Loading map…
Regbase

The Data Center Divide

Washington Parish

For Washington Parish, see Louisiana’s statewide laws and regulations below. No additional county-specific measures are listed in our research.

Mixed Data Center Policies

Louisiana offers qualifying data centers significant tax breaks and job grants, generally tied to major investment, hiring, and other conditions; some incentives may require plans addressing ratepayers and resources. Other rules study utility cybersecurity or guide large-load planning but do not directly restrict construction or operation.

Incentives

Tax benefits
2

Replaces the annual data-center sales-and-use-tax rebate with an upfront exemption. The resulting statute exempts eligible equipment and qualifying development, construction, lease, repair, refurbishment, expansion and renovation expenditures from state and local sales and use taxes. Classified as a new exemption replacing a rebate, not as a mere reference to an existing incentive.

Louisiana Act 11 (2024 Third Extraordinary Session) — amendment to La. R.S. 47:305.73

Act 730 introduces an annual rebate of Louisiana state and local sales and use taxes on eligible data-center equipment and qualifying development expenditures, with an initial twenty-year term and possible ten-year renewal.

Louisiana HB 827 (2024) / Act 730 / La. R.S. 47:305.73
Grants and cash rebates

Creates the High Impact Jobs Program with reimbursable wage-based grants for qualifying new jobs and grants to retain highly skilled workers with advanced degrees. Implementing rules expressly make data centers eligible. Classified as employer cash reimbursements, not training grants or tax benefits.

Louisiana H507 (2025)

current law · Statewide
Asks utilities proposing service to data centers and other new customers over 100 MW to explain how they will address reliability, costs, ratepayer protections, and other concerns under nonbinding guidelines.Louisiana Public Service Commission Large Load Additions Guidelines (2026)

What this means

The guidelines could add some paperwork and planning costs: utilities serving proposed loads over 100 MW are expected to explain how they address the Commission’s concerns. But the guidelines are explicitly non-binding, and they do not directly prohibit building or operating data centers, so the added burden appears minor.

People behind it

  • Developed and issued the non-binding guidelines, directed Staff to distribute and post them, and is responsible for applying them in proceedings involving large load additions.

  • Worked with the Commission to develop the guidelines and was directed to provide them to jurisdictional electric utilities and post them on the Commission’s website.

  • Initiated the Louisiana Lightning Speed Initiative, which provided the economic-development framework for the proposed expedited regulatory pathway.

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements14

  • A utility filing involving a customer or related group exceeding 100 MW must address the Commission’s large-load concerns or explain why the proposal remains in the public interest without doing so.

  • The proposed load must be documented by maximum demand, annual energy use, load factor, operating profile, coincident peak contribution, and expected ramp schedule, with evaluation under peak, off-peak, seasonal-extreme, and abnormal-stress conditions.

  • The utility must provide sufficient firm, deliverable capacity and demonstrate that capacity accreditation, deliverability, timing, and geographic location are adequate to serve the load without impairing reliability.

  • The utility must identify transmission upgrades caused or accelerated by the load and demonstrate that the load bears the associated network and interconnection costs without shifting material costs to existing customers.

  • Transmission and interconnection upgrade schedules must be consistent with the load’s ramp, and queue priority and interconnection treatment must comply with tariffs without disadvantaging existing customers.

  • The utility must provide protections against stranded generation, transmission, and fuel infrastructure, including contract terms aligned with asset lives, economic reuse of excess generation, or financial security sufficient to protect ratepayers from unneeded facilities.

  • Rates and other financial terms must recover the full incremental revenue requirement for generation, transmission, and ancillary assets needed to serve the load, prevent cross-subsidization, and protect customers from costs caused by early termination.

  • The utility must retain enforceable operational control, including a right to curtail the load when necessary for reliability, and must define emergency service priority and any pre-approved curtailment compensation.

  • The load’s impacts on frequency regulation, voltage support, and power quality must be identified and mitigated at the load’s expense.

  • Fuel arrangements for generation serving the load must be adequate under peak and contingency conditions, and the load must address incremental fuel-deliverability costs such as pipeline upgrades, firm transportation, or storage.

  • The load ramp schedule must be coordinated with resource and transmission availability, include enforceable milestones, and prevent interim reliability degradation.

