Two nuclear reactors are protected under a three-story tall metal and fabric structure at the Santee Cooper nuclear site on Tuesday, May 19, 2026. The V.C. Summer nuclear site is in Fairfield County northwest of Columbia, SC.
Joshua Boucher jboucher@thestate.com COLUMBIA, S.C. Santee Cooper wants a role in the proposed megamerger between Dominion Energy and NextEra, saying the new owner’s cooperation will be critical to completing major energy projects including the unfinished V.C. Summer nuclear reactors and a $5 billion Colleton County natural gas plant.
The state-owned utility asked Aug. 26 to participate in the merger between Dominion Energy and NextEra. It has not taken a position on their combining, according to a filing. Dominion and Santee Cooper have a “significant and long-term relationship,” the state utility argued in its petition to intervene.
If NextEra were to acquire Dominion, its support of large infrastructure projects will be essential, Santee Cooper’s attorneys wrote in filings. For example, cooperation between Santee Cooper and Dominion Energy “will be critical” to complete construction of the previously abandoned V.C. Summer nuclear units.
The two nuclear reactors in Fairfield County are on track to be operational after Santee Cooper chose Brookfield Asset Management to finish the project late last year. “The ultimate owner of DESC and that owner’s commitment to cooperate in making the Project [finishing V.C. Summer units] a success matter to Santee Cooper and the State of South Carolina,” Santee Cooper’s attorneys wrote in a petition.
Santee Cooper and Dominion are also working together to build a large $5 billion, 2,200 megawatt natural gas plant in Colleton County. The two utilities were authorized to construct the power station together in 2025 by the General Assembly, and the project was approved by the Public Service Commission in May. “As the future operator of the Canadys Joint Resource and the lead on those construction activities associated with this facility, the ultimate owner of DESC matters, as does NextEra’s commitment to bring the Canadys Joint Resource online on time and on budget for the people of South Carolina,” Santee Cooper wrote.
In late August, NextEra and Dominion asked the federal Nuclear Regulator Commission to approve the transfer of licenses for the completed V.C. Summer nuclear reactor, if the merger is complete. The two utilities also work together on other resource planning, Santee Cooper wrote.
While Santee Cooper would deal with a new company, Dominion leadership would stay the same in South Carolina, according to the companies’ filings with the Public Service Commission. Santee Cooper’s request to intervene is still pending, according to the docket. Eight other individuals or organizations have intervened in the merger, including legislative leaders , environmental groups and the Office of Regulatory Staff, a state utility watchdog.
Six others, including Santee Cooper, requested to intervene. The proposed merger would create a huge utility, servicing 10 million customers across Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. It’s intended to help NextEra and Dominion keep up with skyrocketing energy demand, according to filings.
The state Public Service Commission is expected to make a final decision on the deal by January 2027. LV Lucy Valeski is a politics and statehouse reporter at The State. She recently graduated from the University of Missouri, where she studied journalism and political science.
Source: The State
