Dominion closes sale of East Ohio Gas for $6.6B

Richmond-based Fortune 500 utility Dominion Energy closed on its sale of East Ohio Gas to Canadian pipeline and energy company Enbridge in a $6.6 billion deal, the utility announced Thursday.

The sale was first announced in September 2023 as part of a deal for Dominion to sell its three natural gas distribution companies.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio approved the sale to Enbridge.

The Cleveland-based natural gas company, which will now be known as Enbridge Gas Ohio, has 1,500 employees and serves 1.2 million homes and businesses in the Buckeye state, according to Dominion.

“Natural gas utilities have long useful lives and are ‘must-have’ infrastructure for providing safe, reliable and affordable energy,” Michele Harradence, Enbridge executive vice president and president of gas distribution and storage, said in a statement. “This gas utility will help blend and extend our cash flow growth outlook through the end of the decade by adding a steady, regulated investment that supports our long-term dividend profile.”

In September 2023, Enbridge announced plans to acquire Public Service Co. of North Carolina and Questar Gas and its related Wexpro companies, which serve customers in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho, in addition to East Ohio Gas. Dominion valued the three transactions at $14 billion.

In a September 2023 statement, Dominion said Enbridge would pay $4.3 billion for East Ohio Gas and assume $2.3 billion of debt.

The sale will create the largest natural gas utility franchise in North America, Enbridge said in September 2023.

Enbridge expects to close on the purchases of the other gas distribution companies following regulatory approvals later in 2024, according to its statement.