Virginia SCC chair pushes back on recusal calls in Dominion-NextEra merger

RICHMOND, Va. — In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, Virginia State Corporation Commission Chair Kelsey Bagot said she has not found it necessary to recuse herself from the pending merger case between Dominion Energy and NextEra Energy — despite having worked as a senior attorney for NextEra before joining the SCC.

Bagot sent the letter August 17, 2026, after Surovell wrote to her noting that several members of the General Assembly and other third parties had raised questions about her participation in the merger case in light of her prior recusal in a separate NextEra proceeding.

"As has been demonstrated by long-standing historical Commissioner practice, mere work history with a regulated entity has not served as a categorical basis requiring recusal," Bagot said.

Bagot also said she sought advice from independent counsel on whether any factor under the judicial canons would prevent her from fulfilling her duties in the pending merger proceeding.

"Because of that obligation and my respect for the institutional interests of the SCC, I also sought advice from independent counsel on the question of whether any factor under the Canons would prevent me from fulfilling those duties in the pending merger proceeding," Bagot said.

WATCH: Senator 'concerned' Virginia SCC chair has not recused herself from NextEra-Dominion merger

Bagot worked at NextEra from September 2022 to April 2024, when she left the company and immediately joined the SCC. She became SCC chair in February 2026. It has been a month since Dominion and NextEra filed their merger application with the SCC — a deal that could create the world's largest regulated utility — and Bagot has not stepped aside from the proceeding.

Virginia law requires commissioners to disclose any known facts that could raise questions about their impartiality. Nowhere in the SCC's case docket regarding the merger does it state Bagot's past employment with NextEra.

Virginia law also gives residents the right to petition the removal of a commissioner they believe cannot be impartial. On July 24, a Dominion Energy ratepayer filed a formal petition with the SCC to disqualify Bagot from the merger case, require public disclosure of her past employment, and halt all proceedings until the matter is resolved.

SCC records show Bagot did recuse herself in April from a separate proceeding involving NextEra's MidAtlantic Resiliency Link Project, in which the company was requesting to build, own, and operate a 2.4-mile, 500-kilovolt transmission line in Frederick County — a project she provided legal services to while working at NextEra in 2023. The filing states she "previously provided legal services to the MidAtlantic Resiliency Link Project in 2023."

In her August 17 letter, Bagot said her prior recusal was specific to the MidAtlantic Resiliency Link proceeding because she had previously provided legal services to that project. But she has not recused herself from the much larger Dominion-NextEra merger case.

WATCH: Virginians rally over Dominion Energy and NextEra merger

For some Dominion customers, that raises questions about whether the SCC can make the decision with the public's full confidence.

Dominion customer Patrick Oxenham said the situation speaks to a larger problem.

"Yet here we are. She's still participating in the proceeding. Do you see it? Do you see how broken the system has become?" Oxenham said.

Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors member Jessica Schneider also responded to Bagot's refusal to recuse.

"It's shameful, I'm sorry. I mean when you're in charge of this large of a decision you should definitely — I mean — she used to work for them she obviously has connections," Schneider said.

Dominion Energy customer Laura Arnett said the situation is a clear conflict of interest.

"I think that's a direct conflict of interest," Arnett said. "Like, it's very obvious. I mean, like, if you left NextEra, which was this huge energy corporation, to go be the head of some other energy corporations, such as like the SCC, and now you're overseeing a merger of these two companies. I mean, come on, that's a direct conflict of interest."

Governor Abigail Spanberger said she is not calling on Bagot to step aside, citing the expertise Bagot brings to the review process.

"I think the level of expertise that she brings is such that I am not calling on her to step aside," Spanberger said. "The expertise that she carries, I think, is substantially beneficial to the review process moving forward."

Spanberger said the technical complexity of the merger makes it important that decision-makers understand both the technology and the energy policy at stake.

"It's so highly technical that we truly need people ultimately making decisions that understand the technology they're speaking to, the energy policy that will be impacted," Spanberger said. "It is also highly important to me that they are evaluating not just the technical nature, but the actual outcomes of what a potential merger of this type would mean."

WATCH: Dominion customers raise alarm over proposed $67B NextEra merger and another proposed rate hike

Spanberger said she intends to remain an active voice for Virginia throughout the process.

"In any of those steps forward, it's important to me that I continue to be aggressively a voice for Virginia and Virginians in outlining that process and the requirements to actually benefit Virginia," Spanberger said.

"At this point in time, I think I am relying on the professionalism and the deep experience that exists within the SCC commissioners," Spanberger said.

During Tuesday's Energy Commission of Virginia meeting several members supported Bagot's decision to not recuse herself. Meade Browder, Delegate Irene Shin, and former SCC commissioner Angela Navarro all spoke out.

"These judges hold themselves to the highest standard, are exceptionally qualified, and it would be an extreme disservice to the Commonwealth of Virginia if she had to recuse herself on this matter," Navarro said.

During Bagot's January 2024 confirmation interviews before the House Labor and Commerce Committee and the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee, Delegate Tony Wilt asked Bagot whether she could approach all energy issues with impartiality.

"I am positive and can commit to you I will not have a bend one way or another," Bagot said. "My role as a commissioner is to be open-minded, to build a robust record to make sure that I'm asking the right questions to develop that robust record, that I'm digging into the issues that I'm being tough but fair to everyone that's before me."

Senator Russet Perry said Bagot also promised she would recuse herself in matters involving her former employer during the confirmation process.

"She did make those promises to myself and other senators, and I think that's important because I think that's how she got onto — I'm certain that's how she got onto the commission," Perry said. "Without those assurances, I don't think she would be there."

Perry pointed to judicial canons that set standards for judges as a framework for evaluating the situation.

"The canons say it's not whether she believes she has a conflict; it's about whether people can really trust whatever decision she makes in this case," Perry said. "And so I am concerned that a month has gone by, to your point, and she has not recused herself, but there is still time, I believe, for her to recuse herself, and I'm still hopeful that she will."

If Bagot were to step aside, it would leave two commissioners on the panel. If those two commissioners were to disagree, the case could reach a deadlock, potentially delaying any decision on the merger.

This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.