Dominion Energy returns to Richmond as $67 billion NextEra merger advances

Dominion Energy’s Gulfstream G450, tail N607D, touched down at Richmond International Airport on May 20 after a brief flight from Groton, Connecticut. The 66-minute hop from the southeastern coast followed a series of trips between the utility’s Richmond headquarters and the New London area over the preceding days.

The return to Richmond comes the same week Dominion Energy announced its all-stock acquisition by NextEra Energy in a deal valued at roughly $67 billion, per a CBS News report on May 18. The combined company would serve about 10 million customers across Florida, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger this week signed legislation directing regulators to assign electricity costs to data centers and allowing Dominion Energy to spend up to $900,000 a mile burying local distribution lines, as covered by CBS 19 News. The bills, backed by Dominion Energy, give the State Corporation Commission greater discretion over rate-setting as the merger faces approval from state and federal regulators.

The May 20 flight from Groton—home to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and a frequent departure point for the utility’s aircraft—suggests meetings or site visits related to the company’s offshore wind and gas plant projects. Dominion Energy’s recent flight history shows multiple shuttles between Richmond and the Connecticut coast, consistent with its development of the 176-turbine Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, per a Richmond Times-Dispatch report.