The governor will become a party to the case before the Virginia State Corporation Commission, giving her access to filings and the ability to raise questions and concerns ⁠about the transaction.

“They’re not sufficient yet, which is one of the reasons why I’ve chosen to intervene in the case. Because I need a lot more details. The action of actually formally intervening is an unprecedented one. As a governor, ‌I ⁠do acknowledge that,” Spanberger said, while taking note of the companies’ merger plan, that, once its completion, will form one of the world’s largest electric utilities, amid the ongoing expansion of energy-intensive data centers.

“The size and scope of this merger application are also unprecedented,” she stated further.

The deal, which is pending approvals, will create the third-biggest American energy company, behind oil majors Exxon and Chevron. The combined ⁠entity will have an enterprise value topping the next two largest domestic power companies combined.

Spanberger said she was not seeking to take the decision out of ⁠regulators’ hands, stating that “the decision to approve or deny…that authority still lies with the SCC.”

The governor also said that as a ⁠party to the proceeding, she has the “ability to take legal action once there’s a decision made.”

NextEra Energy, meanwhile, beat Wall Street estimates for its Q2 profit, driven by rising electricity demand from data centers, a trend that boosted its utility and renewable energy businesses.

NextEra and its industry peers ‌are investing billions of dollars to expand power generation and transmission as technology companies and data centers race to secure electricity.

NextEra, one of the world’s largest renewable energy developers, to further cash on the ongoing AI boom, will restart ⁠the Duane Arnold nuclear plant in Iowa, that will supply power to Google data centers.

On a post-earnings call, CEO John Ketchum said NextEra had acquired the remaining 30% stake in Duane Arnold from its cooperative partners, giving it full ownership.

However, the venture has not yet finalized the natural gas-fired power projects backed by a US-Japan initiative. These gas-based plants have a combined capacity of nearly 10 GW.

Florida Power & Light (FPL), NextEra’s regulated utility, posted a 10.2% rise in quarterly net income to USD 1.41 ⁠billion. FPL continues to see about 21 GW of hyperscaler opportunities in its pipeline, including nearly 12 GW under advanced negotiations. It expects to sign at least one agreement under its large-load tariff by the 2026 end.

NextEra Energy Resources, the renewable energy unit, reported a net income of USD 1.63 billion, up 66.2%, apart from adding 3.6 GW of storage projects, taking its backlog to ⁠about 35.1 GW.

However, the regulatory review involving the acquisition of Dominion Energy will be NextEra’s biggest test, as apart from Spanberger, the deal is also facing opposition from  American Senator Angus King, who argued it would concentrate too much market power in one company.

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