In April 2026, Entergy Louisiana applied to build seven new gas-fired power plants (in addition to the three it has already received approval to build) to power Meta’s $50 billion Richland Parish Data Center in northeast Louisiana. On behalf of the Alliance for Affordable Energy and the Union of Concerned Scientists, Edward Burgess’s direct testimony states that Entergy’s proposal exposes existing customers to substantial cost risk on a compressed timeline with minimal planning analysis, and that alternative pathways could meet Entergy’s near-term load ramp without committing existing customers to fixed costs associated with seven gas-fired power plants.
The recommendations outlined in this testimony:
- Direct Entergy to implement a staggered schedule for constructing these power plants to avoid the execution risks of a highly compressed timeline and spread the costs incurred to existing customers over a more reasonable time period.
- Propose a staggered approval process by the Public Service Commission to limit unnecessary cost risk to existing customers while still allowing sufficient time for the project development of each unit and giving the Commission flexibility to modify its approach.
- Address a significant gap in the proposed Electric Service Agreement (ESA) that allows Entergy to bypass many of the ESA provisions intended to protect existing customers through the liquidation process.
- Establish criteria for approving cost recovery of a Retained Generator to properly shield existing customers from the risk that Entergy’s load does not fully materialize and to ensure Entergy shareholders bear a meaningful portion of this risk.
- Seek stronger collateral and insurance requirements to match 50% of the remaining net plant at any given time.
- Develop a cost allocation approach designed to ensure that the benefits of all revenue are broadly shared among customers.
- Ensure Entergy fairly shares the risk in the event of non-renewal at the end of the ESA term and cannot pass this risk to customers.
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