NextEra Energy agreed to acquire Dominion Energy in a $66.8 billion all-stock deal that would create the world’s largest regulated electric utility by market value, betting that surging electricity demand from AI-fueled data centers will underpin growth. NextEra will exchange 0.8138 of its shares for each Dominion share, valuing Dominion at $75.97—a roughly 23% premium to its last close. Dominion shares jumped about 15% in premarket trading while NextEra slipped 2%. The transaction would expand NextEra into PJM territory and deepen its presence in Virginia, home to “Data Center Alley,” as utilities scramble to add capacity amid the first sustained rise in U.S. power demand in two decades. Dominion brings about 51 gigawatts of contracted data-center capacity and marquee customers including Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and major colocation providers. The companies face a gauntlet of approvals, including antitrust review and sign-offs from FERC, the NRC and state regulators in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina; closing is targeted in 12 to 18 months. Dominion carried $44.11 billion of long-term debt as of March 31. The tie-up follows a wave of sector consolidation and comes as U.S. electricity prices have climbed roughly 40% over five years, raising consumer and reliability concerns likely to animate regulators and lawmakers.
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