Palmetto State again.
The merger would create a huge utility, servicing 10 million customers across Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. It’s intended to help NextEra and Dominion keep up with skyrocketing energy demand, according to filings.
Dominion’s knowledge of South Carolina and NextEra’s financial strength and energy infrastructure development experience makes the companies’ combination a good idea, said Dominion Energy of South Carolina president Keller Kissam in testimony to the Public Service Commission.
Several nonprofits, the Southern Environmental Law Center, Coastal Conservation League, Vote Solar and Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, signed on to a news release raising concerns that the merger could negatively impact ratepayers and the environment.
“Bigger is not always better, when it comes to controlling the cost and environmental impact of electric service,” said Eddy Moore, director of decarbonization at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, in the statement. “As proposed, NextEra and Dominion stockholders could make billions of dollars in exchange for giving customers in South Carolina effectively peanuts.”
Sierra Club South Carolina also sent out its own news release opposing the plan.
Dominion provides electricity to South Carolina customers in Columbia, Charleston, Beaufort and Aiken. Leadership and headquarters would stay the same in South Carolina if the merger is approved, according to the companies’ filings with the Public Service Commission.
“The business combination will not affect how we operate locally, serve our local customers or engage with local communities,” Dominion spokesperson Rhonda O’Banion said in an email statement.
The merger is slated to be finalized in the second half of 2027. The plan started in late 2025, when the NextEra board agreed to approach Dominion Energy about a merger in October, according to a filing with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission. NextEra CEO John W. Ketchum first met with Dominion CEO Robert Blue about the plan in early November 2025.
“It’s about putting a larger NextEra platform behind the local DESC team at the exact time South Carolina needs more energy infrastructure built reliably, efficiently, affordably and with customer cost discipline,” said Ketchum in testimony to the South Carolina PSC.
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The demand for more energy in the state has been spurred in part by new industry and a growing population. Taylor Allred, an energy and climate program director with the Coastal Conservation League, said he opposes the merger, but if it goes through, would like to see a data center or large load tariff implemented.
“If it’s approved by the South Carolina Public Service Commission or the other regulators, [the merger] will continue to just exasperate the issue of unaffordable bills and data centers that are extracting resources from families and small businesses,” said Shelby Green, a research and communications manager at the Energy and Policy Institute, a utility watchdog organization.
Utility watchdog worries about political influence
Green said South Carolinians should be concerned about utilities seizing more political influence with a large merger, particularly given NextEra’s track record in Florida.
She said it’s possible NextEra could try to exert more political influence in statehouses, “especially in terms of buying political favor and influence in order to design the kind of regulatory and legislative market that it prefers.”
While operating in Florida, NextEra tried to gain significant political power through its subsidiary Florida Power & Light in the Sunshine State, including by allegedly supporting ghosts candidates in state elections, manipulating media coverage and working with a consultant that surveilled a Jacksonville journalist, media reports show.
In June, the utility company settled a civil action lawsuit for $150 million over allegations that it misled investors while navigating the public scandals.
NextEra also previously spent tens of thousands of dollars on lobbying and advertising efforts in South Carolina when the utility attempted to purchase Santee Cooper in 2020 and 2021 and later withdrew its bid.
NextEra did not immediately respond to an email requesting more information about how the utility would operate in South Carolina.
Members of the Public Service Commission are elected by South Carolina lawmakers. It can be worrisome when utilities make large campaign contributions to lawmakers, who then are responsible for confirming or electing the regulators charged with determining whether a rate increase is warranted, Green said.
NextEra isn’t the only utility spending big on politics. In just the first five months of 2026, when the General Assembly was in session, Dominion Energy spent more than $232,000 on lobbying in South Carolina, according to ethics reports. Duke Energy spent $260,000 on lobbying in the same time frame, and state-owned Santee Cooper paid $117,000.
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