As the Meta data center in Richland Parish grows, so do concerns over whether utility ratepayers will be stuck with the bill.
Alaina DiLaura with the group Alliance for Affordable Energy says she doesn’t exactly trust Meta and Entergy when they say they will cover all the costs of the electricity needed to power the massive facility.
“What we’re seeing in states across the country, including in the South and Georgia, is that where these data centers are operational, they have great power needs, and often those costs are shifted to residents,” says DiLaura.
Gov. Landry responded to that claim by saying unlike Louisiana, other states were not prepared for the infrastructure demands of such a large data center.
DiLaura also notes that the contract between Meta and Entergy does not cover the lifespan of the gas plants they’re building.
“Our concern is that the life of the gas plant – in this case, seven new gas plants on top of the three that have already been approved – the life of those plants extends far beyond 20 years,” DiLaura says. “There are costs that are not covered by Meta, including as it relates to fuel costs, as well as transmission costs.”
DiLaura points out that the while Entergy will be building all these new gas plants, the Meta data center will not be on its own dedicated electrical grid, which puts ratepayers at risk.
“Because we share the grid, that means that some of those costs are also going to be shared by us,” says DiLaura.
Monroe Mayor Friday Ellis, whose city is one parish to the west of the data center, says he’s confident that Meta and Entergy will keep their end of the bargain and not stick ratepayers with the bill.
“Holding them to that is not the job of the mayor, it’s the Public Service Commission,” Mayor Ellis points out. “And we need ensure that they are held to the promises they have made to the State of Louisiana. I’m sure they will, but we just need to ensure that we’re not left on the hook for this power generation.”
Ellis says Meta and Entergy keeping their promises is essential for future data center projects, which he says are huge economic drivers, especially in rural areas.
“If our data center footprint will have to grow across the country, they will continue to have to make provisions and give reassurance to communities that they will not foot the bill for future power generation,” says Ellis.
Ellis says if ratepayers ultimately end up seeing their utility bills increase because of the presence of data centers, communities will fight back, costing themselves and the state economic opportunities.
“When that happens, these type things go across the sea, they go Canada (or) they go to Mexico,” says Ellis.