CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) -Lieutenant Governor Ghazala Hashmi held her third community town hall on the proposed NextEra takeover of Dominion Energy Monday night, with attendees voicing unanimous opposition to the $67 billion merger.
“I will just say it on record, stop the acquisition,” said Del. Katrina Callsen, D-54th District.
The Jefferson School was full of community members raising concerns over what a merger between Dominion Energy and Florida-based NextEra could mean for Virginia.
Eshaan Mital, a junior at Albemarle High School, said the merger will only mean higher prices and higher bills.
“Families in Charlottesville are already struggling with electricity bills. We don’t need rate cuts for data centers and rate increases for ordinary people,” Mital said.
Even with a new package of incentives from Dominion, attendees, including former Dominion workers, called the credits temporary band-aids, not lasting relief.
“And so today, when I see a list of new things that they have to offer us, it looks a lot less like generosity and a lot more like gaslighting,” Callsen said.
Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Virginia, said the merger is primarily being driven by one factor: Northern and Central Virginia’s data center growth.
“This transaction is only here — I don’t care what they say — it’s only here because of the data center demand. We have the demand. They’ve got the power,” Deeds said.
Hashmi, who hosted the event, is calling on the State Corporation Commission to extend its review process, saying Virginia cannot rush into creating the nation’s largest utility.
“I’m not confident yet that I’ve heard that NextEra is going to prioritize Virginians. We need a company inside of Virginia to respond to Virginians,” Hashmi said.