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Right now, it is building three new gas generators with plans before the LPSC to add seven more gas-powered plants, and massive transmission upgrades \u2014 all to power Meta\u2019s $27 billion \u201cHyperion\u201d data center in Richland Parish. Corporate profits \u2013 and utility bills \u2013 tend to be high in states like Louisiana where investor-owned utilities are vertically integrated, meaning they produce the power they sell directly to customers. Entergy Louisiana, for example, funneled a whopping 19.5 percent of bill payments to its shareholders in 2024. Customers also pay additional riders for storm recovery costs and grid hardening. This is the wrong time to hinder renewable power as electricity loads are forecast to exponentially increase over the next decade.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
And it comes as bipartisan leaders from President Donald Trump to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and state and federal lawmakers push for more protections for utility ratepayers. Today\u2019s FERC orders come as tech companies and utilities working with the major power markets spend billions of dollars to add more power generation and transmission to meet unprecedented demands from AI and electrification across the U.S. economy. \u201cFERC\u2019s actions today are a win for ratepayers, grid reliability, and American competitiveness,\u201d said a statement from Nvidia, the largest AI chip maker in the world. Federal regulators on Thursday initiated a sweeping investigation into the way power grids and utility companies are dividing up the huge costs of delivering electricity to America\u2019s data centers. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission orders power grid operators to show they can keep utilities and AI companies from shifting massive infrastructure costs to regular ratepayers.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe people of Alabama are frustrated,\u201d state Sen. Clyde Chambliss, a Republican, said in session Thursday. But which changes will be made and how effective those changes will be are very much in question, as the session winds down with multiple utility bills still in the works. Despite its imperfections, New Orleans\u2019 local regulatory authority has been good for the city and its residents and deserves to stay in place. Entergy Corp. last year sold its gas operations to the private equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners, whose Delta Utilities has been excoriated by customers and regulators for spiking gas bills and poor transparency. Wright\u2019s proposed amendment is part of a slew of measures this legislative session to erode local control of government, particularly from New Orleans. While Entergy New Orleans is the only investor-owned utility regulated by a municipality, many cities around the country \u2013 including Lafayette and Alexandria\u2013 own and manage their utilities.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Glendenning noted that he regrets backing deregulation because it did not lower power bills, but rather, let retail electric suppliers target vulnerable populations “with the most common bait-and-switch scam; offering customers a teaser rate that is below what the regulated utility offers. Then, over time, retail suppliers raise the energy rate dramatically higher than the price customers would pay for power if they stayed with the existing utility.” Yet, despite the power these regulators hold, few people know who they are, what their jobs entail, or how to provide input on their decisions. The decisions they make impact household electricity bills, utilities\u2019 investment decisions, the quality of utility service, and where energy projects are located. For example, utility-controlled batteries could be used to relieve peak loads on substations, a scenario that Minnesota regulators recently approved for utility Xcel Energy. This \u200b\u201cload shift\u201d approach could cut costs passed on to California customers by up to $13.7 billion through 2030, according to a 2025 analysis prepared for think tank GridLab by grid analytics startup Kevala. A 2023 study commissioned by the California Public Utilities Commission found the state\u2019s three major utilities could need to invest up to $50 billion by 2035 to meet growing power demand.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe modeling shows that under a business as usual approach, which is the lowest cost scenario to meet projected 2040 load, the Colorado grid achieves more than a 94% reduction in greenhouse pollution,\u201d Hay said. Add that to the rising costs of natural gas \u2013 which Entergy passes directly onto ratepayers \u2013 customers should expect higher electricity bills. PUC Commissioner Richard Bilas, a Republican who frequently votes against Lynch, said the commission should have deregulated retail electricity rates months ago, which he acknowledged would have driven electricity bills extremely high for a time.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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In doing so, FERC would have to push the limits of its jurisdiction under the law and by tradition \u2014 setting off a potential fight with state regulators. There are plans for more than 70 gas-fired power plants across the U.S. to privately serve data centers. We\u2019ve built bureaus from coast to coast to report local stories, collaborate with local newsrooms and co-publish articles so that this vital work is shared as widely as possible.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Policymakers and utilities often blame rising electricity bills on factors like volatile energy prices, grid modernization for increasing electrification, including \u201clarge load\u201d customers, and extreme weather events. Nearly 30% of Louisiana households are unable to pay their full energy bill at least once every year. Louisiana is among the most energy cost-burdened states based on the percentage of household earnings spent on utility bills. Providing an effective voice for American consumers in an era when special interests dominate public discourse, government and politics.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u200b\u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean we won\u2019t keep building new transmission for clean energy. Armed with that knowledge, regulators could set metrics and create incentives for utilities to use technologies like advanced grid controls and distributed solar with batteries to smooth out those peaks \u2014 and thus, reduce one of the biggest drivers of soaring electricity costs. The legislation would order them to try virtual power plants and smarter grid tech instead. Over the past decade, our state has become one of the top destinations in the world for big tech companies to build https:\/\/homebeachlove.com\/how-to-build-utilities-on-a-site-near-the-sea.html<\/a> out data centers.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n