LA — Power Infrastructure Updated 2026-07-17

Louisiana

MISO Nuclear Data Center PPAs Queue Bottlenecks Transmission Constraints

1) Grid operator and market structure

  • Grid operator / balancing authority: Most of Louisiana is in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) South footprint; MISO’s restoration plan lists Louisiana utilities such as Entergy Louisiana and Cleco in the MISO South region. MISO, 2023

  • SPP presence in Northwest Louisiana: SWEPCO serves northwest and central Louisiana, and SPP is the balancing authority and reliability coordinator for its Louisiana service territory, making the Amazon / STACK Caddo-Bossier development relevant to SPP as well as Louisiana retail regulation. SWEPCO, accessed 2026-07-17 SWEPCO, 2025-04-27 Louisiana Economic Development, 2026-02-23

  • Retail market structure: Louisiana does not have retail electric choice; EIA’s Louisiana electricity profile reports retail sales through full-service providers rather than energy-only providers. U.S. Energy Information Administration, accessed 2026-06-10

2) Interconnection queue (status, depth, wait times, reforms)

  • Generation queue depth (MISO): MISO’s December 2023 queue update showed 228 GW of projects under study and another 50 GW approved but in or awaiting construction; it also reported that more than 70% of submitted projects historically do not get built. The backlog and attrition remain material constraints on generation additions needed to serve new load. MISO, 2023-12-05

  • Queue timing / delays: MISO’s September 2024 System Planning Committee update showed interconnection study timelines on the order of roughly three to four years, before considering later project-specific construction timelines. MISO, 2024-09-25

  • Reforms: MISO has continued FERC-jurisdictional generator-interconnection reforms, including queue process changes under ER24-340; these reforms affect new generation that may be needed for large loads, but they do not themselves create a public data-center load queue. MISO, accessed 2026-06-10

  • MISO large-load process development: MISO is developing a “Firm Service Step Up” process intended to let large loads obtain partial firm service before all required network upgrades are finished. Its June 10 stakeholder round sought input on prioritization, quarterly studies, phased load profiles, resource-adequacy treatment, and enforcement; the proposal remained active and under development as of July 17 rather than an effective tariff. MISO, 2026-06-10 MISO, accessed 2026-07-17

  • Federal show-cause proceedings for MISO and SPP: On June 18, FERC directed all six jurisdictional grid operators, including MISO and SPP, to justify or reform their tariff provisions for large-load applications, studies, network-upgrade cost transparency, interim and non-firm service, co-location, operational obligations, and ratepayer safeguards. MISO and SPP responses were not yet due by the July 17 cutoff, so this is an open federal proceeding rather than a completed queue reform. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 2026-06-18 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 2026-06-18

  • Data center load interconnection: MISO’s public queue is generation-focused. Louisiana data center load has instead surfaced through utility-service arrangements, state commission filings, and large-load guidelines. LPSC’s non-binding large-load guidelines require utilities to identify transmission upgrades, show network and interconnection costs caused by the new load are assigned to that load, and show queue priority and interconnection treatment are consistent with tariff requirements. Louisiana Public Service Commission, accessed 2026-06-10

  • New load outside the generation queue: Amazon’s Caddo-Bossier campuses are in SWEPCO territory, with Amazon committed to pay 100% of required new energy infrastructure and upgrades. Applied Digital’s Rapides Parish project is no longer tentative: LED announced Delta Forge 1 on May 26 with two initial facilities totaling 300 MW of critical IT load and Cleco as power provider. Louisiana Economic Development, 2026-02-23 Louisiana Economic Development, 2026-05-26

3) Ratepayer protection (tariffs, cost allocation, PSC actions)

  • Existing LPSC approval framework for Meta / Richland Parish: LPSC Docket U-37425 and related Entergy materials remain the main public record for the first Meta power package, including tariff modifications, Rider GZ (Geaux ZERO), customer-protection conditions, reporting requirements, and project-specific cost-allocation mechanisms. Louisiana Public Service Commission, 2025-08-29 Entergy Louisiana, 2025-08-20

  • 2026 large-load guidelines: LPSC issued non-binding guidelines for potential large-load customers in 2026. The guidelines say utilities need to demonstrate that network and interconnection costs caused by the load are fully assigned to the load and that no material transmission costs are shifted to existing customers without commensurate benefits. Louisiana Public Service Commission, accessed 2026-06-10

