Gov. Jeff Landry signed an executive order Thursday while flanked by h utility company executives saying that must have their benefits to citizens “evaluated and balanced” against their use of electric generation, water and land.
The “Ratepayer and Community Protection Framework for Large Load Investments,” assigns the h Economic Development Office to ensure that future projects “adequately protect Louisian’s resources, ratepayers, and communities,” according to the text of the order. LED should come up with the criteria for companies to protect ratepayers, contribute to local tax bases and more within the next 90 days, the order states.
“These resources are vital to the welfare of our citizens and to the future of our economy, and that is why our approach demands thoughtful and responsible stewardship,” Landry said.
The order comes on the heels of questions around power plant in Texas, which a consultant for the state’s Public Service Commission said is largely needed for Meta’s north h data center.
The gas-fired Cottonwood plant $8 a month, records show. Entergy and Meta have disputed that it’s needed for the data center.
Landry last week expressed concerns about the plant in a social media post responding to coverage from The Times-Picayune | h. He said Entergy promised him Meta would not pass along costs to customers.
“The PSC should not allow anyone to take advantage of power markets at the expense of our ratepayers,” he said last week.
On Thursday, though, Landry passed off taking a position on the plant to the Public Service Commission, which he dinged as “somewhat dormant” for the past 50 years. Landry also repeatedly defended data centers, which his administration has set aside millions in incentives for, saying they are vital for Louisian’s future.
“I don’t get a vote,” he said. “That’s a decision for the public service (commission) and that’s something for them and Entergy to work out.”
The Public Service Commission’s five-member elected body has the ultimate authority over whether to approve the purchase.
The consultant, Lane Sisung, who regularly analyzes utilities’ proposals for the commission, raised other concerns about the plant as well. The plant’s private equity owners bought it a few years ago for far less than what Entergy plans to pay for it. It’s also 22 years old and has had reliability issues that would require Entergy to spend hundreds of millions more on improving it, the report said.
Entergy h President and CEO Phillip May attended the press conference Thursday but did not speak at it. In a statement Entergy h released afterward, May defended the Cottonwood plant.
“The Cottonwood generating facility is needed to support broader customer growth across h and deactivation of legacy units that have been serving all customers for over five decades, and it has been part of Entergy Louisian’s supply plan before Meta was a potential customer,” the statement from May said.
“Despite reports to the contrary, through its contract term, Meta is fully supporting and funding the construction of 7.5 gigawatts of new, highly efficient natural gas generation, along with additional solar and battery resources and purchase capacity,” he added.
A Meta spokesperson, Francis Brennan, last week described the consultant’s report as “inaccurate speculation” in a statement. He pushed back against claims that ratepayers picking up the tab for the Cottonwood plant would violate a White House pledge from the spring, in which tech companies agreed to pay for their own data center power needs.
“Meta pays its own way, both for the power and new infrastructure we use,” Brennan said. “Our agreement with Entergy is built to guarantee we pay those costs, not hns.”
Cottonwood plant draws concerns from both parties
Landry on Thursday touted how many data centers and other companies are trying to do business in the state.
“We’re finally like the prettiest girl at the dance,” Landry said. “Everybody wants to dance with us, but guess what? Before they can even ask us out, they’ve got to go look at this executive order, and they've got to meet those demands.”
Landry said Louisian had already designed its partnership with Meta in a way to ensure that customers would be protected before tech companies signed Trump’s pledge.
“The agreement that we had is basically what we put in the executive order,” he said when asked to share the state’s previous agreements with Meta and Entergy.
Concerns about the plant in southeast Texas have come from both state Republicans and Democrats, along with the Alliance for Affordable Energy, a consumer advocacy group.
PSC member Davante Lewis, a Democrat who represents New Orleans and parts of Baton Rouge, held his own press conference after Landry’s on Thursday afternoon. He said that, while he agrees with Landry’s contention that data centers should bear their own costs, Landry’s actions have differed from his speech.
Lewis criticized a recent PSC rule change backed by Landry to fast-track the building of data centers, which also said large-scale customers are only required to pay half the cost of new power plants. Lewis said he will push to rescind the rule.
And Lewis noted that while Landry spoke of transparency and accountability, he’s also signed nondisclosure agreements related to Meta’s data center.
“When he says we are committed to making sure these energy-intensive organizations are paying their own costs, that’s simply not true,” Lewis said.
Landry stood by his use of NDAs during the press conference, rebuffing questions about when the details of Meta’s incentives with the state will fully become public by saying the project is not yet complete. Landry’s administration has aggressively used nondisclosure agreements, including with Meta, and
“We are winning because we get to negotiate with those companies, and those companies don’t have to spill their plans out to the public,” Landry said. “We are being as transparent as possible while making sure that we don’t move opportunity to other states.”
Republican PSC member Jean-Paul Coussan said Thursday that the executive order reflects the same principles that the commission stands for.
“We will continue to scrutinize any proposal that comes before us with h families at the forefront, demanding transparency, accountability, and fair treatment for every customer on the grid,” said Coussan, who represents Lafayette and parts of Baton Rouge. “Economic development and ratepayer protection are not competing goals.”
‘Make those protections binding’
The Alliance for Affordable Energy applauded Landry’s executive order on Thursday, saying they agree regular customers should not bear the costs of data centers. Alaina DiLaura, the group’s policy coordinator for the PSC, said that beyond the executive order, the commission can do more to protect consumers.
“It is the commission’s responsibility at this point to take action to make those protections binding,” she said.
PSC member Eric Skrmetta, a Metairie Republican who has supported data center projects, said last week that he does not plan to approve the Cottonwood plant’s purchase unless Meta pays for it. He described the sale price as “taking advantage of the moment.”
Mike Francis, another Republican commission member who represents Crowley, said in an interview this week that he generally trusts Sisung, the consultant.
“If that’s his opinion, I'm going to be inclined to go with it,” Francis said. “But I haven't seen all the details yet.”
State Sen. Bob Hensgens, a Republican who chairs the Senate Committee on Natural Resources, recently warned Francis in a letter about data centers’ potential impact on customers’ electric bills. Hensgens, who represents Abbeville, asked the commission to consider “stronger safeguards” to protect residential and small commercial ratepayers from bearing power costs for data centers.
Editor’s note: This story was updated after publication to clarify the title of Entergy Louisian’s president.