NextEra Energy and Dominion Energy have struck a $67 billion deal to combine two of the nation's largest utilities, creating an East Coast energy giant. The transaction, announced this week, would serve 10 million customer accounts across Florida, the Carolinas and Virginia.

Now comes the hard part: convincing state and federal regulators that the merger benefits consumers without raising electricity bills. The scrutiny is intense given current concerns over grid reliability and consumer costs, particularly in high-demand regions like northern Virginia's Data Center Alley.

Dominion's transmission lines anchor that data center boom, while NextEra brings major renewable generation and battery storage expertise. Together, they would become the largest U.S. electricity producer, leading in natural gas-fired power and ranking second in nuclear capacity. The companies must now make their case to a complex web of oversight agencies.