NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy on September 14, 2026 unveiled an expanded benefits package for Virginia tied to their proposed $67 billion merger. The plan includes four years of monthly $10 credits on residential electricity bills — double the two years originally proposed — along with the creation of 1,000 new direct jobs in the Commonwealth.
At the heart of the proposal is a new office tower in Richmond, funded by NextEra shareholders, to be built adjacent to Dominion Energy’s historic headquarters. The facility will house teams focused on renewable energy development, supply chain management, battery storage operations, and — most notably — innovation in nuclear energy and small modular reactors (SMRs). Enterprise technology and cybersecurity units will also be based there. NextEra will directly bring 600 new employees to Virginia, with an additional 400 positions expected to be generated through local suppliers.
The package also includes an additional $100 million for Dominion’s EnergyShare program, supporting low-income households through 2038, along with a commitment that customers will bear no costs related to the merger itself. Both companies have pledged to retain existing Virginia staff for at least five years and to invest up to $5 billion in a local procurement program. Dominion Energy Virginia will keep its name, local leadership, and separate regulatory oversight.
The industrial rationale is straightforward. The merger would create the world’s largest regulated electric utility. NextEra Energy, headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida, is already North America’s largest energy infrastructure group, serving 6 million customers through Florida Power & Light. Bringing that operational scale to Virginia would, according to the two companies, lower construction and operating costs, reduce Virginia’s dependence on imported power, and accelerate the development of solar, storage, and — above all — nuclear resources. The emphasis on SMRs is no coincidence: Virginia already ranks among the U.S. states with the highest electricity demand driven by data centers, and projected growth in the coming years makes access to dispatchable, low-emission generation increasingly urgent.
The merger still requires approval from multiple regulatory bodies: the Virginia State Corporation Commission, the North and South Carolina utility commissions, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. That last hurdle is particularly significant for the nuclear industry: the NRC will need to approve the transfer of nuclear operating licenses currently held by Dominion. The companies are targeting deal closure within 12 to 18 months. If the process succeeds, Richmond will become the home of one of the continent’s largest energy hubs, with an explicit role in the development of next-generation SMRs.
