SC lawmakers question NextEra CEO over $67B merger with Dominion

15 before the state Legislature's utility oversight committee for roughly two hours, seeking to reassure legislators that utility rates will stay affordable.

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SC News SC lawmakers question NextEra CEO over $67B merger with Dominion South Carolina Public Radio | By Maayan Schechter Published October 16, 2026 at 7:23 AM EDT Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Listen • 1:13 MAAYAN SCHECHTER / SCETV NextEra Energy CEO John Ketchum, far right, testifies Thursday, Oct.

15, 2026, before the state Legislature's Public Utilities Review Committee about the NextEra-Dominion Energy $67 billion merger.

15 before the state Legislature's utility oversight committee for roughly two hours, seeking to reassure legislators that utility rates will stay affordable.

NextEra Energy CEO John Ketchum faced South Carolina legislators on Thursday in his first public hearing as the Florida-based electric utility giant seeks to merge with Dominion Energy in a $67 billion deal.

Ketchum vowed to prioritize rate affordability for South Carolina electric ratepayers, about 800,000 of whom are still paying off debt connected to the abandonment of two unfinished nuclear reactors at the VC Summer plant in Fairfield County.

NextEra views "ourselves as an economic development partner," Ketchum testified, telling lawmakers the merger could help drive indirect investment and job growth in the state that, he noted, could become more energy independent, no longer relying on imports from other states in times of need.