NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy have announced a definitive agreement to combine in an all-stock transaction that will create the world’s largest regulated electric utility by market capitalisation and one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America.

The deal, announced on 18 May 2026, brings together two major US energy platforms with highly complementary regulated operations and a strong focus on long-term grid investment, clean generation and renewable expansion.

A utility mega-merger centred on scale and regulated growth

The combined company will serve approximately 10 million utility customer accounts across Florida, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, with more than 80% of its operations expected to be regulated.

The new group will also control around 110 GW of generation capacity, spanning a diversified mix of energy sources including natural gas, nuclear, solar, battery storage and a significant and expanding renewable portfolio.

Executives from both companies framed the merger as a response to rising electricity demand in the US, driven by electrification, industrial expansion and data centre growth, where scale is increasingly seen as critical to financing and delivering new infrastructure.

Renewables at the core: offshore wind, solar and storage expansion

A central strategic pillar of the transaction is the expansion of renewable energy and grid-scale clean power development.

Dominion Energy brings a substantial pipeline of offshore wind development, led by the under-construction 2.6 GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project — one of the largest offshore wind farms currently being built in the United States.

The company also holds additional offshore wind development rights off the US East Coast, including:

• A Central Atlantic lease with up to 4 GW of potential offshore wind capacity
• A CVOW South lease with around 800 MW of additional potential offshore wind capacity

In total, Dominion has more than 12 GW of renewable assets in operation or development, spanning wind and solar, alongside grid and transmission infrastructure required to integrate these resources.

NextEra Energy, already one of the world’s largest renewable energy developers, brings extensive solar, wind and battery storage capabilities, reinforcing what the companies describe as an industry-leading clean energy and grid-scale development platform.

Investment scale and grid transformation

The combined company will have a regulated capital base of approximately $138 billion, expected to grow at around 11% annually through 2032, supported by sustained investment in generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure.

Management highlighted that the merged entity will benefit from:

• A larger, diversified renewable development pipeline
• Enhanced supply chain purchasing power for wind, solar and grid components
• Improved financing conditions due to stronger credit metrics
• Expanded capability to deliver large-scale clean energy projects faster and at lower cost

Customer commitments and financial impact

The companies have proposed $2.25 billion in bill credits for Dominion customers across Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, distributed over two years after closing.

They also expect long-term cost savings from operational efficiencies, procurement scale and cheaper financing, which they argue will help keep electricity prices more affordable over time despite rising demand and capital investment needs.

Governance, structure and timeline

The combined company will operate under the NextEra Energy name and trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker NEE, with dual headquarters in Florida and Virginia and continued operational presence in South Carolina.

Leadership will see John Ketchum as CEO of the combined group, with Robert Blue overseeing regulated utility operations.

The transaction has been unanimously approved by both boards and is expected to close in 12 to 18 months, subject to regulatory approvals and shareholder votes, including oversight from US federal energy and nuclear regulators as well as state utility commissions.

Strategic significance

The merger creates a vertically integrated regulated utility powerhouse with a uniquely large renewable and grid investment footprint. In addition to being one of the largest electricity providers in the United States, the combined group positions offshore wind, solar and battery storage as central growth drivers within a regulated utility framework — a model that executives argue is essential to meeting surging electricity demand while maintaining affordability and reliability.