NextEra to acquire Dominion in $67bn deal creating utility giant

NextEra Energy announced Monday it will acquire Dominion Energy in a $67bn all-stock deal, creating what the companies described as the world’s largest regulated utility business.

The merger comes amid surging demand for electricity driven by the construction of massive data centers across the U.S., largely to support the expanding artificial intelligence sector.

If approved by state and federal regulators, the deal would rank among the largest mergers of Donald Trump’s second term, joining a wave of mega-mergers across entertainment, technology and railroads under an administration seen as open to such combinations.

The combined company would serve approximately 10 million utility customer accounts across several southern states, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Virginia.

Both companies’ boards unanimously approved the transaction. NextEra Energy shareholders would own about three-quarters of the combined entity, with Dominion Energy shareholders holding the rest. NextEra shares fell more than 5% following the announcement, while Dominion shares rose nearly 10%.

In a statement Monday, the companies linked the merger to improving affordability and said the combined company would provide $2.25 billion in bill credits spread over two years after closing.

“Electricity demand is rising faster than it has in decades. Projects are getting larger and more complex. Customers need affordable and reliable power now, not years from now,” NextEra Energy President and CEO John Ketchum said.

Rising energy prices are a major driver of inflation and a burden for Americans struggling with everyday costs. Many face soaring utility bills even as utility CEOs receive substantial pay increases; Ketchum was the third-highest-paid U.S. CEO in 2025 with a $24 million compensation package.

Concerns over higher utility bills and groundwater pollution have sparked opposition to data center construction in some communities, projects backed by billionaires including Trump, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and other energy giants.

Meanwhile, as a growing number of communities push for public power through municipalization, the utility industry has quietly deployed front groups to counter those efforts, The Guardian reported earlier this month. Some groups appearing as grassroots campaigns against public power were found to be funded by powerful utility companies that could lose billions if municipalization proceeds.