Dominion said the merger is contingent upon approval of SCANA’s shareholders, as well as authorizations from state regulators and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Some had worried that the merger would be nixed when SC lawmakers removed most of the surcharge that SCE&G customer have been paying for SCANA’s debt on the two unfinished reactors that were abandoned on July 2017.

Currently the SCE&G’s electric rate has been reduced by 15% until the end of this year, after which SC regulators will determine the permanent rate.  Gov. Henry McMaster vetoed the bill, saying he favored cutting the entire charge but both the House and the Senate overrode his veto within minutes.

SCE&G has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to stop the rate cut. Dominion has offered rebates of around $1,000 to SCE&G customers, a smaller cut in rates and a promise not to raise rates for three years.