NextEra Energy's proposed acquisition of Dominion Energy is raising new questions about how the combined utility would approach electric-vehicle charging and transportation electrification across the Southeast.
Executives from both companies have framed the $67 billion all-stock deal around rapidly growing electricity demand from large-load customers, particularly data centers in Northern Virginia. Clean-energy advocates say that shift could indirectly reshape utility priorities around EV charging infrastructure and grid investment.
NextEra and Dominion did not respond to requests for comment about how the merger could affect transportation electrification or charging investments.
The transaction would create the world's largest regulated electric utility business, serving roughly 10 million customer accounts across Florida, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said his organization does not view the merger itself as a direct threat to EV adoption. But he said utilities including Dominion and Florida Power & Light -- NextEra's principal regulated utility subsidiary -- are increasingly prioritizing large-load growth tied to data centers.
"It's not that they're not in favor of EVs," Smith said. "They're hunting big financial prey in the data center market."
Dominion reported 51 GW of contracted data center capacity during its first-quarter earnings call, largely concentrated in Northern Virginia's "Data Center Alley." NextEra and Dominion highlighted a combined 130-GW large-load project pipeline in merger materials.
According to a May report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, commercial electricity sales in Virginia increased by nearly 30 million MWh between 2019 and 2025, with much of the growth tied to data centers.
The issue is not necessarily that utilities are abandoning transportation electrification, Smith said, but that data centers now represent a much larger and more urgent category of load growth and capital deployment.
An influx of data center interconnection requests is also adding pressure to utility planning and grid-connection processes across PJM Interconnection, the regional grid operator covering Virginia and much of the Mid-Atlantic.
Private EV charging developers typically seek lower-megawatt grid connections for highway fast-charging sites, placing smaller charging projects in competition for utility engineering resources and substation equipment alongside much larger commercial loads.
Smith said Dominion and Florida Power & Light have supported EV charging efforts but have not been leaders in the space. Both utilities offer residential charging incentives and run pilot programs, including testing vehicle-to-grid technology using electric school buses.
FPL has advanced charging initiatives mainly through settlement agreements in rate cases rather than standalone electrification proposals.
The stakes are particularly high in Florida, which has nearly 335,000 registered EVs on the road, making it the largest EV market in the Southeast and the second-largest in the U.S.
Over the longer term, NextEra's position as the country's largest renewable energy developer could expand the role of utility-scale solar and battery storage in transportation electrification. Smith said adding clean energy capacity could eventually support broader use of managed charging and residential vehicle-to-grid technologies.
The merger comes as the federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program faces continued uncertainty amid legal and political disputes over charging funds. Smith said utilities remain important partners in corridor charging projects, though state transportation agencies and utility regulators are still expected to shape deployment priorities.
To help secure regulatory approval, NextEra has proposed $2.25 billion in bill credits for Dominion customers in Virginia and the Carolinas over two years following the transaction's close.
The deal is expected to close within 12 to 18 months, pending approvals from state and federal regulators as well as shareholders.
This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
Reporting by Allegra Fradkin, afradkin@opisnet.com; Editing by Michael Kelly, mkelly@opisnet.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 28, 2026 09:43 ET (13:43 GMT)
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