A Utility Mega-Merger Is All About Data Centers

[Brenda]

By Dan Gearino, Amy Green, Charles Paullin
May 18, 2026

A proposed merger of the largest utility in the country by market value, NextEra Energy, with the sixth-largest, Dominion, would create a megacompany at a time when data centers and rapid increases in electricity demand are reshaping the industry.

The proposal, announced Monday morning and contingent on state and federal regulatory approval, would result in a company that leads in nearly every aspect of the U.S. power and utility industry, including overall electricity generation, natural gas generation and renewables.

The $67 billion deal combines NextEra’s size and reach with Dominion’s positioning as the local utility for the world’s largest concentration of data centers in northern Virginia. But the results are likely bad for consumers and the environment, creating a company with enormous financial and political strength that will be difficult to effectively regulate, according to consumer advocates and analysts.

“If we continue to add dangerous climate pollution into the mix, then people who are already suffering and are typically hurt first and worst will suffer even more,” said Susan Glickman, vice president of policy and partnerships at the CLEO Institute, a Florida-based nonprofit dedicated to climate education and advocacy. She noted that those with the fewest resources often are the most affected by disasters like hurricanes, which are intensifying as fossil fuel emissions warm the global climate.

“They’re going to continue to be at the short end of the stick, while these companies build more methane gas plants to provide additional power for data centers, and adding to the problem of pollution that is warming our climate.”

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/18052026/nextera-dominion-utility-mega-merger/