The proposed combination of Dominion Energy, Inc. and SCANA Corp. has received the approval of the North Carolina Utilities Commission. It is the sixth of seven approvals necessary to close the merger.
The merger previously received approval from SCANA's shareholders, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Georgia Public Service Commission, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and early termination by the Federal Trade Commission of the 30-day waiting period under the federal Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. The merger remains contingent upon approval from the Public Service Commission of South Carolina, which has been holding evidentiary hearings since Nov. 1, 2018. A decision is expected by Dec. 21, 2018.
If the combination is completed, as expected, around the end of the year, the combined company would deliver energy to approximately 6.5 million regulated customer accounts and have an electric generating portfolio of about 33,000 megawatts and 93,600 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines. It also would have a natural gas pipeline network totaling 106,400 miles and operate one of the nation's largest natural gas storage systems with 1 trillion cubic feet of capacity.
