NextEra’s Mega-Utility Deal to Shore Up Its Credit Profile (1)

NextEra Energy Inc.’s $67 billion bid for Dominion Energy Inc. won’t just create an energy giant stretching from Florida to Virginia, it’s also helping the power firm shore up its credit standing in the eyes of rating companies.

Demand from artificial intelligence data centers accelerated growth at NextEra’s power generation business, making it more reliant on earnings from its unregulated unit, where prices are more volatile. That shift was putting its credit ratings ever closer to potential downgrade thresholds, according to Andy DeVries, a utility analyst for CreditSights, a debt research firm.

“A lesser known aspect ...