  • The utility must evaluate the load’s effects on resource adequacy, capacity markets, long-term planning, energy markets, and fuel-adjustment-clause pricing.

  • Environmental and local system impacts must be identified, and any required mitigation plan and related compliance costs must be assigned appropriately.

  • The utility must propose continuing reporting on contract compliance, milestones, actual load versus forecast, resource and transmission status, and cost-recovery performance.

Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions13

  • Creates a Lightning pathway that waives the Commission’s Market Based Mechanisms Order requirements for qualifying generation capacity additions supporting a new or expanding load, subject to specified conditions. The requirements may be waived for a proposed capacity addition

  • Allows a data center or other new or expanding customer to qualify for the expedited pathway through a signed electric service agreement with an initial requested in-service date within five years of the certification application. A signed electric service agreement

  • Requires the utility to demonstrate that, without the proposed capacity addition, it would lack sufficient energy or capacity to serve the customer by the requested in-service dates, supporting approval of dedicated generation for the project. The utility is projected to be short

  • Provides an economic-development eligibility document: the customer may qualify when the Louisiana Economic Development Secretary confirms the customer’s interest and the importance of power availability within the five-year initial in-service period. A letter from the Secretary of Louisiana Economic Development

  • Permits an electric service agreement lasting at least 10 years, with an option to renew, rather than requiring a longer commitment equal to the full depreciation life of the capacity addition. The ESA has a term of at least

  • Allows the Commission to consider alternative proposals for waiving the Market Based Mechanisms requirements when other ratepayer protections are provided, including utility cost caps. Alternative proposals are submitted

  • Requires the customer agreement to provide fixed revenue covering at least one-half of the fixed revenue requirement for the capacity needed to serve the new or expanded load during the agreement term, reducing the amount of generation cost that must initially be recovered from other customers. Cover the full at least one-half of the fixed revenue requirement

  • Directs the Commission to process qualifying certification applications on an accelerated schedule, with an objective of voting within seven months after filing, and authorizes staff to retain counsel and consultants as needed to meet that schedule. Reviewed and processed on a timely basis

  • Shortens the Administrative Law Judge’s period for issuing a final recommendation from 90 days to 30 days after the case is fully submitted, reducing the time required for certification decisions. Reduced from 90 days to 30 days

  • Provides for firm, deliverable generation capacity to be existing or constructed to serve a large load without impairing system reliability, supporting dependable electric service for the facility. Provide sufficient firm, deliverable capacity

  • Requires utilities to identify transmission upgrades needed or accelerated because of the new load and to coordinate upgrade timing with the load ramp, providing a defined infrastructure-planning framework for connecting the facility. Identify all required transmission upgrades

  • Gives utilities authority to curtail the large load when necessary for system reliability, while requiring enforceable terms and clearly defined emergency service priorities; this creates an operating framework that can allow service subject to reliability-based curtailment. A right of curtailment

  • Makes the large-load guidelines non-binding rather than mandatory rules, while providing utilities and prospective customers with the Commission’s stated review criteria. These guidelines are non-binding

Sources

current law · Statewide
Directs Louisiana Public Service Commission staff to study how data centers could create cybersecurity risks for utility infrastructure and consider safeguards for regulated utilities if needed.Louisiana Public Service Commission directive to Staff on data-center cybersecurity (2025)

What this means

The measure directs staff to study data centers’ potential cybersecurity effects on utility infrastructure, but it does not itself require data centers to change how they are built or operated. Any safeguards would depend on a later rulemaking, so the immediate effect is not meaningful.

People behind it

  • Vice Chairman who expressly proposed the cybersecurity directive directing Staff to investigate data-center effects on utility infrastructure and potential safeguards.

  • Responsible for conducting the cybersecurity research, coordinating with the Commission’s cybersecurity team, and potentially opening a rulemaking docket under the directive.

Sources

current law · Statewide
Creates a grant program that allows qualifying data centers to receive reimbursements for creating high-wage jobs.Louisiana H507 (2025)

What this means

The measure gives data centers a path to reimbursable grants for qualifying new, high-wage jobs; data centers are explicitly listed as an eligible industry in the program rules. But the benefit is limited to job-related wages, requires wage and other eligibility conditions, and is subject to approval—not a subsidy for construction or ordinary operating costs—so the boost is meaningful but modest.

