4,500 Megawatts: What Meta's Power Number Means Now That It's on the Record

For months, the number at the center of the Entergy/Meta utility case was confidential. On Oct. 7, the first day of the Public Service Commission hearing on Entergy's plan to power Meta's Hyperion campus, Entergy CEO Phillip May said it out loud: Meta will use 4,500 megawatts, The Advocate reported.

That's roughly four times the power the city of New Orleans uses, according to The Advocate. Here's what the figure helps explain, and what it doesn't.

Why the number matters

Intervenors, the outside groups allowed to take part in the case, had argued that Meta's expected load was the key fact for judging whether Entergy's plan is the right size. Until this week, it was available only to a handful of representatives under a strict confidentiality agreement. (See our hearing guide for that records fight.)

Now it can be compared with what's being built. The seven gas units in Entergy's request total about 5,278 megawatts, Construction Review Online reported. Entergy has said the new plants are needed for its whole system, not only for Meta, because older plants are scheduled to retire. Generation and load don't match one for one: utilities build extra capacity for reserves, maintenance and peak demand. But the public can now ask how much of the buildout is for Meta and how much is for everyone else.

Entergy's case

• Meta pays even if it leaves early. May testified that Meta's contract requires it to pay for its power even if it exits before the contract ends, The Advocate reported.
• The system needs the plants anyway. Entergy argues the units serve its entire grid as older plants retire.
• Customers save money. Louisiana Economic Development said in July that the Entergy agreement is expected to produce more than $2 billion in customer savings over 20 years. That figure is a projection from the companies, not a regulator's finding.
• The investment is large. May called Hyperion a "transformational investment" for Louisiana. LED has said the campus will bring 7,500 construction jobs at peak and 1,000 operating jobs.

The intervenors' case

• The contract is shorter than the plants' lives. Meta's contract runs 20 years. Three of the plants would be paid off, or depreciated, over 32 years, so customers could owe several billion dollars if Meta leaves when its contract ends, The Advocate reported.
• Overbuilding risk. Susan Miller, an attorney for the Alliance for Affordable Energy and the Union of Concerned Scientists, noted that some critics argue "data centers are being overbuilt" and asked whether Entergy had studied that risk. "Has Entergy looked into that at all?" she asked. May said Meta earns revenue from sources unrelated to AI and said he didn't know whether Entergy had looked into it.
• No competitive bidding. The settlement with commission staff lets Entergy skip the bidding process normally used to find the lowest-cost way to add power plants. The commission voted 4-1 in April to put the case on a fast track, with Commissioner Davante Lewis voting no, WWNO reported.

Why the cost numbers don't match

These may describe different parts of the request or different versions of it. We'll match them to the settlement documents in the docket.

The tax break connection

Under an executive order from Gov. Jeff Landry, data center companies must pay for their own power to qualify for the state's data center sales tax exemption. Developers have claimed $39 million in rebates so far, according to Department of Revenue records The Advocate obtained. That total could grow into the billions as projects build out, the newspaper reported.

Where the commissioners stand

Four of the five commissioners have voted for Entergy's earlier Meta plans. Lewis has raised concerns about whether residents will bear costs after the contract ends. May told The Advocate he is confident regulators will approve the plans.

What happens next

Chief Administrative Law Judge Melanie Verzwyvelt is overseeing the hearing and is expected to issue a report, The Advocate reported. The full commission votes after that. WWNO reported in April that the vote was scheduled for Nov. 18, and Construction Review Online has since reported it is on the Dec. 16 agenda. We'll confirm the date on the commission's calendar.

Meanwhile, a separate piece of the plan is on hold. Entergy's proposed purchase of the Cottonwood gas plant in Texas, which a commission consultant said in June would effectively have residents pay for some of Meta's power, is paused, The Advocate reported. Meta and Entergy disputed the consultant's findings.

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