NextEra Energy executives used their Friday morning second-quarter earnings call to tout the benefits of their planned acquisition of Dominion Energy.
NextEra expects the combined companies could grow 11% annually through 2032, which would more than double the combined company's size by that date, according to John Ketchum, NextEra’s chairman, president and CEO. Shareholder-funded bill credits for customers would further sweeten a deal Ketchum said would reduce energy costs in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina for decades to come.
“The increased scale and enhanced operating platform of the two companies will help maintain affordability at a time when power demand requires more investment in generation and transmission,” he said. “Buying, building, financing and operating energy infrastructure more efficiently benefits customers over time.”
A filing for merger approval with the Virginia State Corporation Commission has triggered that state's six-month review process; the Virginia SCC has scheduled the first public hearing on the matter for this November. Ketchum said he expects the merger will close in late 2027.
The company continues to negotiate with the U.S. and Japanese governments for up to 9.5 GW of gas-fired generation to be built at data center “hubs” in Texas and Pennsylvania. Although company executives previously told analysts that they expected to finalize the deal this spring, Ketchum acknowledged that the definitive agreements were not yet complete.
“It continues to make progress,” he told analysts. “It's just when you bring two large nation-states together, things don't always go according to schedule in terms of getting things done as fast as you might want. I wouldn't read too much into that.”
Ketchum said NextEra is discussing 30 such hubs with hyperscalers, utilities and the U.S. government, but did not provide specifics on any other hub projects.
The company's energy development arm, NextEra Energy Resources, added 3.6 GW of new generation and storage projects to its backlog during the second quarter, consisting of 0.9 GW of solar, 2 GW of battery storage and 0.7 GW of wind, according to the company's Friday presentation. Energy storage has become an important growth area for the company, Ketchum said.
Ketchum also touted the company's rising returns as it signs new contracts for some of its older generation assets. NextEra Energy Resources has recontracted more than 1,100 MW so far this year, with this quarter's contracts fetching roughly $20/MWh more than previous contracts. Energy Resources has 7.5 GW of recontracting opportunities, including 1.5 GW of nuclear generation, available through 2032, Ketchum said. The Duane Arnold nuclear power plant remains on track to re-enter service by early 2029, he said.
At subsidiary Florida Power & Light, weather-adjusted retail sales rose 0.6% year over year, driven primarily by population growth, according to Mike Dunne, executive vice president and chief financial officer for NextEra Energy. The utility is in “advanced discussions” on 12 GW of large load and expects to serve 8 GW of large load by 2032. Ketchum said FPL expects to make at least one announcement of a large-load transaction under the utility's newly approved large-load tariff by the end of this year.
Company executives on Friday's call did not discuss a recent $150 million settlement proposal that would resolve a shareholder lawsuit alleging that Florida Power & Light misled investors about its political activities.