  • May 7, 2026 LPSC technical conference: The Commission held an undocketed technical conference on large-load additions, including data centers, and discussed whether transmission costs for high-load-factor customers should be allocated to those customers, to load generally, to utilities, or regionally. Louisiana Public Service Commission, 2026-05-07

  • Large-load tariffs remained under development: New Orleans CityBusiness / The Center Square reported on May 7, 2026 that LPSC regulators were weighing new large-load tariff rules for data centers and major power users, with Commissioner Davante Lewis describing a committed goal to create large-load tariffs but noting that the effort remained in early stages. New Orleans CityBusiness, 2026-05-07

  • Repository Docket X-37921: After the technical conference, LPSC opened X-37921 as a public repository for comments on the non-binding guidelines, with comments due June 19. The docket remained open as of July 17, and the Commission had not converted the guidelines into a binding statewide tariff or special rate class. Louisiana Public Service Commission, 2026-05-22 Louisiana Public Service Commission, accessed 2026-07-17

  • Incentive-linked ratepayer standard: Executive Order 26-058 now directs LED to condition data-center incentives on companies fully funding incremental generation, transmission, and infrastructure; using upfront contributions and long-term service agreements; and preventing cost shifts to existing customers. This is an LED incentive condition under development, not an LPSC tariff and not a substitute for Commission approval of regulated utility investments. Office of the Governor of Louisiana, 2026-06-25

  • Legislative ratepayer-protection bill did not pass: HB 922 would have prohibited household customer rate increases and cost recovery attributable to new data center electric demand, and would have required data-center-related costs to be allocated solely to the data center customers causing the demand. The bill remained pending in House Commerce after April 21, 2026 consideration and did not pass before the regular session ended. Louisiana Legislature, 2026-04-21 Louisiana Legislature, 2026-04-21

  • Independent cost-shift critique: UCS’s April 2026 Louisiana issue brief argued that, under current policy, ratepayers could be exposed to significant data-center-related costs because wholesale system costs do not determine retail cost allocation and Louisiana lacks a comprehensive large-load policy. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2026-04-14

  • Pending Cottonwood acquisition and disputed cost causation: In Docket U-37801, Entergy Louisiana seeks approval to acquire the 1,263 MW Cottonwood gas plant in Texas. A June consultant analysis attributed the near-term capacity need predominantly to Meta-related growth and estimated approval could add about $8-$13 per month to an average customer’s bill; Entergy disputed that causal account and said its resource plan and need for capacity predated Meta. The acquisition remained pending as of July 17, so the bill estimate is contested testimony rather than a Commission finding. Louisiana Illuminator, 2026-06-23 Entergy Louisiana, 2026-06-19 Louisiana Public Service Commission, accessed 2026-07-17

4) Generation adequacy (projects, storage, shortfalls)

  • Approved first Meta generation package: Entergy Louisiana received LPSC approval in August 2025 for major infrastructure investments to support Meta’s Richland Parish data center, including new generation, substations, and transmission facilities. Entergy, 2025-08-20

  • 2026 Meta / Entergy expansion proposal: Entergy’s March 27 agreement with Meta calls for seven additional gas-fueled plants totaling more than 5,200 MW, three grid-scale batteries, potential nuclear uprates and purchased power, up to 2,500 MW of renewable generation, and about 240 miles of high-voltage transmission. Entergy projects the 20-year service agreement will produce about $2 billion of customer savings beyond the $650 million projected for the first package, but the new resource plan remains subject to LPSC approval. Entergy Louisiana, 2026-03-27

  • U-37882 pending under Lightning Initiative: Entergy Louisiana filed in March 2026 for certification of generation and transmission resources for a new hyperscale data-center load under a 20-year electric service agreement. The Commission’s May 14 order assigned the matter to the Administrative Hearings Division and established a schedule for Commission consideration at its December 16, 2026 Business and Executive Session, superseding Entergy’s earlier request for November consideration. Louisiana Public Service Commission, 2026-04-02 Louisiana Public Service Commission, 2026-05-14

  • Renewable procurement tied to large loads: The earlier U-37425 settlement includes Rider GZ / Geaux ZERO procurement tied to customer service. For the expansion, Meta has committed to fund up to 2.5 GW of renewable generation; this commitment accompanies, rather than replaces, the seven proposed gas plants and three batteries. Louisiana Public Service Commission, 2025-08-29 Louisiana Economic Development, 2026-07-13

