This is the Virginia Political Newslettercovering Virginia politics from top to bottom. Please consider becoming the ultimate political insider by supporting non-partisan, independent news and becoming a paid subscriber to this newsletter today.
Have a tip? You can reply to this email or reach out to me directly at Brandon@virginiascope.com.
Today’s Sponsor: Dominion Energy
Through EnergyShare®, Dominion Energy helps customers facing financial hardship stay safe, comfortable, and connected to essential energy services.
Shannon Taylor
Congressional Black Caucus PAC endorsed Shannon Taylor
The Congressional Black Caucus PAC endorsed VA-01 Democratic nominee Shannon Taylor Tuesday.
"Shannon Taylor has spent her career keeping Virginia families safe, holding powerful people accountable, and delivering results for her community," said Rep. Gregory Meeks, who is chair of the CBC PAC."She brings the experience, integrity, and proven leadership Virginia families deserve in Congress, and CBCPAC is proud to endorse her campaign to flip Virginia's 1st District."
Taylor is running against Wittman in VA-01, where Democrats are optimistic they can flip the seat after Gov. Abigail Spanberger won the district in 2025.
Dominion and NextEra offer expanded package of benefits with merger proposal
Dominion Energy and NextEra Energy are offering an expanded package of benefits to Virginia customers as they seek approval for their proposed merger, but opponents of the deal say the new commitments underscore the need for regulators to slow down the review process.
The companies announced Monday that they would double the previously proposed residential bill credits from two years to four years, increase Dominion’s EnergyShare assistance program by $100 million through 2038 and maintain current Virginia employee headcount levels for five years.
The package also includes 1,000 new direct jobs in Virginia, a $100 million workforce development fund, up to $1 billion annually for five years through a Virginia supplier program and plans for a new NextEra Energy office tower in downtown Richmond.
The companies said the commitments were developed in response to feedback from Virginia policymakers and other stakeholders and are intended to address concerns about affordability, jobs, reliability and the state’s growing energy demand.
“This is a Virginia-first package, and it starts with customers,” NextEra Energy CEO John Ketchum said. “We are proposing to double residential bill relief from two years to four years, along with expanded low-income financial assistance and long-term affordability benefits.”
The companies also said they would support efforts by the State Corporation Commission, General Assembly and governor to ensure data centers pay their share of the costs associated with serving them.
Dominion said the proposed combination would maintain local control of Dominion Energy Virginia, including its name, local leadership and Virginia-based operations. Ed Baine would continue to lead the utility, while the combined company would maintain dual headquarters in Richmond and Juno Beach, Florida.
But Clean Virginia, which opposes the acquisition, said the new proposal raises additional questions that the SCC needs time to examine.
The Charlottesville-based nonprofit said the companies are making substantial changes while the merger review is already underway and argued that the new commitments do not resolve concerns about the potential impact of the transaction on ratepayers.
“The SCC needs more time to review this unprecedented deal, and their review requires the utilities to file a complete application,” Clean Virginia Executive Director Brennan Gilmore said. “Virginia’s energy future is too important to be negotiated through a series of last-minute, repackaged promises from companies with long track records of breaking them.”
Clean Virginia said intervenors in the SCC case have spent weeks preparing for an evidentiary hearing scheduled to begin Nov. 17. The group argued that the timing of the expanded package makes calls for extending the commission’s review period more urgent.
“You don’t fill in the blanks of an incomplete application in the middle of the review process and expect regulators to reach a decision by the same deadline,” Gilmore said.
The group also pointed to what it described as barriers intervenors have faced in obtaining information needed to evaluate the merger and referenced a pending motion to compel adequate discovery responses.
Clean Virginia is again calling on Gov. Abigail Spanberger and General Assembly leaders to convene a special session to give the SCC additional time to review the proposal.
The companies, meanwhile, said the expanded package would provide benefits that Dominion could not deliver on its own.
“Dominion Energy Virginia will remain locally led, separately regulated and accountable to the State Corporation Commission,” Dominion CEO Robert Blue said. “The same local teams, led by Ed Baine, that customers know and trust will continue serving the Commonwealth.”
The merger remains subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions. The companies said they continue to expect the transaction to close in the second half of 2027.
The SCC will ultimately decide whether the proposed combination meets Virginia’s legal and regulatory requirements.
Dominion Energy and Clean Virginia are both sponsors of this newsletter. They have no editorial input on the content, however.