People behind it

  • Representative and listed sponsor of House Bill 507, which became Act No. 372 establishing the High Impact Jobs Program.

  • State agency responsible for administering the High Impact Jobs Program and promulgating its implementing rules.

  • Authorized to approve applicants, execute program contracts, approve certain grants, and promulgate rules for the program.

Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions7

  • Data centers are expressly included among eligible professional-service industries, although professional services may be subject to additional limitations or exclusions. data centers

  • An eligible data-center company may receive a reimbursable grant based on wages paid for qualifying new jobs, capped at $200,000 per job per year. The grant is 18% for jobs paying at least 125% but less than 150% of the parish average wage, and 22% for jobs paying at least 150%. not to exceed two hundred thousand dollars per year, per job

  • For a project in a distressed area, qualifying new jobs may receive an 8% reimbursable grant when wages are at least 110% of the lesser of the parish or regional average wage. Eight percent

  • The grants can support new full-time, at-will data-center jobs that did not previously exist in Louisiana for the employer, are directly employed by the company or a named subsidiary, are filled by Louisiana employees onsite or remotely, and include a basic health benefits plan. full-time, at-will employees

  • LED may provide a reimbursable grant to retain highly skilled workers with advanced degrees, subject to the secretary's approval and program rules. retain highly skilled workers with advanced degrees

  • An approved company may receive a three-year contract, renewable once for an additional two years if it complies with the program and contract requirements. initial term of the contract shall be for three years

  • A qualifying company may request reimbursement annually or at the end of the initial or renewal contract period after submitting an expenditure verification report. either annually or at the end of the initial and renewed contract periods

Sources

current law · Statewide
Requires Louisiana Economic Development to set conditions for data centers seeking state tax incentives, including commitments to protect ratepayers, invest in communities and workforce, and use resources responsibly.Louisiana Executive Order JML 26-058 (2026)

What this means

The order would make data-center tax incentives conditional on a project showing how it will protect ratepayers and resources, and on submitting a detailed plan to LED (incentive eligibility and attestations). That could add real costs and delay for projects seeking incentives, but it does not itself prohibit building or operating a data center without them, and the specific framework is still to be developed.

People behind it

  • Issued the executive order establishing the initiative and directing development of its framework.

  • As LED Secretary, is directed to develop and adopt the framework and oversee its implementation.

  • Responsible for developing, adopting, and administering the framework and incorporating its conditions into incentive agreements.

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements7

  • Before a new data center is approved for, or continues receiving, the Data Center Sales and Use Tax Exemption or related incentives, LED must evaluate its expected demands on water, electricity generation and transmission, land, and other natural resources against its anticipated benefits. LED may not enter a program agreement unless the Secretary determines the balance adequately protects state resources, ratepayers, and communities.

  • To qualify for and continue participating in the incentive program, a company pursuing a major power-intensive project must formally submit a detailed attestation explaining how it intends to comply with the Framework, including ratepayer protections, infrastructure investment, workforce development, community engagement, innovation-economy engagement, and resource stewardship.

  • Large-load customers must commit to fully funding the incremental generation, transmission, and infrastructure investments needed to serve their projects, preventing those costs from shifting to existing residential and commercial customers.

  • Companies must commit to grid-resilience measures, including upfront infrastructure contributions, long-term service agreements, and coordinated transmission planning.

  • Companies must commit to workforce development and community-support measures, including job creation and partnerships with Louisiana educational and workforce programs, as well as community investment such as support for nonprofits, digital literacy, STEM education, and AI training.

  • Companies must commit to meaningful contributions to local tax bases through property and infrastructure investments, and to responsible water use, energy management, and environmental stewardship under best-in-class efficiency standards.

  • Companies must accept transparency and accountability measures, including construction oversight, performance obligations, and ongoing coordination with state and local leadership.

Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions1

  • Data centers may remain eligible for the Data Center Sales and Use Tax Exemption and related incentives if they satisfy the Framework. Companies must submit a detailed attestation and commit to its requirements, and LED must determine that project resource demands are balanced against benefits and that Louisiana’s resources, ratepayers, and communities are adequately protected. participation in the state’s Data Center Sales and Use Tax Exemption

Sources

current law · Statewide
Exempts certified data centers meeting job-creation and investment requirements from state and local sales and use taxes on eligible equipment and project costs.Louisiana HB 827 (2024) / Act 730 / La. R.S. 47:305.73

What this means

The measure would substantially lower costs for qualifying data centers by rebating state and local sales and use taxes on eligible equipment and project expenses (eligible costs). To qualify, a project must attest to creating at least 50 permanent jobs and investing at least $200 million, and the state can recapture rebates if obligations are not met (certification requirements).

People behind it

  • Listed among the representatives sponsoring HB 827. The bill identifies its sponsoring representatives.

  • Listed among the representatives sponsoring HB 827. The bill identifies its sponsoring representatives.

  • Listed among the representatives sponsoring HB 827. The bill identifies its sponsoring representatives.

Show 7 more peopleShow fewer people

  • Listed among the representatives sponsoring HB 827. The bill identifies its sponsoring representatives.

  • Listed among the representatives sponsoring HB 827. The bill identifies its sponsoring representatives.

  • Listed among the representatives sponsoring HB 827. The bill identifies its sponsoring representatives.

  • Certifies approved data centers and enters into agreements with them. Facilities must obtain certification and enter into an agreement.

  • Processes state sales-tax relief and administers related direct-payment procedures. State tax requests are processed by the Department of Revenue.

  • Process local sales-tax relief requests and set the required claim procedure. Local requests are processed by the appropriate local taxing authority.

  • May issue rules and regulations to implement the measure. The Board may promulgate rules and regulations.

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements6

  • The data-center rebate is limited to facilities located in Louisiana and certified by the Department of Economic Development. For certification, the operator must attest that the project will create at least 50 new permanent direct jobs in Louisiana and intends to invest at least $200 million in new Louisiana capital between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2029. Certification requirements

  • Only purchases made on or after July 1, 2024, qualify for the data-center rebate. Purchase-date limit

  • The definition of eligible data-center equipment excludes office equipment and supplies; items used primarily for sales or transportation; certain tangible property incorporated into immovable property but not listed as eligible equipment; and tangible personal property rented or leased for one year or less. Equipment exclusions

  • An approved facility must enter into an agreement with the Department of Economic Development. The agreement sets an initial 20-year rebate-eligibility term and must authorize termination and recapture of rebates if the facility fails, or is determined unable, to meet its statutory or contractual obligations. The agreement may be renewed for another 10 years. Agreement and recapture terms

  • The Department of Economic Development may impose additional conditions in the agreement with an approved facility. Authority to add conditions

  • To request the state rebate, a taxpayer must provide the Department of Revenue with the Department of Economic Development’s facility certification and documentation showing the eligible purchases; local rebate requests also require documentation of eligible purchases. Rebate documentation requirements

Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions3

  • Approved data centers may receive annual rebates of state and local sales and use taxes on eligible equipment and of sales tax on qualifying development, construction, lease, repair, refurbishment, expansion, and renovation costs. Covered equipment includes items such as servers, power and backup systems, cooling equipment, water-conservation systems, cabling, and security systems; purchases must be made on or after July 1, 2024, and the facility must be certified. Certification requires an attestation to create at least 50 new permanent direct Louisiana jobs and intend to invest at least $200 million between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2029. Eligible costs and the purchase-date limit

  • An approved data center may receive a Direct Payment Number for the term of its state agreement, subject to required approvals and qualifications. A DP Number for the entire term of the agreement

  • The agreement for an approved facility must specify the rebate-eligibility term, initially 20 years, and may be renewed by the Department of Economic Development for an additional 10 years. The state may terminate the agreement and recapture rebates if the facility fails, or is determined unable, to meet its statutory or contractual obligations. An initial term of twenty years

Sources

current law · State measure: Industrial areas established under R.S. 33:130.12
Allows data centers and related commercial operations to qualify as industrial purposes within Louisiana industrial areas.Louisiana SB 79 (2025)

What this means

The measure makes data centers eligible as an industrial purpose in an industrial area, creating a useful path for development and related commercial operations (data centers included as an industrial purpose). The benefit is limited because industries in these areas must provide or arrange for services such as water, sewer, fire protection, and garbage collection; those requirements apply to the industrial area generally, not specifically to data centers (required services and cooperative agreements).

