Louisiana regulators kill effort to subpoena details of Meta data center
Meta won't have to disclose key details about its planned $50 billion data center in northeast Louisiana after the state's utility commission voted 3-1 to reverse a previous ruling. The administrative judge's order had sought information on the project's expected employment and energy usage, which activists deemed central to the commission's decision on approving new gas plants to power the facility.
Meta successfully averted a mandate to disclose specific project details for its planned $50 billion data center in northeast Louisiana. The Louisiana Public Service Commission voted 3-1 to overturn an administrative judge's July 10 ruling that would have compelled the social media giant to release information regarding the facility's projected employment and energy consumption.
The commission's three Republican members supported Meta's appeal, effectively denying access to data deemed crucial by activists and dissenting Commissioner Davante Lewis. Lewis, the sole Democrat present, argued that the requested information was vital for the commission to properly assess Entergy Louisiana's proposal to construct seven new gas plants specifically to power Meta's "Hyperion" data center complex. Commissioner Foster Campbell, the other Democrat, was absent from the meeting.