Kent Chandler on State Oversight of Public Utility Mergers

At the Virginia Energy Commission hearing on State Oversight of Public Utility Mergers and the NextEra Acquisition of Dominion Energy, R Street’s Kent Chandler explains that utility consolidation is not inherently good or bad.

Larger utilities can sometimes gain access to cheaper capital, spread costs across a broader customer base and bring additional operational resources to the table. But those potential benefits have to be weighed against questions of competition, regulatory oversight and whether the transaction will actually deliver value for ratepayers.

The real test is whether a merger serves consumers and the public interest.