Meta's data center could be 'transformative' for Louisiana, utility says—as long as customers pay the $5 billion power bill

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan.

Evelyn Hockstein/REUTERS

• Meta is building a $10 billion AI data center in northeast Louisiana.
• Entergy Louisiana says it needs to build a major new natural gas plant to power the facility.
• The utility wants permission to pass the plant's construction costs onto its entire customer base.

In Louisiana, a battle is heating up over who will pay for the new power plants needed to serve the $10 billion data...