---
title: "Entergy puts Google's $600 million Arkansas grid build on Google's tab, promising $2.1 billion of savings"
description: "Entergy Arkansas's October 19 announcement puts about $600 million of batteries, solar and transmission on Google's tab, outside the state rider that carried part of phase one. Entergy now counts $2.1 billion in promised savings across both phases, pending a regulator's approval."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Power"
published: 2026-10-20T13:22:59.365Z
modified: 2026-10-20T13:22:59.365Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/entergy-puts-google-s-600-million-arkansas-grid-build-on-google-s-tab-promising-2-1-billion-of-savings
language: en
keywords: "Data Centers, Utilities, Energy, Regulation, Google, Arkansas"
---

# Entergy puts Google's $600 million Arkansas grid build on Google's tab, promising $2.1 billion of savings

> Entergy Arkansas's October 19 announcement puts about $600 million of batteries, solar and transmission on Google's tab, outside the state rider that carried part of phase one. Entergy now counts $2.1 billion in promised savings across both phases, pending a regulator's approval.

Google's second West Memphis power deal moves the cost of its AI campus's electricity off Arkansas ratepayers and onto [Google](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/alphabet) itself. On October 19, 2026, [Entergy Arkansas announced the second phase of its Google partnership](https://www.entergy.com/news/entergy-arkansas-announces-enhanced-partnership-at-google-west-memphis-campus-delivering-at-least-500m-in-new-savings-for-all-customers): about $600 million of batteries, solar and transmission that Google funds in full, written outside the state rider that carried part of phase one. [1][2][3] The utility serves about 738,000 customers in 63 counties, and phase two is built so their bills carry none of that construction cost. [1]

Models need compute, and Google's $4 billion West Memphis campus runs its search and AI workloads. [2][4] A campus that size needs dedicated power plants, and someone has to finance them while they are built. Phase one answered with the Generating Arkansas Jobs Act rider, which collects those financing costs during construction, and that someone was every other [Entergy](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/entergy) customer. [5][6]

## Phase one left the financing on residential bills

[Entergy's own rider page](https://www.entergyarkansas.com/GeneratingARjobs) spells out the shape. About $1.76 of a typical monthly bill is already financing the Arkansas Cypress solar plant that will serve Google, one of three generation projects customers began paying for in June. [5][6] Google is set to pay [$103 million this year under the first contract, newly unredacted commission filings show](https://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/2026/oct/19/google-set-to-pay-entergy-103-million-this-year/). [6][4]

## Phase two puts the full cost on Google up front

[The new contract buys a 1,000-megawatt-hour battery at Driver Solar, a smaller one near Hot Springs, a 440-megawatt solar purchase from the Big Island facility](https://talkbusiness.net/2026/10/entergy-google-announce-second-phase-partnership/), an expanded Galet substation near West Memphis and two new 230 kV transmission lines to serve the expanded campus, all expected online in 2028. [1][2] None of it is charged through the rider. [1] Entergy promises no bill increase, and at least $500 million in customer savings over 20 years starting in 2028, on top of the $1.6 billion claimed for phase one. [1]

The commission shaped even the asset list: in September it [rejected Entergy's 20-year Big Island solar contract](https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/arkansas-public-commission-denies-entergy-224128687.html), finding the cost case unproven and the economics leaning on renewable-credit revenues still under negotiation with Google. [7] Entergy says the resource returns under the commission's guidance, inside a package Google funds. [1]

## The Arkansas commission still has to approve the contract

For Entergy, trading on the NYSE as ETR, the build keeps compounding: [quarterly capital spending has more than doubled since 2023](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000065984), and Google's payments make the Arkansas slice self-funding rather than ratepayer-funded. [8][6] The promise is not booked yet. The contract will be submitted to the Arkansas Public Service Commission, where the staff and the attorney general can read every provision before the savings count. [1]

*Chart: **Entergy's quarterly capital spending has more than doubled since 2023** Line chart of Entergy's quarterly capital expenditure rising from about $1.1 billion in Q3 2023 to $2.8 billion in Q2 2026.*

*Quarterly capital expenditure, US$ billions, from Entergy's SEC filings. The Google-funded Arkansas work would add to a buildout already under way. [8]*

Phase one promised savings and still left customers financing the plant. Phase two moves that cost onto Google before the concrete pours. If the commission signs, [every state courting AI load](https://theinference.org/article/xcel-s-780-megawatt-google-deal-pays-even-if-the-ai-boom-cools-both-bets-wait-on-one-minnesota-ruling) has a template: the customer who needs the power funds it, and the regulator reads every page.

## Takeaway

Phase two of Entergy Arkansas's Google deal puts about $600 million of grid build on Google's balance sheet, outside the rider that charged ratepayers for phase one, lifting promised savings to $2.1 billion, but the Arkansas Public Service Commission still has to approve it.

## Sources

1. [Entergy Arkansas, news release: enhanced partnership at Google West Memphis campus, 19 October 2026](https://www.entergy.com/news/entergy-arkansas-announces-enhanced-partnership-at-google-west-memphis-campus-delivering-at-least-500m-in-new-savings-for-all-customers)
2. [Talk Business & Politics, Entergy, Google announce second phase partnership, 19 October 2026](https://talkbusiness.net/2026/10/entergy-google-announce-second-phase-partnership/)
3. [Arkansas Business, Google Expands West Memphis Data Center Deal With Entergy Arkansas, 19 October 2026](https://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article/google-expands-west-memphis-data-center-deal-with-entergy-arkansas/)
4. [Texarkana Gazette, Google set to pay Entergy $103 million this year, part of $443 million in payments through 2029, 19 October 2026](https://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/2026/oct/19/google-set-to-pay-entergy-103-million-this-year/)
5. [Entergy Arkansas, Generating Arkansas Jobs Act facts, rider FAQ page, accessed 20 October 2026](https://www.entergyarkansas.com/GeneratingARjobs)
6. [Stuttgart Daily Leader, Google to pay Entergy Arkansas $103 million this year, 19 October 2026](https://www.stuttgartdailyleader.com/google-to-pay-entergy-arkansas-103-million-this-year/)
7. [KARK via Yahoo News, Arkansas Public Service Commission denies Entergy's request to purchase power from a planned solar facility, 17 September 2026](https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/arkansas-public-commission-denies-entergy-224128687.html)
8. [Entergy Corporation quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 20 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000065984)


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Entergy puts Google's $600 million Arkansas grid build on Google's tab, promising $2.1 billion of savings — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/entergy-puts-google-s-600-million-arkansas-grid-build-on-google-s-tab-promising-2-1-billion-of-savings