Louisiana regulators this week began the most detailed public test yet of the power plan behind Meta's Hyperion AI data center in Richland Parish. The Louisiana Public Service Commission opened a three-day evidentiary hearing on Oct. 7, scheduled to run through Oct. 9, on Entergy Louisiana's proposed $12.9 billion buildout of generation, battery storage and transmission for the expanding campus. Construction Review Online, "Louisiana Regulators Set to Review Entergy's $12.9B Power Buildout for Meta Data Center" (Oct. 5, 2026) The case puts Louisiana at the center of a national debate over AI, the data centers built to support it and the electric infrastructure needed to power them. The Advocate, "Entergy makes case for expanding Meta data center in hearing while opponents question costs" (Oct. 8, 2026)
The biggest news so far came from the witness stand. Entergy Louisiana CEO Phillip May disclosed for the first time that Meta's data center will use 4,500 megawatts, roughly four times the power used by the city of New Orleans. The Advocate, "Entergy makes case for expanding Meta data center in hearing while opponents question costs" (Oct. 8, 2026) Meta and Entergy had treated the data center's projected demand as confidential, commercially sensitive information, and May said Meta expects to use close to that amount almost continuously. The Center Square, "Entergy Louisiana CEO lets it slip on Meta's electricity demands" (Oct. 7, 2026) "I won't make you say it again," an attorney for the Union of Concerned Scientists responded after the figure came out. The Center Square, "Entergy Louisiana CEO lets it slip on Meta's electricity demands" (Oct. 7, 2026)
What Entergy wants to build
The case is filed under LPSC Docket U-37882. Entergy filed its application on March 25 seeking certification of resources for Evest LLC, the customer entity associated with the campus, under the commission's expedited "Lightning Directive" framework. Construction Review Online, "Louisiana Regulators Set to Review Entergy's $12.9B Power Buildout for Meta Data Center" (Oct. 5, 2026) The proposal calls for seven combined-cycle natural gas units of about 754 megawatts each, totaling about 5,278 megawatts, plus three battery-storage projects and more than 250 miles of new high-voltage transmission lines. Construction Review Online, "Louisiana Regulators Set to Review Entergy's $12.9B Power Buildout for Meta Data Center" (Oct. 5, 2026) Four of the gas units would be built near the Richland Parish campus and three near Entergy's existing Big Cajun generating site in Pointe Coupee Parish. The Center Square via American Press, "Two hearings stand between Meta and its power buildout" (Sept. 30, 2026)
This is the second power package tied to Hyperion. The commission approved generation and transmission for Meta's original development, known as Project Laidley, in August 2025; that package included three natural gas units and a roughly 60-mile transmission line, and construction on two of those units began in Richland Parish in December 2025. The Center Square via American Press, "Two hearings stand between Meta and its power buildout" (Sept. 30, 2026) Entergy says its existing supply, including the infrastructure already approved, is not enough for the additional load, which it said exceeds 1 gigawatt. The Center Square via American Press, "Two hearings stand between Meta and its power buildout" (Sept. 30, 2026)
Hyperion itself has grown well past its original plan. Meta said in July 2026 that the campus would reach 5 gigawatts of compute capacity and that its investment in the Richland Parish region would exceed $50 billion. Construction Review Online, "Louisiana Regulators Set to Review Entergy's $12.9B Power Buildout for Meta Data Center" (Oct. 5, 2026) Funds managed by Blue Owl Capital hold an 80% interest in the joint venture developing Hyperion, with Meta retaining 20%. Construction Review Online, "Louisiana Regulators Set to Review Entergy's $12.9B Power Buildout for Meta Data Center" (Oct. 5, 2026)
The settlement and the shortcut
Entergy has already reached a settlement with the commission's staff. The Advocate, "Entergy makes case for expanding Meta data center in hearing while opponents question costs" (Oct. 8, 2026) That settlement, submitted in late September, would let Entergy move ahead with the seven gas plants, three battery systems and other infrastructure without going through the bid process typically required to ensure the utility is choosing the lowest-cost option. The Advocate, "Entergy makes case for expanding Meta data center in hearing while opponents question costs" (Oct. 8, 2026)
May framed the case as a race. "We are in a power-first world where speed to power is what will drive who wins economic opportunity for their communities," he said at the hearing, calling the expansion a "transformational investment" with plenty of protections for ratepayers. The Advocate, "Entergy makes case for expanding Meta data center in hearing while opponents question costs" (Oct. 8, 2026)
Who pays if Meta leaves?
