| Congressman Eugene Vindman is fighting to protect Virginians from yet another price hike.
As Virginians struggle with rising prices, Vindman says that a merger that further spikes utility costs would be unacceptable.
Vindman tells the Prince William Times: “Energy bills are one of (residents’) most important expenses, and the highest expenses in monthly payments, and that’s unacceptable.”
Read more from the Prince William Times:
- U.S. Rep. Eugene Vindman is calling on state regulators to reject Dominion Energy’s proposed merger with Florida-based NextEra Energy, claiming the move would hike electricity bills and reduce Virginians’ trust in their utility.
- The Woodbridge Democrat sent a letter to the Virginia State Corporation Commission, which regulates public utilities, listing his concerns over what he called a “backroom deal” and imploring the agency “to do everything in your power to block this merger.”
- “I’m strongly opposed to the merger between NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy,” Vindman said in an interview Friday.
- The two companies announced their $67 billion merger plan on May 16. It would create the largest utility in the country, with 10 million customers and a combined total of 110 gigawatts of power supply, with another 100 gigawatts of data center demand waiting to connect to the grid in its zone.
- Vindman, whose 7th District includes half of Prince William County, said his biggest concern is that the merger would raise residents’ bills. He said records show that the bills of ratepayers of Florida Power & Light, a NextEra subsidiary, rose 33% from 2021 to 2026.
- “Energy bills are one of (residents’) most important expenses, and the highest expenses in monthly payments, and that’s unacceptable,” he said.
- He also argued that the merger would affect the new utility’s trustworthiness. He said he has serious concerns about NextEra’s alleged political manipulation in Florida, which resulted in its recent $150 million settlement in a shareholder lawsuit.
- And, referring to a presentation to investors by NextEra and Dominion, Vindman said the deal is all about maximizing profit on data center growth, and “does not in any way seem to indicate that it would cause efficiencies or reduce rates.”
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