Connecticut’s largest power plant would change hands under a merger announced Monday, in which Florida-based NextEra Energy would acquire Dominion Energy, the owner of the Millstone Power Station in Waterford.
Millstone is the only operating nuclear plant in Connecticut, and its two reactors supply roughly half the state’s electricity and more than 90% of its carbon-free power, according to Dominion.
The deal, an all-stock transaction valued at about $66.8 billion according to Reuters, would transfer control of Millstone to NextEra.
NextEra, through a subsidiary, is the majority owner and operator of the Seabrook Station nuclear plant in New Hampshire, which sells its power into the regional grid operated by ISO New England, the same market Connecticut draws electricity from.
If the merger closes, the combined company would own both Millstone and Seabrook — meaning a single company would control all of the nuclear power generated inside Connecticut, along with a significant share of the regional nuclear supply that reaches Connecticut homes and businesses.
Seabrook is the second-largest nuclear plant in New England, behind Millstone.
Neither company’s announcement of the deal — nor its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission — mentions Millstone, Seabrook, Connecticut or New England.
The companies framed the merger almost entirely around growth in the South and soaring electricity demand from data centers, particularly in Virginia, where Dominion runs a grid serving the world’s largest concentration of data centers.
The merged company would serve about 10 million customer accounts across Florida, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Connecticut is absent from that count because the combined company would not own a regulated utility serving Connecticut customers. Millstone sells its power into the regional market rather than serving a captive customer base.
The companies have proposed $2.25 billion in customer bill credits for ratepayers in Virginia and the Carolinas, where Dominion runs the local utilities.
The transaction requires approvals from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to transfer federal operating licenses to a new owner, along with clearances from federal antitrust regulators, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and utility commissions in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Since Millstone is not regulated by Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, a sale of the plant’s corporate parent doesn’t require a PURA proceeding.
The companies expect to close in 12 to 18 months, though the agreement allows the timeline to stretch toward 2028 if regulatory approvals lag.
Connecticut buys a large share of Millstone’s output under long-term contracts that expire in 2029, and the state is in the middle of a procurement to line up new clean-energy supply for the years that follow.
Dominion submitted proposals to keep selling Millstone’s power to Connecticut into the next decade, and state energy officials expect to name winning bids later this year — potentially while the acquisition is underway.
The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said it will assess what, if any, implications the merger could have for ongoing proceedings.
The state Office of Consumer Counsel, which represents ratepayers, said the deal so far looks like a change in ownership that may not significantly alter how Millstone runs or what it costs.
“Based on the limited details currently available to the public, the proposed acquisition of Dominion Energy by NextEra Energy appears primarily to be a change in ownership, and as such the core operations and associated costs of Millstone Power Station may not materially change, but are subject to the details of the transaction,” the office said.
The office said it would keep watching as more becomes known.
“OCC will continue monitoring as additional information about the transaction becomes available, particularly as it relates to future contracts, financing structures and costs ultimately borne by ratepayers,” it said.
