NextEra Energy is making a massive $66.8 billion bet that America’s artificial intelligence boom will drive a historic surge in electricity demand, announcing plans to acquire Dominion Energy in a blockbuster utility deal that would create the world’s largest regulated utility by market value.

The combined company would serve roughly 10 million customer accounts across Florida, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina and operate about 110 gigawatts of generation capacity. The transaction is structured as an all-stock deal.

The acquisition would give Florida-based NextEra a major foothold in Northern Virginia’s “Data Center Alley,” the world’s largest concentration of data centers and a critical hub of the U.S. AI economy.

The deal highlights how rapidly AI is reshaping the U.S. energy industry, with utilities racing to supply electricity to massive data centers operated by companies including Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Meta.

Dominion alone has nearly 51 gigawatts of contracted data-center capacity tied to customers including Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, Equinix and CoreWeave, according to the companies. One gigawatt can power roughly 750,000 homes.

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The companies also said the combined business would have more than 130 gigawatts of additional large-load opportunities tied to rising power demand.

The transaction would also significantly expand NextEra’s presence in the PJM Interconnection region, the nation’s largest power grid covering more than a dozen states and several of the country’s fastest-growing AI infrastructure markets.

The merger marks one of the largest utility transactions in years and reflects growing Wall Street expectations that electricity providers could emerge as major beneficiaries of the AI boom as power demand rises for the first sustained period in decades.

The combined company would derive more than 80% of its operations from regulated utility businesses, a structure investors typically view as more stable and predictable.

Power prices nationwide have already climbed roughly 40% over the last five years, with particularly sharp increases in AI-heavy states including Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

The deal is also part of a broader consolidation wave across the power sector as utilities and investors seek to secure generation capacity and grid access tied to AI-driven demand growth.

Other recent industry transactions include Constellation Energy’s $16 billion acquisition of Calpine, Blackstone’s $11.5 billion deal for TXNM Energy and AES Corp.’s pending $33.4 billion buyout.

The merger is expected to face regulatory scrutiny and still requires approval from federal and state regulators. NextEra said it plans to provide $2.25 billion in customer bill credits across Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina following the deal’s completion.

The companies also said they plan to maintain dual headquarters in Florida and Virginia while keeping Dominion’s utility brands and local operating structures in place. The transaction is expected to close within 12 to 18 months. 

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Neither company disclosed additional details about potential operational changes or workforce impacts tied to the proposed merger.

Reuters contributed to this report.