The 10,431-jobs promise: five years, or 10?

Oct 31, 2026, 4:48 AM ET

RICHMOND, Va. - Dominion Energy employs 10,431 people in Virginia. NextEra Energy says it will keep that many on the payroll for five years if regulators approve its purchase of Dominion. The staff of the State Corporation Commission said Monday that five years is not enough.

What the companies promise

The original merger commitments protect employees from being terminated for 18 months after closing and guarantee pay and benefits for two years (staff testimony, p. 135). In a later supplemental commitment, NextEra pledged "to maintain an employment headcount minimum for the combined company of 10,431 employees in Virginia for five years, commensurate with Dominion Energy's current Virginia employee headcount" (p. 136).

NextEra shareholders would also contribute $100 million to a workforce development effort (pp. 136, 138), and NextEra commits to create "an additional 600 NextEra enterprise jobs in Virginia over time" after closing (p. 157). NextEra further promised a new office tower in Richmond beside Dominion's existing headquarters as part of a co-headquarters arrangement (p. 157).

Staff called the five-year headcount floor "a meaningful additional commitment" (p. 138). It still wants more.

What staff wants

Staff recommends the commission require the combined company to maintain at least 10,431 Virginia employees for 10 years after the merger takes effect (p. 140). It also wants a 10-year ban on Dominion Energy Virginia "reducing headcount levels, centralizing, or otherwise consolidating operations at any of DEV's generating facilities or local district offices" (p. 7). Staff described the 10-year employment condition as "prudent" (p. 140).

The Gulf Power example

Staff looked at what happened the last time NextEra bought a utility in the Southeast. NextEra acquired Gulf Power in Northwest Florida in 2019. Between Jan. 1, 2019, and the end of integration on Dec. 31, 2021, NextEra reduced Gulf Power's workforce by 208 employees, a 21% reduction from its 2019 average headcount (p. 161). Most of those cuts came through corporate-wide voluntary enhanced retirement programs or structured severance packages, according to the testimony (p. 161).

Staff also noted the investments NextEra made in Gulf Power during that time, including moving neighborhood power lines underground, installing 11,451 smart grid devices and building a 176-mile transmission line tying Northwest Florida to the larger FPL grid (p. 161). The record shows both sides of the story: NextEra invested, and it also cut staff.

For Virginia, the difference between a five-year and 10-year floor matters most in the back half of the decade, after the merger's headline benefits like bill credits have run out.

Jobs, politics and Dominion's checkbook

Dominion's workforce gives it a presence in nearly every corner of the state, and its political spending gives it a presence in nearly every corner of the Capitol. According to VPAP, Dominion's 20 largest Democratic recipients collected at least $8.42 million in 2025-26, up from at least $7.15 million in 2023-24. Among them are Del. Charniele Herring ($625,000), Sen. Mamie Locke ($600,000) and former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney ($427,604). The top 20 Republican recipients took about $5.58 million in 2025-26, VPAP shows. Since 2018, Virginia Scope reports, Dominion has given nearly $18 million to Democrats and more than $15 million to Republicans. Dominion Energy PAC added $117,800 to federal Democratic candidates and $162,500 to Democratic PACs and party committees in 2023-24, according to OpenSecrets.

If the merger closes and the Florida-based parent decides Virginia political giving is no longer worth the money, the hypothetical loss for Democrats is large: at least $7 million to $8.5 million per two-year state cycle from those recipients, plus roughly $280,000 in federal PAC money. The SCC filing is silent on political giving. NextEra has its own PAC, and the companies did commit to maintain charitable giving levels for five years after closing (p. 157).

The filing does not say whether the headcount commitment covers contractors and how the 600 new jobs would be counted.

Page numbers refer to the 201-page public version of SCC Staff's prefiled testimony, Volume I of VII, in Case PUR-2026-00112 (SCC document 261030140), filed Oct. 19, 2026.

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