People behind it

  • Senator and primary sponsor of SB 79.

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements4

  • Industries in an industrial area must, individually or as a group, furnish and maintain streets, street lighting, sewers, water service, fire protection, and garbage and refuse collection and disposal. This operating obligation applies to areas that include data centers. Industries must furnish and maintain these services

  • Industrial areas must provide public-road access to plant entrances used by employees, contractors, or deliveries, except deliveries by rail or water. The law requires access by public road

  • A cooperative endeavor agreement for required services or facilities must ensure that its obligations do not impair the parish’s, municipality’s, or political subdivision’s existing obligations to provide those services or facilities to current residents. Agreements must not impair prior existing obligations

  • An industrial area may contract with another municipality for services or facilities only if it is outside a municipality or the municipality where it is located is unable or unwilling to enter the requested agreement. The statute limits when another municipality may be used

Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions5

  • Data centers and commercial operations directly related to them qualify as industrial purposes, allowing them to be included in an industrial area. The land must still meet the existing criteria: it must be a compact body used exclusively for industrial purposes or primarily suited for industrial development, subject to the statutory limitation. Data centers included as an industrial purpose

  • Industries in an industrial area may make cooperative endeavor agreements with specified public or private entities to provide one or more required services or facilities. Agreements must not impair those entities’ prior obligations to provide contracted services or facilities to existing residents. Cooperative endeavor agreements

  • Industries may enter an agreement with another municipality for services or facilities if the industrial area is outside a municipality, or if the municipality where it is located determines it is unable or unwilling to provide them through an agreement. Agreements with another municipality

  • An industrial area that furnishes and maintains all listed services—streets, lighting, sewers, water, fire protection, and garbage and refuse collection and disposal—is not subject to annexation or incorporation. Protection from annexation or incorporation

  • Industrial areas must provide for public-road access to plant entrances used by employees, contractors, or delivery vehicles, except deliveries by rail or water. Public-road access

Sources

current law · Statewide
Establishes a whole-of-government initiative to speed and coordinate economic development efforts across Louisiana.Louisiana Executive Order JML 25-102 (2025)

What this means

The order directs state agencies to coordinate and speed up economic-development work, including permitting processes, which could modestly help data center projects. But it does not specifically target data centers, guarantee faster approvals, or provide direct incentives.

People behind it

  • Issued and directed the executive order establishing the Louisiana Lightning Speed Initiative.

  • Directed to launch the initiative and coordinate with agencies to designate liaisons.

  • Responsible for advancing priority economic development initiatives and coordinating policy, permitting, infrastructure, workforce, and regulatory processes.

Show 1 more peopleShow fewer people

  • Tasked with coordinating with the Secretary and LED to advance priority economic development initiatives.

Sources

current law · Statewide
This executive order directs state agencies to expedite certain environmental permitting consistent with federal and state law.Louisiana Executive Order JML 26-078 (2026)

People behind it

  • The executive-order listing identifies JML 26-058 under his name as governor.

Sources

current law · Statewide
Exempts qualifying data centers that commit to at least 50 new permanent Louisiana jobs and $200 million in investment from sales and use taxes on eligible equipment and project costs.Louisiana Act 11 (2024 Third Extraordinary Session) — amendment to La. R.S. 47:305.73

What this means

The measure offers qualifying data centers a substantial sales-tax break on costs such as construction, equipment, and expansion. The benefit is limited to large projects that commit to at least 50 new permanent jobs and $200 million in investment, and taxes may be recovered if commitments are not met.

Timing

The measure bars new or renewed contracts under specified provisions and new advance notifications after 2025-06-30. These restrictions have no stated ending condition; already-approved employers may continue receiving incentives under their agreements while eligible. Some sources characterize the measure as not establishing a temporary moratorium.

People behind it

  • Primary sponsor and introducer of HB10.

  • Named as a bill sponsor.

  • Named as a bill sponsor.

Show 13 more peopleShow fewer people

  • Named as a bill sponsor.

  • Named as a bill sponsor.

  • Named as a bill sponsor.

  • Named as a bill sponsor.

