State regulators to allow part of NextEra’s political past to be examined in Dominion merger case

The Virginia State Corporation Commission ruled that documents on an internal investigation into NextEra's failed bid to buy a Jacksonville utility can be examined as part of the $67 billion Dominion merger case. The order followed a push from Clean Virginia, which argued NextEra's political history, including a $150 million settlement this June over alleged political interference in Florida, bears directly on how the company would run a Virginia utility.

Dominion's lawyer argued the old conduct is irrelevant given staff turnover since then; the commission disagreed enough to grant the discovery request, though it denied a separate push for five years of NextEra's public opinion spending. Separately, the Attorney General wants the merger clock reset after NextEra and Dominion amended the deal in September, a change that could push the case into spring.

Regulators are currently required to rule by Jan. 11, a deadline now in question as the paper trail grows.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.