Regulators in the state of Louisiana have acted to allow faster approval and construction of data centers.
They’ve adopted a new rule which suspends some consumer protections to help utility companies if they need to build power plants for certain industrial developments which included data centers.
While Oklahoma Corporation Commissioners have struggled with rate hike requests and permission from utilities to expand their electricity generation facilities, the Louisiana Public Service Commission voted 4-1 last week adopting the new rule. It allows or directs large-scale customers to pay for half of the cost of the new power plants. Regular ratepayers, i.e. mostly residential customers, would still be on the hook for the remaining cost, according to a report by the Louisiana Illuminator.
But the new rule also streamlines the approval process for proposed data centers and other large industrial projects that require heavy loads of electricity.
As the Illuminator reported, the lone dissenting vote came from Commissioner Davante Lewis, D-Baton Rouge, who expressed concerns that the proposal could hurt consumers. Lewis has argued that the commission should focus on making energy less expensive for household customers rather than the wealthiest companies in the world, like Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram that is building the world’s largest artificial intelligence data center in Northeast Louisiana.
Such an argument was the focus of attention in a recent Oklahoma Corporation Commission 2-1 decision in support of large electric generation projects for Oklahoma Gas and Electric. Commissioner Todd Hiett, the subject of an attempt by OG&E to have him recused from the final vote, argued the request would harm consumers.
“I won’t apologize for doing what my oath of office and the others oath of office and the state constitution requires of us, and that is to provide oversight of regulated monopoly rights,” said Hiett who two weeks later had not changed his mind.
“No surprise but I will dissent on this order,” added Commissioner Hiett who opposed Bingman’s proposal two weeks ago. He said there should be “further protection” for consumers regarding the utility’s expansion of natural gas power for its Horseshoe Lake power plant in eastern Oklahoma County.
The rule change in Louisiana will also mean the suspension of competitive bidding required to make sure ratepayers get the best deal on new power plants. Competitive bidding was another subject that prompted opposition and arguments by the Oklahoma Industrial Energy Consumers and the AARP in their opposition to OGE’s controversial request.
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