Rohan’s view
NextEra’s $67 billion takeover of rival electric utility Dominion is a big test for the uncomfortable fact facing the AI economy: many people hate it.
The deal would create a giant with 10 million customers across four states at a time of rising local backlash to data centers, which are becoming a key customer for electric utilities and — many locals believe — jacking up electricity costs.
The companies need approval from at least six regulators including state utility commissioners, in some cases appointed by governors and state legislators who are themselves trying to manage thorny AI politics.
Consider Virginia, where Dominion serves nearly three million households and is anchoring massive data centers, with dozens of gigawatts of data center demand in one county alone.
Politicians of both parties have come out against further expansion. Virginia’s three public utilities commissioners are appointed by the state legislature, but they’re seen by observers as relatively immune to partisan pressure.
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President Donald Trump appears undeterred with the impact that the Iran war and other recent decisions are having on American pocketbooks. But local politicians and regulators don’t have that same luxury, prompting state attorneys general and even New York City’s mayor to insert themselves in M&A.
“There are a lot of people willing to be single-issue, split-ticket voters based on this,” one Virginia state senator told Semafor last year on AI and data centers. “We need to make sure Virginians are benefiting off of what they do here, not just paying for it,” another Democratic challenger said at the time.
That challenger, John McAuliff, would go on to win a seat in a historically Republican district.
Room for Disagreement
There was little direct mention of AI or data centers in the companies’ announcement, but NextEra CEO John Ketchum did nod to the changing energy landscape. “Electricity demand is rising faster than it has in decades. Projects are getting larger and more complex,” Ketchum said.
The companies also tried to reassure residents that the deal would financially benefit them, including an offer of $2.25 billion in bill credits to Dominion customers in Virginia and the Carolinas.