What's Going On?

Meta is building a $27 billion data center in Richland Parish — the largest in North America. To power it, Entergy Louisiana is constructing three new gas-fired power plants totaling 2,200 MW, including one at the Waterford site in St. Charles Parish. The transmission lines, generation capacity, and grid upgrades to support this project are being financed by every Entergy Louisiana customer through their monthly electric bill.

Louisiana's electrical grid has been underinvested for nearly two decades. These projects bring billions in construction spending, hundreds of jobs during the build phase, and modern infrastructure that will serve the entire Entergy service area — not just data centers. St. Charles Parish gains property tax revenue from the Waterford plant and a more resilient local grid.

At the same time, the state passed Act 730 in 2024 giving data center companies 20 years of tax rebates with no wage standards and no clawback provisions. The "Lightning Amendment" in February 2026 shifted additional infrastructure costs to ratepayers. Meta's contract runs 15 years while the plants last 40 — creating stranded asset risk. And Louisiana has fewer ratepayer protections than Texas, which requires data centers to disconnect first during grid emergencies.

This site lays out the facts so you can evaluate what these decisions mean for your community.