Meta will take 4,500 megawatts from Entergy, whose CEO admits it hasn't studied the downside

The charge: 4,500 megawatts, and no bids

Opening arguments began October 7 before chief administrative law judge Melanie Verzwyvelt on a settlement that lets Entergy▼−0.44% — Entergy, down 0.44 percent today skip the competitive-bid process normally required to prove it picked the lowest-cost option↗ ¹.

What rides on it: seven gas plants across Richland and Pointe Coupee parishes, three battery systems, solar farms and more than 250 miles of transmission ¹². Testifying, CEO Phillip May put the first official number on Meta's▲+0.21% — Meta, up 0.21 percent today draw, 4,500 megawatts, roughly four times what the city of New Orleans uses ¹. "We are in a power-first world," he said, where "speed to power" decides who wins ¹. Meta itself is not on the witness list ².

The receipts: a 20-year contract on 32-year plants

The expansion, Hyperion, lifts Meta's Richland Parish campus past $50 billion, planned at 5 gigawatts of compute by around 2032 ¹³. Ten dedicated gas plants would total about 7.5 gigawatts, more than 30 percent of Louisiana's existing grid ³.

Meta pays for 20 years; three of the plants depreciate over 32 ¹. That gap is the whole case, because if Meta walks at year 20, customers carry several billion dollars in undepreciated cost ¹. Entergy↗'s own spending already shows the wager, with quarterly capex up 38 percent year over year ⁴.

The admission, on the record

Susan Miller, an attorney for the Alliance for Affordable Energy and the Union of Concerned Scientists, asked May whether Entergy had studied the argument that data centers are "being overbuilt" and may never be profitable ¹. "I don't know that we have exactly looked into that," he answered ¹. His defense stands on the contract: Meta pays for its power even if it leaves early, and the new plants serve the whole system, not one campus ¹².

The ground war: expropriation and a $10.60 claim

On the ground, Entergy says 70 percent of affected landowners have signed survey agreements↗, and that no Louisiana customer will pay for the West Fork Creek line during the contract's 20 years ⁵. The Alliance's Jackson Voss puts the uncovered share at 40 to 50 percent if Meta leaves ⁵.

The question is electoral next door: Mississippi Senate candidate Scott Colom campaigns on a "$10.60 a month data center bailout," about $127 a year↗, while Entergy Mississippi says data-center revenue prevented a $4.87 monthly increase in July ⁶.

The verdict watch: a 27.5x multiple meets the voters' regulators

Four of five commissioners have already voted for Entergy's Meta plans, with Davante Lewis the skeptic ¹. The judge's report goes to the commission, which votes later this year ¹; Entergy reports third-quarter results on November 2 ⁷.

The street is positioned for approval: Evercore▼−1.29% — Evercore, down 1.29 percent today lifted its target to $128 from $121 on October 8, against a $102.80 close and a $122.28 mean, the stock up 11.2 percent this year ⁷. At 27.5 times earnings, a third above the industry's 20.3, on a $40 billion four-year capital plan, ETR is priced as if Meta's megawatts convert to regulated rate base on schedule ⁸. A $913 million equity raise on September 2↗ left guidance of $4.25 to $4.45 intact ⁹.

No source prices the vote itself. The tell is whether the record forces conditions, a restored bid process or security beyond year 20, rather than a clean yes.