Louisiana regulators will begin a three-day evidentiary hearing Wednesday, Oct. 7, on Entergy Louisiana’s proposed $12.9 billion power expansion for Meta’s growing Hyperion data center campus in Richland Parish.
The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. Oct. 7 and is scheduled to continue for three days through Oct. 9. The proceeding will examine Entergy’s request to build new generation, battery storage and transmission infrastructure to serve the additional electricity demand associated with the data center.
The Louisiana Public Service Commission opened the case under Docket U-37882 after Entergy filed its application in March seeking certification of generation and transmission resources for Evest LLC, the customer entity associated with the planned hyperscale campus.
Entergy’s proposal calls for seven combined-cycle natural gas generating units with a combined capacity of about 5,278 MW, three battery-storage projects and more than 250 miles of new high-voltage transmission lines.
Four of the gas units would be built near the Richland Parish campus, while three would be located near Entergy’s existing Big Cajun generating complex in Pointe Coupee Parish.
The proposed power infrastructure represents a second major buildout connected to the Hyperion development. The LPSC approved an earlier Entergy package in 2025 to support Meta’s original data center project.
Entergy proposes 5.3 GW of new generation
The seven proposed combined-cycle units would each have a nameplate capacity of approximately 754 MW, according to Entergy’s application.
Four units would form the generation component closest to Meta’s Richland Parish campus. Entergy plans the other three near the Big Cajun generating site, allowing the resources to operate as part of the utility’s broader power system.
The proposal also includes three battery-storage facilities and major transmission construction.
Among the transmission projects is a proposed 500-kV West Fork Creek-to-St. Landry line, along with additional 500-kV and 230-kV infrastructure and a new substation.
The combined generation, storage and transmission work would create a large new power network around the expanding data center load.
Entergy filed the application on March 25 under Louisiana’s “Lightning Directive,” which established an expedited framework for certain large generation additions. The commission later directed its Administrative Hearings Division to serve as the hearing examiner and compile a complete evidentiary record without issuing a formal recommendation.
Hyperion has expanded far beyond its original plan
Meta first announced its Richland Parish data center in 2024 and broke ground on the campus that December.
The project has since expanded substantially.
Meta said in July 2026 that Hyperion would reach 5 GW of compute capacity, making it the largest data center in the company’s fleet. Meta also said its investment in the Richland Parish region would exceed $50 billion.
The 5-GW figure refers to the campus’s compute capacity and should not be treated as a direct measure of its electrical load.
The expansion also changed the financial structure around the project.
Meta and funds managed by Blue Owl Capital formed a joint venture in 2025 to develop Hyperion. Blue Owl holds an 80% interest in the venture, while Meta retains a 20% stake.
The partners announced approximately $27 billion in total development costs for the campus, including buildings and supporting power, cooling and connectivity infrastructure.
Entergy’s latest application addresses the additional power infrastructure needed as the campus expands beyond the scope of the generation and transmission projects already approved for the original development.
The hearing will test who pays for the new infrastructure
One of the central issues before the LPSC is how the proposed generation will operate and how its costs will be recovered.
Entergy says the new resources would not function solely as dedicated facilities for Meta.
Instead, the utility proposes to treat the generators as system resources that can serve the broader Entergy system and participate in regional power markets.
Entergy also argues that payments under its long-term agreement with Meta will cover the costs associated with serving the additional load and protect existing customers from taking on the incremental financial burden.
Meta has said the new energy agreement is expected to generate more than $2 billion in additional savings for Entergy customers over 20 years, in addition to savings associated with the earlier power agreement.
Those claims will face scrutiny during the evidentiary proceeding.
The LPSC docket includes participation from the Alliance for Affordable Energy, Sierra Club, Union of Concerned Scientists, Louisiana Energy Users Group, Walmart and other parties. Meta is also listed as a party in the proceeding.
The parties will have an opportunity to question witnesses, challenge testimony and present evidence concerning the projected electricity demand, proposed infrastructure, financing arrangements and customer protections.
Regulatory dispute has already produced a subpoena fight
The power case has also generated a separate dispute over information sought from Meta.
An administrative law judge previously issued a subpoena concerning documents related to the data center. The LPSC later reversed that ruling and vacated the subpoena in an order dated Sept. 17.
The decision adds another layer to the proceeding as regulators prepare to evaluate Entergy’s assumptions about the project and its long-term electricity requirements.
The commission itself will not receive a formal recommendation from the administrative law judge. Instead, the Administrative Hearings Division will compile the evidentiary record for the commission’s independent consideration.
Commission decision expected in December
The three-day evidentiary hearing will begin Oct. 7 and provide the main forum for testing Entergy’s proposal before the commission considers the case.
The LPSC has scheduled consideration of the requested relief for its Dec. 16, 2026, Business and Executive Session.
Until then, Entergy’s $12.9 billion expansion remains a proposal rather than an approved construction program.
If approved, Project Evest would add more than 5 GW of new gas-fired generation, battery storage and hundreds of miles of high-voltage transmission infrastructure to support the rapidly expanding Hyperion campus and the wider Entergy system.
The Entergy proposal is part of a broader push to add power capacity as U.S. data center development accelerates. In another response to rising electricity demand, the federal government is expected to provide about $4.2 billion in financing for Vistra’s planned nuclear power uprates at plants serving the PJM market. The project would increase output from existing reactors rather than wait for new nuclear construction.
Project Evest: Project Factsheet
- Related development: Meta Hyperion data center campus
- Location: Richland Parish and Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana
- Developer/customer: Evest LLC / Meta
- Utility: Entergy Louisiana LLC
- Estimated investment: $12.9 billion
- Proposed generation: 5,278 MW
- Generation facilities: Seven combined-cycle natural gas units
- Unit size: Approximately 754 MW each
- Gas units: Four near the Richland Parish campus and three near Big Cajun
- Battery storage: Three proposed projects
- Transmission: More than 250 miles of proposed high-voltage lines
- Major transmission project: 500-kV West Fork Creek-to-St. Landry line
- LPSC docket: U-37882
- Hearing: Oct. 7–9, 2026
- Hearing start: 10 a.m. Oct. 7
- Regulator: Louisiana Public Service Commission
- Commission consideration: Dec. 16, 2026
- Hyperion compute capacity: 5 GW
- Meta regional investment: More than $50 billion
- Hyperion joint venture: 80% Blue Owl-managed funds; 20% Meta
- Original Hyperion groundbreaking: December 2024
- Latest milestone: Three-day LPSC evidentiary hearing on Entergy’s proposed power expansion
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