Two headquarters, one tower: what Richmond keeps in the Dominion-NextEra deal

RICHMOND, Va. - When an out-of-state company buys a hometown giant, the first question is usually what happens to the headquarters. In the proposed Dominion Energy and NextEra Energy merger, the companies have put Richmond's answer in writing. State Corporation Commission staff says the promises are a start but need more teeth.

What NextEra promises Richmond

According to staff testimony filed Monday in Case PUR-2026-00112, NextEra has made several commitments tied to Richmond:

• NextEra "shall maintain dual corporate headquarters in Juno Beach, Florida and Richmond, Virginia" (staff testimony, p. 134).
• NextEra "shall maintain the operating headquarters of DEV in Richmond, Virginia," with the "significant local presence necessary to provide safe, reliable and affordable electric service" (p. 134).
• Each existing president of each Dominion utility would continue in that role (p. 134).
• NextEra commits to build, "at its shareholders' expense, a new NextEra Energy office tower in Richmond beside the existing Dominion Energy headquarters building as a part of the combined company's co-headquarters" (p. 157).
• NextEra commits to create 600 additional NextEra enterprise jobs in Virginia over time (p. 157).
• The combined company would keep 10,431 employees in Virginia for five years (p. 136).

Staff's proposed final order would formally incorporate the office tower commitment (p. 194). Staff noted, though, that it considers the tower and the 600 jobs not directly related to providing adequate service at just and reasonable rates, which is the legal test the commission applies (p. 157).

What staff wants added

Staff is pushing for protections that reach beyond the corporate offices downtown. It recommends the commission prohibit Dominion Energy Virginia from "reducing headcount levels, centralizing, or otherwise consolidating operations at any of DEV's generating facilities or local district offices for 10 years" (p. 7). It also wants the 10,431-employee floor to last 10 years instead of five (p. 140), and a follow-up proceeding seven to eight years after closing to review service and rates (p. 7).

That distinction matters outside Richmond. A tower downtown does little for a district office in Southside or a power station in the Shenandoah Valley. Staff's no-consolidation condition is aimed at those places.

Staff pointed to NextEra's 2019 purchase of Gulf Power, after which NextEra cut 208 jobs, a 21% reduction, through the end of 2021, mostly through retirement and severance programs (p. 161).

Co-headquarters, but who decides?

"Dual headquarters" is a phrase that can mean a lot or a little. NextEra's corporate home is Juno Beach, Fla. (pp. 28, 134). Staff's broader recommendations, including an independent board for Dominion Energy Virginia (p. 7), reflect a concern about where decisions would really be made.

Richmond's political ties to Dominion

Dominion's headquarters is a few blocks from the Capitol, and its political spending keeps it close. VPAP records show at least $8.42 million went to Dominion's top 20 Democratic recipients in 2025-26, including $427,604 to former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, $775,000 to Shannon Taylor's attorney general campaign and $600,409 to Speaker Don Scott. In 2023-24, those top 20 Democrats collected at least $7.15 million. The company's top 20 Republican recipients received about $5.58 million in 2025-26, per VPAP. Virginia Scope tallies nearly $18 million to Democrats and more than $15 million to Republicans since 2018. Federally, OpenSecrets data shows Dominion Energy PAC gave $117,800 to Democratic candidates and $162,500 to Democratic PACs and party committees in the 2023-24 cycle.

Two headquarters could also mean a change in who decides about political giving. As a hypothetical, if the merged company cut off Virginia contributions, Democrats would lose at least $7 million to $8.5 million each state cycle from Dominion's top recipients and about $280,000 each federal cycle. The staff testimony does not address political giving, and NextEra has its own PAC. The companies did commit to maintain charitable giving levels for five years (p. 157), but that commitment covers charity, not campaigns.

The filing gives no timeline or cost estimate for the Richmond tower.

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.