NextEra to Buy Dominion in $67 Billion AI Power Play
The new company would have a $249 billion market cap, ranking third in U.S. energy sector
Georgina Mackie
WASHINGTON, May 18, 2026 - A $67 billion utility merger would unite the company powering North Virginia’s data center corridor with one of the nation's leading energy developers.
NextEra Energy said Monday it would acquire Dominion Energy in an all-stock transaction that would create the world's largest regulated electric utility.
Dominion, based in Richmond, Va., supplies power to Northern Virginia, home to the world's largest concentration of data centers while NextEra, based in Juno Beach, Fla., is the nation's largest renewable energy developer and biggest utility by market value.
The merger comes as utilities warn that AI-driven data center growth is outpacing the expansion of transmission and generation infrastructure.
The combined company would hold a market capitalization of approximately $249 billion and an enterprise value of $420 billion, a measure of total company value that includes debt.
"Electricity demand is rising faster than it has in decades," NextEra Chief Executive Officer John Ketchum said in a statement. "We are bringing NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy together because scale matters more than ever."
Ketchum told investors the deal would position the combined company as a "go-to partner for large load customers," referring to technology companies building large-scale AI data centers. NextEra plans to build more than 30 data center hubs across the United States to meet growing demand.
The deal faces scrutiny from regulators and consumer advocates. “If regulators approve this merger, it will lead to higher electric bills for customers in Virginia and South Carolina," said David Pomerantz, executive director of the nonprofit watchdog Energy and Policy Institute.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) has pledged to make data centers pay more for electricity, while NextEra's Florida customers recently absorbed a $7 billion rate increase.
The merged entity would become the world leader in renewable energy and battery storage, the U.S. leader in natural gas generation, and the second-largest nuclear power operator.
Under the agreement, NextEra shareholders would own 74.5 percent of the combined company and Dominion shareholders 25.5 percent, operating under the NextEra name and ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange. Ketchum would remain chief executive, while Dominion chief executive Robert Blue would oversee the regulated utilities business and join the board.
