By admin 
Leaders of the South Carolina General Assembly want to weigh in on whether NextEra and Dominion Energy should be able to merge into one mega-utility provider.
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House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, and Senate President Thomas Alexander, R-Oconee, both filed notice with state regulators to intervene in NextEra and Dominion’s $67 billion deal. At least in recent years, it’s rare for legislative leaders to formally get involved in the Public Service Commission’s proceedings.
The two heavyweights in South Carolina lawmaking made one opinion on the deal clear Thursday: it’s OK with them for the Public Service Commission to decide whether the massive deal is good for the public in just more than six months.
The utilities want a final decision on their megamerger to be made by Jan. 29, 2027. Dominion and NextEra formally asked South Carolina regulators for the combination July 15, 2026.
Alexander and Smith, the most high-ranking members of the South Carolina General Assembly, both said they did not object to the schedule proposed by the utilities in separate filings July 21. Then on Thursday, July 30, the same day the commission met to discuss the timeline, both leaders reaffirmed their support.
“Speaker Smith believes that the proposed schedule allows sufficient time to ensure that the interests of DESC’s [Dominion] customers and of the state are considered and protected,” reads a docket filing for Smith supporting the timeline. “Those interests will also be advanced by establishing certainty regarding the control of DESC [Dominion] through a deliberate but prompt evaluation of the proposed transfer of control.”
Environmentalists said the state is moving too quickly to decide a merger of such magnitude. Recent merger decisions involving major utilities have taken anywhere from 11 to 15 months, according to the Southern Environmental Law Center.
“The schedule that NextEra and Dominion proposed is outrageously short for a merger proceeding in South Carolina,’’ law center senior attorney Kate Mixson said.
The law center and other environmental groups say South Carolina should not hamstring itself by setting a timeline of six months. Otherwise, the state could lose leverage on what it considers important to protect South Carolina residents, they say.
Mixson noted that South Carolina is moving in the opposite direction of Virginia, which also must approve the merger. Virginia now has six months to make such decisions, but efforts are underway in that state to drop the six-month requirement because the utilities involved are so large, she said.
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A major issue for those concerned about the Dominion-NextEra merger is whether it would cause utility rates to rise in areas of South Carolina, including Columbia, that would be served by the new utility.
A PSC vote on the proposed timeline is expected next week.
After receiving correspondence from both Smith and Alexander at about the time the utility regulators’ weekly meeting opened Thursday, the utility oversight board agreed to delay a vote on whether to approve the schedule. A vote is expected on Aug. 6.
“The Senate and the House have apparently submitted letters by their legal counsel saying they don’t object’’ to the proposed schedule, Commissioner Swain Whitfield said. “However, I will admit to you that I just saw the one from the House, from the speaker, minutes, if not seconds, before I walked into this room.’’
Whitfield continued, saying “I don’t see the harm in waiting another week to kind of absorb this information that literally just came in.’’
Smith does not have a position on the deal yet, his lawyer wrote in a July 21 filing, but “any approval of the proposed transaction should occur only upon a record demonstrating that South Carolina customers will not be harmed, that rates and service will be protected, that reliability and resource-planning obligations will be preserved, that enforceable customer and state-specific benefits will be provided, and that the commission’s regulatory authority over DESC will not be impaired.”
The proposed 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.
The direct involvement of Smith and Alexander comes from two of the most powerful lawmakers in the state Legislature, which elects PSC Commissioners. Alexander is chairman of the Public Utilities Review Committee.
Utility watchdogs and environmental advocates worry the deal could 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 trying to exert political influence to the Palmetto State again. NextEra has expressed interest in South Carolina in the past when the state was considering the idea of selling the state-owned Santee Cooper power company, which did not happen.
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