Advocates appeal Louisiana regulators' reversal of subpoena to Meta over data center
- Groups ask court to reinstate judge's subpoena to Meta
- Case involves Entergy plan for seven gas plants
- Groups say commission gave no reason for decision
BATON ROUGE, La. - Two advocacy groups on Friday appealed the Louisiana Public Service Commission's (LPSC) decision to reject an administrative law judge's order that required Meta to hand over information about its Hyperion data center project, Earthjustice said.
The Alliance for Affordable Energy (AAE) and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), represented by Earthjustice, asked the Civil District Court for the 19th Judicial District to reverse the LPSC's decision and reinstate the subpoena. The judge granted the subpoena in July.
The subpoena required Meta to show its level of economic investment and permanent job creation for the data center and to back up the amount of electricity it will need, according to Earthjustice. The case is the LPSC's review of utility Entergy's proposal to build seven additional gas plants primarily to power Meta's data center in Richland Parish. The groups oppose the proposal.
In the appeal, the groups argue that at its August Business and Executive Open Session, the LPSC refused to discuss the judge's ruling and moved to reverse it without any substantive review of the arguments. They call the decision arbitrary and capricious.
"The Commissioners vacated their own Chief ALJ’s subpoena without asking Meta a single question, they inappropriately cut off argument and comment from dozens of Louisianans in favor of the subpoena, and they did not provide a single reason for their decision," said Susan Stevens Miller, a senior attorney at Earthjustice.
According to Earthjustice, Meta says the information is not necessary for the LPSC to decide whether the gas plant buildout is in the public interest. Earthjustice disputes that position.
Earthjustice said an LPSC consultant found in June that a proposal to buy a Texas gas plant to supply more power for Hyperion could raise residential utility bills by $8–$13 per month.
The LPSC decision came after Meta challenged the judge's ruling before the commission, Earthjustice said.