re: Are data centers bad for local communities?

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I’m not sure you are, and it sounds like you don’t actually know either.

You claimed it and I’m trying to figure it out if it’s true or not, because it could be. But you aren’t providing any actually information

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The answer is complicated.

First off, Meta is entering into a contract with Entergy to build (IIRC) three new CCGT generators (gas power plants). These new generators would not need to be built if Meta’s data center did not exist.

As a regulated utility, Entergy’s return on approved capital investments is guaranteed. They will recoup that investment via the electric rates. But not everyone has the same rates. They vary by region, but they also vary by type of customer. Industrial, commercial, and residential customers all pay different rates (“tariffs”). If you think about it, the cost to deliver 1 kWh to a refinery is likely considerably lower than the cost to deliver 1 kWh to a house, due to economies of scale. The various rates are supposed to be calculated based on each group’s share of the cost to generate and deliver power.

Normally these tariffs are set/negotiated in public meetings. Various interest groups will present their cases to the PUC for why their rates should be lower. Everyone will have their own math supporting their case, and ultimately there’s a compromise. You might not make everyone happy, but at least everyone knows how much they’re paying relative to the rest.

Then we get to the data center situation: these data centers are entering into special contracts that effectively create new rate classifications rather than being lumped in with other industrial users. That might be fine considering the situation - the special contract should theoretically still be subject to public scrutiny/pressure on the PUC to ensure fairness. But these contracts aren’t public - they are hidden behind NDA’s. The only people who have seen the details of the Meta/Entergy contract are Meta, Entergy, and the PUC members who approved it. No third parties have been given the opportunity to scrutinize the deal at all, but every third party’s electric rates hinge on the fairness of the contract.

There’s absolutely no reason to expect Entergy and Meta to come to a fair deal behind closed doors. Again.. Entergy’s profits are guaranteed. They just want to get the capital outlay approved. Meta knows this as well. So the incentive is for both parties to work together and come up with the lowest price they can get approved by the PUC. You make that much easier when you prevent anyone else from scrutinizing the details.

These secret utility contracts shouldn’t be legal. The truth is that nobody really knows how much the public will be on the hook for, but I think it’s safe to assume that they wouldn’t hide it behind an NDA if it were good for the rate-paying public.