Press Release: 10/1/2026
Warren, Subramanyam, Lawmakers Warn Utility Merger May Increase Prices, Urge Federal Regulator to Scrutinize Deal
“[M]erger would give the combined company control over approximately a quarter of the electricity in the New England region, leading to considerable negotiating leverage over states and the ability to demand abusive terms at the expense of households.”
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.), along with Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Representatives Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), and Eugene Vindman (D-Va.), warned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) about the potential consequences of the proposed merger between NextEra Energy, Inc. (“NextEra”) and Dominion Energy (“Dominion”), and urged the regulator to closely examine the deal and block it if it would increase consumers’ energy costs or otherwise fail to meet public interest requirements.
On May 18, 2026, NextEra announced a $66.8 billion deal to merge with Dominion. The proposed deal would eliminate a competitor in the energy generation market and create the largest regulated electric utility in the world. It would be the fourth largest merger of all time and would create a company worth $420 billion. A NextEra-Dominion entity would serve about 10 million homes and businesses across Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, but the effects of the merger — including higher electricity rates — could extend even further. Residential electricity prices have risen 15 percent since January 2025, and families are projected to spend an average of $110 more on electricity bills in 2026 than they did last year.
“The merger would give the combined company control over approximately a quarter of the electricity in the New England region, leading to considerable negotiating leverage over states and the ability to demand abusive terms at the expense of households,” wrote the lawmakers. “This megamerger may consolidate competitive power markets and raise electricity rates even more for American families.”
Under the Federal Power Act, FERC shall approve a merger of public utilities only if the applicants demonstrate that the merger is in the public interest and does not pose a risk of harmful cross-subsidization, and may block a merger that is not “consistent with the public interest.”
“Our fundamental concern is that this new entity will be both a gigantic power generator and a gigantic power-providing utility,” wrote the lawmakers. “We urge you to closely scrutinize this merger and block it if the Commission determines it would increase market concentration or have an adverse effect on costs for consumers—or if the acquisition is otherwise not in the public interest.”
The lawmakers are concerned that a NextEra-Dominion merger would create an even larger vertically integrated electricity utility and electricity generator that will squash competition and raise prices. Previous utility mergers have coincided with increases in household electricity costs. Additionally, a merger increasing the market share of already vertically integrated utility companies could make it even easier for the combined entity to engage in improper “cross-subsidization,” a practice by which corporations unfairly shift onto consumers the cost of transactions between utility companies and affiliate companies, which researchers say forces households to pay higher electricity rates.
“The consequences of failing to address utility merger harms, including by imposing insufficient mitigation measures, are not theoretical: when FERC allows utility companies to gain enough power to stamp out competition in an entire region, higher prices have followed,” wrote the lawmakers.
The lawmakers also warned that large utility companies that are intertwined with generating entities have strong incentives to oppose building transmission connections to bring in cheaper power from other regions, a problem that could get worse with the creation of a giant like NextEra-Dominion. New England states have accused NextEra of using its existing power to obstruct new transmission infrastructure projects.
“We therefore urge FERC to closely examine whether this deal may decrease competition or cause electricity rates for households to climb even higher; to remain skeptical of mitigation conditions that have historically failed to blunt the negative impacts of large utility merges; and to deny the application unless the applicants demonstrate that the transaction will have no adverse effect, now or in the future, on competition, rates, or regulation and will not result in impermissible cross-subsidization or the pledge or encumbrance of utility assets,” concluded the lawmakers. “If the present record is insufficient to make those findings, the Commission should deny the application.”
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