Louisiana’s $3B power upgrade for Meta project raises questions about who should foot the bill
September 24, 2025
Meta is racing to construct its largest data center yet, a $10 billion facility in northeast Louisiana as big as 70 football fields and requiring more than twice the electricity of New Orleans. Last month, the Louisiana Public Service Commission greenlit more than $3 billion in energy infrastructure to service Meta’s facility. Local residents, consumer advocacy groups and some regulators say the data center plans lacks transparency and key details are being withheld from the public, which could be on the hook for billions of dollars in electrical grid costs. Others say the rushed build-out is necessary for a facility that promises transformative economic impacts, though locals have mixed feelings.