Entergy Louisiana CEO lets it slip on Meta's electricity demands
Entergy Louisiana CEO Phillip May disclosed that Meta's planned data center in Richland Parish is expected to require about 4,500 megawatts of electricity, nearly continuously. The disclosure came during questioning over billions of dollars in generation and transmission infrastructure Entergy plans to build for the project and the potential financial risks to other ratepayers.
Entergy Louisiana CEO Phillip May revealed during testimony that Meta’s planned Richland Parish data center is expected to draw approximately 4,500 megawatts of electricity, a demand roughly four times the peak usage of New Orleans. May said Meta expects to use close to that amount on a nearly continuous basis, despite the projected demand previously being treated as confidential commercial information.
May was defending billions of dollars in generation and transmission investments Entergy plans to make largely to serve the facility. Attorneys for the Union of Concerned Scientists, Alliance for Affordable Energy and Louisiana Energy Users Group questioned whether the utility had adequately assessed the risk to other customers. May said Meta’s agreement requires the company to cover costs associated with the infrastructure and provides protections intended to prevent ratepayers from bearing the burden.