The economic and community benefits of the data center projects we serve are expected to be transformative for their states. The projects we secured between 2024 and 2025 alone are expected to generate approximately $47 billion in total new investment for communities in the region, thousands of high-tech jobs, millions of dollars in new tax revenues, improved local infrastructure, spin-off new business and employment opportunities, and a substantial influx of new philanthropic support for schools, non-profits, low-income families, workforce development and other state and community needs.

Millions of customers, regardless of whether they live near the projects, will benefit from data centers joining our grid, including new projects to strengthen the overall energy grid, reduced bill impacts from those grid infrastructure projects, residential customers paying a smaller share of the cost for new power generation facilities and lower bill fees for storm recovery work.

High-tech partners = Lower cost power

Data center customers are paying to connect their facilities to our grid. There is no mark-up cost to customers on the service we provide, including any charges for purchasing fuel to power our plants. In addition, new large industrial customers help pick up a larger share of the grid maintenance improvement costs that residential and small business customers would otherwise have to bear alone.

The data center projects that we agreed to power between 2024 and 2025 alone are generating an estimated $5 billion in total savings for 2.3 million customers in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi because of data center customer agreements in those states.

• Mississippi: $2 billion+
• Arkansas: $1.7 billion
• Louisiana: $800 million

Infrastructure improvements that benefit all customers

The large amounts of electricity these data center facilities require has raised questions nationally about how that will impact the price and reliability of power for existing electric customers.

We enter into thoughtful data center customer service agreements that require them to pay the direct power costs to serve their facilities and provide added benefits for existing customers. Additionally, the state public service commissions for Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi have exercised oversight to ensure these and future data center projects do not negatively impact electric customers in their states who are sharing the same power grid.

In addition, new large industrial customers help pick up a larger share of the grid maintenance improvement costs that residential and small business customers would otherwise have to bear alone. For example, in Arkansas, Google has agreed to support the construction of a new 600-megawatt solar and 350-megawatt battery facility that will further diversify Entergy Arkansas’s power portfolio, which will provide power to all customers. And Entergy’s Superpower Mississippi plan will deliver $300 million in new grid improvements at no additional cost to Entergy Mississippi customers because of new revenues from Amazon and other large industrial customers’ investments in the state.

New jobs and economic opportunities for our states

The decisions of these global tech giants to establish their new operations in the Gulf South region cast a new and brighter economic development spotlight on our states, helping them become preferred destinations for a new wave of high-tech industries.

The presence of such large operations in the states we serve will also bring new resources to support and uplift our communities, now and for generations to come. For example, Meta’s Richland Parish Data Center project is creating $200 million in investments to improve infrastructure including roads and water systems to support both its facility and the surrounding community.

Projects of this scale also produce billions in economic impact dollars that go back into their local communities, including millions in new state and local tax revenue that will bolster investments in infrastructure and public services like roads, hospitals and schools. These investments also generate high-paying job opportunities, training for individuals so that they can qualify for those new positions, and workforce development.

For example, Amazon’s planned $10 billion data center investment is estimated to generate $30 billion toward the state of Mississippi’s gross domestic product.

Increased community investment and charitable giving

These companies are also committed to investing in the people and communities in which they are located – better workforce development and training resources, investments in STEM education, and charitable contributions that directly serve residents.

For example, as part of our service agreement, Meta has pledged to annually match $1 million in shareholder contributions to The Power to Care, our bill payment assistance program for vulnerable customers, and to provide funds to improve educational resources in the state of Louisiana through its Data Center Community Action Grant program.