On a 3-1 vote, the Louisiana Public Service Commission votes not to follow a judge’s recommendation that Meta should be required to provide exact job numbers and how much energy it plans to use for its massive data center in Richland Parish. Several members of the public urged the PSC to require Meta to release this information, including Sixth District Congressional candidate and Democrat Rubia Garcia.
“If it’s such a tremendous deal for the people of Louisiana, then why has so much of the deal been kept from the people of Louisiana?” Garcia asked.
But Republican PSC Member JP Coussan of Lafayette says there have been multiple media reports on the jobs that Meta is expected to create, not only during the construction phase, but also when the data center is operational.
“Any outlet that you want is reporting on the jobs and opportunities right now, from restaurants to manufacturing,” Coussan said.
As far as energy usage goes, both Meta and Entergy say that the tech giant will pay for its own power and it will not lead to higher electric bills for residents and businesses in Louisiana. But there are many in the public who are not convinced, including James Hyatt of Lake Charles.
“This is an opportunity to pull back the curtain and actually be transparent and let us know how this will benefit us, and it’s not some voodoo economics that will just cause greater harm,” Hyatt said.
It was a party line vote, with the three Republicans on the Commission voting to override the judge’s recommendation and the lone Democrat, Davante Lewis, voted to have Meta release this information.
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