Louisiana regulators voted Wednesday to establish a fast lane for utilities to supply power to data centers and other large energy users, as part of Republican Gov. Jeff Landry’s “Lightning Speed” initiative to attract economic development.
The Public Service Commission approved the directive 4-1 over the objections of Commissioner Davante Lewis and consumer groups, who said the process would put existing utility customers at risk of being stuck with higher bills.
The PSC’s vote continues a wave of action by regulators, policymakers, utilities and grid operators to meet the growing electricity needs of artificial intelligence data centers. The new directive allows utilities that want to supply new “large load” customers to bypass a competitive bidding requirement for new generation that PSC established decades ago to ensure consumers benefited from the lowest-cost energy source.
Commissioner Jean-Paul Coussan, a former Republican state legislator from Lafayette, proposed the directive. A Landry political ally, Coussan was elected to the PSC a year ago.
