Meta prevails as Louisiana regulators block disclosure of data center expansion records

Louisiana utility regulators have overturned an administrative law judge's order, siding with Meta in a dispute over the disclosure of confidential business records related to its Richland Parish data center. The records, which detail Meta's projections for investment, permanent jobs, and electricity demand for its massive campus, were sought by the Alliance for Affordable Energy and the Union of Concerned Scientists.

These groups are challenging Entergy Louisiana's plans to construct billions of dollars in new power infrastructure, including seven natural-gas generators, three battery-storage projects, and hundreds of miles of transmission lines, to serve Meta's data center. Louisiana officials initially announced the Richland Parish development in 2024 as a $10 billion project with 500 jobs, but Meta later updated its investment projection to over $50 billion, stating the campus would reach 5 gigawatts of computing capacity and create more than 1,000 operational jobs.

Entergy argues that the project will benefit other customers, estimating $2.65 billion in savings and benefits over 20 years. However, consumer advocates question ratepayer protection if Meta's electricity needs change or its presence diminishes. Meta argued the records contained trade secrets, and both Meta and Entergy declined to testify during the hearing.

With the commission's decision, the challenging groups must now evaluate Meta's and Entergy's projections without access to the underlying data previously ordered by the judge. The commission is expected to consider Entergy's broader application for the power infrastructure in December.