The nation may be getting a new utility giant. NextEra Energy, already one of the biggest power companies, is in talks to acquire Dominion Energy, reports the Wall Street Journal. The shakeup comes amid surging demand for energy from AI-powered data centers. The Financial Times reports the deal would result in a $400 billion company and "would rank as one of the largest deals of all time." NextEra, the owner of Florida Power & Light and a major player in renewables, would fold in Dominion's sizable gas-fired operations and its fast-growing customer base in Virginia and the Carolinas, including "data center alley" in Northern Virginia.
The proposed combo, which needs a slew of state and federal approvals, comes as utilities confront a sharp jump in electricity demand from the aforementioned data centers, which can each draw as much power as 1,000 Walmart stores. Dominion Chief Executive Robert Blue has said the industry hasn't seen such robust growth since the boom years after World War II, and NextEra's John Ketchum has referred to "America's golden age of power demand."
Already, consumer advocates are worried. "If regulators approve this merger, it will lead to higher electric bills for customers in Virginia and South Carolina," says David Pomerantz of the nonprofit Energy and Policy Institute. "A mega-monopoly of this size, with the kind of money to buy political influence that NextEra will have, will be nearly impossible to regulate." Bloomberg reports that NextEra is pushing a mostly stock deal that values Dominion at $66 billion.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
