NextEra Energy lands in Tallahassee amid Dominion merger scrutiny

NextEra Energy flew from a seaplane base near Tampa to Tallahassee International Airport on Monday afternoon, a 32-minute hop in its Embraer Praetor 600 (tail N31MW). The flight departed Lake Tarpon at 9:44 a.m. local and touched down in the state capital at 10:17 a.m.

The trip comes as NextEra Energy pushes to close its $67 billion all-stock acquisition of Dominion Energy, announced May 18. The deal, which would create the world's largest regulated electric utility, faces reviews by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and state commissions in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Florida's Public Service Commission is not required to sign off, but the company's presence in Tallahassee suggests meetings with state lawmakers or the governor's office — possibly to discuss the proposed $2.25 billion in customer bill credits or to smooth the path for a deal that will reshape the Southeast's power landscape, per a report from VPM.org.

The Tallahassee visit follows a pattern: NextEra Energy's aircraft flew from Washington Dulles to Palm Beach on Sunday, and from Gander, Newfoundland, to Palm Beach on Friday after a transatlantic leg from Paris. The company's CEO, John Ketchum, has called the merger a “no-brainer” amid surging electricity demand from data centers and AI, as covered by Power Magazine. Monday's flight to the capital suggests the lobbying effort is shifting from federal to state terrain.