Aiken-area Dominion customers can testify Thursday, Nov. 5, about the proposed Dominion Energy–NextEra merger as state consumer and regulatory witnesses press for more bill relief than the companies have offered South Carolina.
The public hearing begins at 6 p.m. in the Aiken County Government Center’s County Council Chambers, 1930 University Parkway, third floor. It is an in-person session before the South Carolina Public Service Commission, according to the Department of Consumer Affairs’ hearing notice.
The immediate disagreement is easy to follow: the companies propose two years of electric-bill credits after the merger closes. Witnesses for the Office of Regulatory Staff and the Department of Consumer Affairs recommend four years. Those are competing proposals in an open regulatory case, not credits customers have already been awarded.
What the companies are offering
In their July 15 joint petition, Dominion and NextEra proposed $387 million in South Carolina electric-bill credits. A residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month would receive a $10 monthly credit for two years; the amount would vary with actual electricity use. NextEra shareholders, rather than customers, would fund the credits.
The petition also proposes $5 million in natural-gas customer credits. The electric and gas benefits are separate; the $10 monthly example applies to residential electric use.
The companies argue that their combination would strengthen purchasing power, improve construction efficiency and bring financial resources needed to serve growing demand. Their petition would keep Dominion Energy South Carolina operating as a regulated utility with its headquarters in Cayce. They propose protections against charging customers for merger-related costs and a commitment to maintain service quality and reliability.
The companies anticipate closing in the second half of 2027 if the necessary approvals are obtained. The proposed credits would follow closing, not Thursday’s hearing.
What the state witnesses want changed
The Office of Regulatory Staff recommends extending the residential credit to four years, with shareholders bearing the entire cost. That recommendation appears in Chief Operating Officer Dawn Hipp’s Oct. 28 testimony, which summarizes the agency’s proposed merger safeguards.
Consumer Affairs witness Michael Deupree goes further. In his Oct. 28 testimony, he recommends rejecting the merger as currently proposed, or requiring additional protections if the commission approves it.
Deupree recommends a fixed residential electric credit of $12.79 a month rather than a credit tied to usage, as well as extending the residential credit package from two years to four. He points to the companies’ expanded Virginia offer in arguing for the longer period. He also recommends a three-year base-rate freeze after closing and a $500 million shareholder-funded contribution toward the remaining recoverable costs of the failed V.C. Summer nuclear expansion.
These recommendations concern both the size of the immediate benefit and the protections that would remain after a change in ownership. The commission will decide the South Carolina terms; neither the companies’ offer nor a witness’s recommendation is an approval order.
How to take part
Customers who want to testify can preregister by emailing communications@psc.sc.gov or calling 803-896-4120. The official notice also links to an online registration form.
Additional public hearings are scheduled for Nov. 12 in North Charleston and Nov. 17 in Columbia. A Dec. 8 session at the commission’s Columbia hearing room offers in-person or virtual participation.
The filings and subsequent orders are available in PSC docket 2026-186-EG. For Aiken customers, Thursday’s hearing is the local opportunity to put their views into that record before the commission decides whether, and on what conditions, the merger should proceed.