The central fight is over long-term risk. The Alliance for Affordable Energy, the Sierra Club and the Union of Concerned Scientists have argued against the settlement, warning that residents could pick up the tab if Meta leaves at the end of its 20-year contract. The Advocate, "Entergy makes case for expanding Meta data center in hearing while opponents question costs" (Oct. 8, 2026) Three of the proposed power plants would be depreciated over 32 years, meaning customers could be on the hook for several billion dollars if Meta departs after 20 years; Entergy argues the system would still need those plants because of retirements in the coming decades. The Advocate, "Entergy makes case for expanding Meta data center in hearing while opponents question costs" (Oct. 8, 2026)
Under questioning, Susan Miller, an attorney for the Alliance for Affordable Energy and the Union of Concerned Scientists, noted critics' argument that data centers are being overbuilt and asked whether Entergy had looked into that. "I don't know that we have exactly looked into that," May said, adding that Meta earns revenue from sources unrelated to AI. The Advocate, "Entergy makes case for expanding Meta data center in hearing while opponents question costs" (Oct. 8, 2026)
Entergy's defense is the structure of the Meta deal. May testified that Meta's payments are designed to exceed the revenue requirements of the infrastructure built to serve it; if Entergy's costs rise, Meta pays more, and if they fall, Meta pays less. The Center Square, "Entergy Louisiana CEO lets it slip on Meta's electricity demands" (Oct. 7, 2026) "No other customer in our 100-year history has ever committed to such a generous package of benefits for our customers," May said. The Center Square, "Entergy Louisiana CEO lets it slip on Meta's electricity demands" (Oct. 7, 2026) Entergy also plans to treat the new generators as system resources that could serve all customers and take part in regional power markets, not as plants dedicated solely to Meta. The Center Square via American Press, "Two hearings stand between Meta and its power buildout" (Sept. 30, 2026) Meta has said the new energy agreement should produce more than $2 billion in additional savings for Entergy customers over 20 years, a claim the hearing is meant to test. Construction Review Online, "Louisiana Regulators Set to Review Entergy's $12.9B Power Buildout for Meta Data Center" (Oct. 5, 2026)
Industrial customers are scrutinizing the deal too: attorneys for the Louisiana Energy Users Group joined consumer and environmental groups in pressing May on whether Entergy had adequately examined the risk of building so much around a single customer. The Center Square, "Entergy Louisiana CEO lets it slip on Meta's electricity demands" (Oct. 7, 2026) Meta is a party to the case but was not listed as a witness. Construction Review Online, "Louisiana Regulators Set to Review Entergy's $12.9B Power Buildout for Meta Data Center" (Oct. 5, 2026) The Center Square via American Press, "Two hearings stand between Meta and its power buildout" (Sept. 30, 2026)
Friction beyond the hearing room
The power plan is drawing pushback outside the hearing room as well. Entergy is using expropriation laws to try to acquire property along its planned transmission routes, and dozens of landowners complained at a town hall in Jena held last week by Entergy and Commissioner Mike Francis. The Advocate, "Entergy makes case for expanding Meta data center in hearing while opponents question costs" (Oct. 8, 2026) A separate proposal to acquire the Cottonwood gas plant in Texas, which a commission consultant said would effectively shift some of Meta's power costs onto residents, is on pause; Meta and Entergy disputed that consultant's report. The Advocate, "Entergy makes case for expanding Meta data center in hearing while opponents question costs" (Oct. 8, 2026)
Politically, the odds favor approval. Four of the five commissioners have previously voted for Entergy's Meta plans, while Democratic Commissioner Davante Lewis has raised concerns about end-of-contract costs. The Advocate, "Entergy makes case for expanding Meta data center in hearing while opponents question costs" (Oct. 8, 2026) May said this week he is confident regulators will approve the plan. The Advocate, "Entergy makes case for expanding Meta data center in hearing while opponents question costs" (Oct. 8, 2026) Gov. Jeff Landry has tied the state's data center tax break to an executive order requiring companies to pay for their own power, and developers have claimed $39 million in sales tax rebates so far under the program, according to Louisiana Department of Revenue data obtained by The Advocate. The Advocate, "Entergy makes case for expanding Meta data center in hearing while opponents question costs" (Oct. 8, 2026)
What happens next
Chief Administrative Law Judge Melanie Verzwyvelt is overseeing the hearing. The Advocate, "Entergy makes case for expanding Meta data center in hearing while opponents question costs" (Oct. 8, 2026) The commission's Administrative Hearings Division is compiling the evidentiary record for the commissioners' independent consideration, and the LPSC has scheduled the request for its Dec. 16, 2026, Business and Executive Session. Construction Review Online, "Louisiana Regulators Set to Review Entergy's $12.9B Power Buildout for Meta Data Center" (Oct. 5, 2026) Until then, the $12.9 billion buildout remains a proposal. Construction Review Online, "Louisiana Regulators Set to Review Entergy's $12.9B Power Buildout for Meta Data Center" (Oct. 5, 2026)
For Louisiana, the stakes go beyond one campus. The record built this week, including the newly public 4,500-megawatt figure, will shape how the state weighs AI-driven growth against the risk that ordinary ratepayers carry the cost of power plants that outlive the contracts that justified them.
Evidence Used
- The Advocate, "Entergy makes case for expanding Meta data center in hearing while opponents question costs" (Oct. 8, 2026)
- The Center Square, "Entergy Louisiana CEO lets it slip on Meta's electricity demands" (Oct. 7, 2026)
- Construction Review Online, "Louisiana Regulators Set to Review Entergy's $12.9B Power Buildout for Meta Data Center" (Oct. 5, 2026)
- The Center Square via American Press, "Two hearings stand between Meta and its power buildout" (Sept. 30, 2026)