  • Meta project scale now confirmed: Meta’s July 13 expansion announcement specifies 5 GW of IT capacity at the Richland Parish campus. That confirmed load scale sharpens the resource-adequacy stakes in U-37882 and related generation proceedings, but it does not itself constitute an LPSC finding that every proposed resource is prudent or needed. Louisiana Economic Development, 2026-07-13

5) Utility load forecasts (IRP and data center demand)

  • IRP process remains the formal planning venue: Entergy Louisiana’s 2027 IRP is in its fourth cycle. Updated assumptions were filed April 24, the draft is due October 22, 2026, and the final report is due May 21, 2027. The public schedule and filings replace the earlier preliminary schedule cited in this file. Entergy Louisiana, accessed 2026-07-17

  • April 2026 IRP load forecast: Entergy’s supplemental assumptions project summer coincident peak rising from 10,432 MW in 2026 to 17,725 MW in 2031 and 19,207 MW in 2040 in the reference case; the 2040 high case reaches 21,207 MW. The filing includes currently announced resources and four load futures but does not disaggregate data-center demand in its public peak tables. Entergy Louisiana, 2026-04-24

  • SWEPCO capacity solicitation: On May 26, SWEPCO issued three RFPs seeking up to 3,000 MW of SPP-accredited capacity through resource purchases, PPAs, or capacity agreements across natural gas, wind, solar, and storage. SWEPCO said the solicitation reflects customer growth, economic development, retirements, and SPP reserve-margin needs and is not tied to a single project; bids were due July 29 and selections remain subject to regulatory approval. SWEPCO, 2026-05-26

  • Data-center share of load growth: UCS modeled Louisiana data center load growth and estimated data centers could account for 76% to 87% of total 2025-2030 load growth and 50% to 71% of total 2025-2041 load growth, depending on scenario. UCS noted that its 2025 modeling inputs did not include 2026 data center announcements. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2026-04-14

  • Specific large loads increasingly handled through separate dockets and contracts: U-37425, U-37882, Amazon/SWEPCO, Delta Forge 1/Cleco, and River Bend/Entergy show that project-specific utility service arrangements are moving faster than four-year IRP cycles and may require separate tariff, certification, or technical-conference treatment. Entergy Louisiana, 2025-08-20 Louisiana Public Service Commission, 2026-04-02 Louisiana Economic Development, 2026-02-23 Louisiana Economic Development, 2026-05-26 Hut 8, accessed 2026-07-17

  • Legislative planning studies: HR 197 directs LPSC to study distributed generation, storage, and virtual power plants as tools for rapid load growth and report before the 2027 session. SR 174 reestablishes the Energy Infrastructure and Modernization task force to consider merchant generation serving co-located large loads, industrial microgrids, direct service, permitting, reliability, and residential cost protection. Louisiana Legislature, 2026-05-13 Louisiana Legislature, 2026-05-29

6) Behind-the-meter / co-location / PPAs

7) Transmission constraints & upgrades affecting siting

  • Transmission upgrades for Meta / Richland Parish: U-37425 and related Entergy materials identify major grid upgrades for the original Meta service package, including substations and transmission facilities, with LPSC approval announced in August 2025. Entergy Louisiana, 2025-08-20 Louisiana Public Service Commission, 2025-08-29

  • 2026 expansion could require regional transmission buildout: Entergy’s Meta expansion plan includes approximately 240 miles of high-voltage transmission connecting south Louisiana, north Louisiana, and Arkansas, making project siting dependent on state certification, regional planning, and cost allocation. Entergy Louisiana, 2026-03-27

  • SPP / MISO boundary relevance: The May 7 LPSC technical conference discussed cost allocation for transmission buildout needed for high-load-factor customers such as data centers, including how SPP regional allocation could interact with Louisiana’s state policy choices. Louisiana Public Service Commission, 2026-05-07

  • RTO rules now under simultaneous review: Louisiana utilities must navigate LPSC retail approvals while MISO develops large-load step-up service and both MISO and SPP answer FERC’s June 18 show-cause orders. The overlap leaves load-study sequence, interim service, network-upgrade responsibility, and co-location rules unsettled as of July 17. MISO, 2026-06-10 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 2026-06-18

Notes / gaps