Several Richmond City Council members don’t love the idea of Dominion Energy merging with Florida-based NextEra Energy. A bigger energy company with more concentrated power, they worry, can’t be good for customers who are already struggling to afford higher electricity bills.

But for years, officials have talked about downtown Richmond needing some new life.

There’s an empty, fenced-off city block next to Dominion’s headquarters that could potentially hold a new office tower company officials have promised if the merger goes through. Supporters say that tower would hold many of the 1,000 new jobs proponents say the merger would create. A recent economic analysis commissioned by the Virginia Chamber of Commerce estimated the tower could generate $30.1 million in state and local tax revenue.

The city has already chosen to intervene in the pending merger review before the State Corporation Commission, the regulatory body that has ultimate authority over whether the merger wins approval in Virginia. However, it’s unclear if all nine Council members and Mayor Danny Avula are on the same page about what the city’s stance should be.

There was no finality after Monday’s Council meeting, when the body took up a resolution to formally oppose the merger involving one of Richmond’s largest employers.

“The fact that we have a company in Richmond, Virginia, that profits from a basic human need, in my opinion, is absurd,” said Councilor Kenya Gibson (3rd District), who championed the proposal to oppose the merger. 

A Dominion representative urged the Council not to take that step. Vice President of Human Resources Darius Johnson said he’s a city resident committed to seeing Richmond thrive. The merger, he said, will bring new investment and jobs to Richmond and Virginia writ large, some of it coming in the form of a new NextEra office tower next to Dominion’s building.

“That represents a significant investment in downtown and a long-term commitment to Richmond,” Johnson said.

A larger group of merger opponents encouraged the Council to act. In addition to higher electricity bills, said city resident Renee Carlucci, Dominion being absorbed into a larger company could impact its status as a major local employer, landowner and charitable giver.

“The Richmond region has the most to lose,” Carlucci said.

The Council chose a middle path of sorts, opting to delay the matter until next month. With Thanksgiving approaching, the Council isn’t scheduled to meet again until Dec. 14. 

By that time, the SCC would be well into its court-like process hearing arguments for and against the merger. The more formal, evidentiary hearing portion of the SCC process begins Nov. 17. A decision is expected by Jan. 11.

The mayor hasn’t taken a clear stance for or against the merger.

“The stakes are incredibly high for Richmonders,” Avula said Tuesday in a statement to The Richmonder. “As this case proceeds at the SCC, I’ll reiterate what I’ve said previously: the needs of ratepayers, our workforce and local economy, and our clean energy and climate future must be our focus.”

Richmond Council members who advocated for the delay said they were concerned a hard-line stance against the proposal could hurt Richmond’s ability to effectively participate in the SCC process.

Councilor Stephanie Lynch (5th District), said she’s “all day long against the merger.” But if it happens, she said, Richmond should have leverage to try to get something “positive” out of it.

“Would we jeopardize our position?” Lynch asked.

The Council held a closed session on Nov. 2 to discuss the proposed merger with the city attorney’s office.

At Monday’s meeting, Council President Cynthia Newbille (7th District), said she felt it would be “a little premature” to oppose the merger outright without additional information that could emerge as part of the SCC review.

“I would suggest that we do not take action to oppose a merger that we don’t have all the information about,” Newbille said.

Richmond hasn’t filed any substantive comments with the SCC yet, but some of the city’s interests in the matter would presumably be retaining local employee headcount and a firm commitment to the new office tower.

Recommending against the merger in its current form, the SCC’s staff proposed a condition requiring Dominion to maintain existing workforce levels in Virginia for 10 years. Dominion has committed to keeping its Virginia headcount for at least five years.

In rebuttal testimony, Dominion CEO Bob Blue said the 10-year proposal would inhibit the company’s ability to adapt. Stricter limits on how the company can operate, Blue said, “risks stifling efficiency as time and technologies progress, and may run contrary to competing goals of rate affordability."

NextEra and Dominion have said the merger would also lead to an increase in Dominion’s charitable giving by $10 million each year across Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

At Monday’s Council meeting, it was clear many members had misgivings about the merger, even if some were unsure about what official positions the city should take.

The anti-merger resolution Gibson proposed changed before Monday’s vote. As originally written, it expressed opposition to the merger unless certain commitments were met. The list of conditions included alignment with Richmond’s climate goals, binding obligations to break ground on the proposed tower within two years and a 15-year prohibition on layoffs or downsizing and a permanent rate reduction for low-income residents instead of the roughly $10 monthly credits the companies have outlined for four years.

On Monday, the resolution was amended to remove those conditions and oppose the merger entirely.

Gibson said she wasn’t swayed by the companies’ public announcements touting the merger’s benefits.

“When I read a press release that makes big promises, I’m skeptical,” she said. “I think the public is too.”

Gibson also said she was aware Dominion had been contacting Council members about the vote.

“The CEO wanted to talk to me,” Gibson said. “Which was shocking to me.”

Councilor Andrew Breton (1st District) said he too was supporting Gibson’s proposal.

“I believe mergers and monopolies are at the heart of our affordability crisis here in this country,” Breton said.

Gibson and Breton were the only two members who voted in favor of approving the resolution Monday night.

The five members who voted to push the topic to next month were Newbille and Vice President Katherine Jordan (2nd District), as well as Councilors Ellen Robertson (6th District), Nicole Jones (9th District) and Sarah Abubaker (4th District).

Lynch and Councilor Reva Trammell (8th District) abstained from the vote.

Contact Reporter Graham Moomaw at gmoomaw@richmonder.org. Dominion Energy is a sponsor of The Richmonder but was not allowed to influence or review this story.