Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi has weighed in on the state's review process of the proposed acquisition of Dominion Energy by NextEra Energy, both in a Richmond Times-Dispatch op-ed and in a letter to state regulators.
Legislators heard stark warnings about the maximum six-month timeline for State Corporation Commission regulators at a state energy commission meeting last month.
And a budget proposal to extend that timeline didn't make it into the final agreement.
Now, Hashmi wants regulators to act "expeditiously" to postpone any acquisition application by the utilities until they answer "essential questions needed to understand this transaction."
She told VPM News that her concerns stem in part from the scale of the undertaking. Regulators will be responsible for reviewing a merger that would create the largest public utility in the United States.
"The concern that I am feeling and that I'm hearing from so many of my constituents here in Virginia is that we need to slow down the process," Hashmi said. "Most especially, we need to be sure about the impacts that the merger will have on Virginia's ratepayers."
The SCC posted guidelines for submitting an application under the law governing the transaction, the Utility Transfers Act. The guidelines include a transaction summary with 28 items for the applicants to fill out when submitting their proposal.
Regulators want Dominion and NextEra to explain how the $67 billion sale price was determined, why the transaction is taking place and how it will impact the "provision of adequate service to the public at just and reasonable rates," as well as provide financial statements for both Dominion and NextEra and information about past NextEra acquisitions — the list goes on.
But Hashmi said the 28-question list is insufficient, and provided her own list of 64 questions covering the transaction's goals, terms and costs, as well as risks, benefits, and proposed bill credits for Dominion customers.
"If the Commission does not require these answers before the application triggers that rigid review window, valuable time will be wasted on discovery inquiry submissions, discovery disputes, objections, and incomplete responses," Hashmi wrote.
She argued the commission's list won't provide needed information and will give the utilities the opportunity to "frame the narrative in their own terms."
A measure included in one version of the state budget — within amendments provided by the House of Delegates in June — would have doubled the maximum timeframe for the SCC to review the merger to 12 months.
But the SCC maintains that six months is enough, and that the commission has sufficient staff expertise to manage the work in that timeframe.
According to House Speaker Don Scott (D–Portsmouth), commission staff told him the amendment was unnecessary.
"I spoke to them myself, and they said they did not think they needed additional time," Scott told VPM News later in June. "However, I would not be surprised to see the House and/or Senate intervene in the rate case, or at least write a letter to SCC to state our preferences with the marriage and the concerns that we may have. I anticipate that happening."
Dominion and NextEra still have to file their application with the SCC — that will begin the six-month clock.
Representatives for Dominion did not respond to requests for comment prior to publication time.
Disclosure: Dominion Energy is a VPM sponsor.
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