NextEra Energy lands in Richmond the week Dominion merger heats up

NextEra Energy flew from Myrtle Beach to Richmond on Thursday evening, landing at 6:22 p.m. local time aboard its Embraer Praetor 600, N47MW. The 47-minute hop from South Carolina's coast put the utility holding company's brass in Virginia's capital just as the company's proposed $67 billion all-stock merger with Dominion Energy becomes the dominant story in state energy politics.

The same week, Virginia legislators on the Energy Commission grilled Dominion Energy Virginia President Ed Baine over the deal's implications for the Commonwealth, per a report from WHRO. Lawmakers pressed Baine on whether the merger would comply with the Virginia Clean Economy Act and what happens when control of half the state's energy moves to Florida. NextEra CEO John Ketchum would run the combined company; Dominion CEO Robert Blue would lead regulated utilities, as noted in the companies' joint announcement.

The flight to KRIC is a departure from NextEra Energy's typical air operations: the fleet of three Praetor 600s often shuttles between Palm Beach headquarters and recurring hubs like Houston, Chicago, Austin, and San Francisco. Richmond is not a regular stop, making this week's visit a clear signal that the utility is working the regulatory circuit ahead of filings with the Virginia State Corporation Commission expected later this year.