A Virginia State Corporation Commission hearing examiner has ordered Dominion Energy and NextEra to release documents they had tried to withhold during the review of their proposed $67 billion merger. Among the documents is a so-called "Robo memo" that reportedly details an investigation into Florida Power & Light's alleged illegal political activity. The examiner concluded that the governance and political structure of the two utilities is relevant to the merger review and can be scrutinized.
The request for the documents came from Clean Virginia, a consumer advocacy group, and the Piedmont Environmental Council. Clean Virginia argued that the memo directly relates to how NextEra's leadership responded to serious allegations about FPL's use of corporate resources to influence elections, and that this bears on the fitness of the potential combined company. The examiner cited the utilities' own statements about their management experience and openness, saying the request could verify or impeach those representations.
Dominion and NextEra opposed the release, with Dominion's attorney arguing that political activity should be handled in the political arena, not the regulatory one. But the examiner rejected that view, finding the request reasonably calculated to lead to evidence about managerial fitness. The merger, announced in May, has faced pushback in Virginia, with critics noting that the 1940 law governing the review was not designed for a deal of this size. The utilities have offered $2.25 billion in bill credits as part of the deal, and an evidentiary hearing is scheduled for next month.