Patrick Larson
Patrick Larsen is VPM News' environment and energy reporter and fill-in host in Richmond, Virginia, covering climate, energy policy and data centers, and host of VPM Daily Newscast.
2
APPEARANCES
2
PODCASTS
Jul 13, 2026
Patrick LarsenGUEST
Lieutenant Governor wants to pause utility merger while legislature chooses not to act.
Patrick LarsenGUEST
So just to level set, I'm talking about the proposed Dominion Energy NextEra $67 billion merger proposal.
Patrick LarsenGUEST
NextEra, one of the nation's largest utilities, wants to acquire Dominion, would create the largest regulated public utility on the planet.
Patrick LarsenGUEST
And Ghazala Hashmi, our lieutenant governor, has gotten involved over the past couple of weeks.
Patrick LarsenGUEST
She's calling on state regulators at the State Corporation Commission to basically beef up their fact-finding.
6 MINS LATER
Patrick LarsenGUEST
I mean, uh, it was kind of on the lips of, uh, uh, politicians on the campaign trail throughout.
Patrick LarsenGUEST
Um, you know, just the, after the election, uh, Abigail Spanberger had an interview with Leila Fadel where she said, you know, the big three were housing, healthcare, and energy affordability.
Patrick LarsenGUEST
Um, which is interesting because affordability is definitely not a, a, a new talking point for a political campaign.
Patrick LarsenGUEST
Um, but I think, you know, the Democrats were seeking to sort of capitalize on, uh, some uncertainty coming out of Washington.
Patrick LarsenGUEST
You know, in Virginia in particular, we are home to, uh, 300, over 300,000 federal workers, not to mention, uh, a really wide range of federal contractors.