  • Identified as the proposer of Amendment #161 to HB10.

  • Administers and enforces specified income-tax provisions and issues implementing rules.

  • Administers and collects taxes, processes rebates, and may issue rules implementing the measure.

  • Certifies approved data centers and enters into agreements governing their exemption or rebate eligibility.

  • May issue rules to implement local sales-tax rebates and exemptions.

  • May assess and collect taxes when facility obligations are unmet; local authorities also process local rebate requests.

  • Directed to review affected statutes and make necessary changes to the Uniform Local Sales Tax Code.

  • Designated to receive sales and use taxes due on factory-built-home transactions under the Act.

  • Receives designated tourism-tax funds and is responsible for specified tourism-promotion expenditures.

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements6

  • To qualify for the data-center sales- and use-tax exemption, an operator must obtain Louisiana Economic Development certification, attest that the project will create at least 50 new direct, permanent Louisiana jobs and invest at least $200 million in Louisiana during the specified July 1, 2024–July 1, 2029 period, and obtain a Direct Payment Number.

  • The exemption applies only to eligible purchases made on or after July 1, 2024; purchases made earlier do not qualify.

  • The exemption excludes certain property and costs, including office equipment and supplies, property used primarily for sales or transportation, certain property incorporated into immovable property, and tangible personal property rented or leased for one year or less.

  • An approved facility must enter into an agreement with Louisiana Economic Development, initially for 20 years, with a possible 10-year renewal. If the facility fails, or is determined unable, to meet its statutory or contractual obligations, the state and local taxing authorities may assess and collect the sales and use taxes due.

  • The measure raises the state sales and use tax rate on taxable purchases, which can increase data-center construction and operating costs; applicable exemptions still apply.

  • An approved data center that overpays sales or use tax on exempt purchases is not entitled to interest on the refund.

Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions3

  • Qualifying data centers are exempt from Louisiana state and local sales and use taxes on eligible equipment and expenditures used directly and exclusively to develop, acquire, construct, lease, repair, refurbish, expand, or renovate the facility. Covered items include computing and networking equipment, power and cooling systems, water-conservation systems, construction materials, engineering and design, labor, and installation. Purchases must be made on or after July 1, 2024; office and sales equipment and certain other property are excluded. To qualify, the project must be certified by Louisiana Economic Development and attest that it will create at least 50 new direct, permanent Louisiana jobs and make at least $200 million in new Louisiana capital investment by July 1, 2029.

  • An approved facility is issued a Direct Payment Number under the applicable state law, allowing it to use the direct-payment process for sales tax. The number is tied to approval and the required agreement; local sales tax is handled separately.

  • The agreement with Louisiana Economic Development has an initial term of 20 years and may be renewed for 10 more years. It must provide for termination and collection of taxes due if the facility fails, or is determined unable, to meet its statutory or contractual obligations.

Sources

failed · Statewide
Would prohibit utilities from passing electricity costs caused by data centers with at least 50 megawatts of new or expanded demand on to household customers.Louisiana HB 922 (2026)

What this means

This would not stop data centers from being built, but facilities with at least 50 megawatts of new or expanded demand would have to pay the electric-system costs they cause. It also requires contracts of at least 15 years, adding a meaningful financial commitment and making development harder.

People behind it

  • Primary sponsor and author of HB 922

  • Listed as an author of HB 922

  • Responsible for promulgating rules and implementing cost-causation requirements under the measure

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements7

  • The requirements apply to data centers imposing new or expanded electric demand of 50 megawatts or more. 50 megawatts or more

  • Household customers may not be charged higher rates, prices, or fees, directly or indirectly, because of a qualifying data center’s new electric demand, and utilities may not recover those costs from households. no electric public utility ... shall increase the price, rate, or charge paid by any household customer

  • Data centers must bear all costs attributable to their new electric demand, including generation, transmission, distribution, fuel, operations and maintenance, depreciation, return on investment, and stranded costs, creating an added cost obligation for qualifying projects. allocated solely to the data center customer or customers causing such demand

  • The Public Service Commission must require separate rate classes or special contracts for data centers that ensure full cost recovery from the data center and prohibit subsidies from household or other non-data-center customers. Mandatory separate rate classes or special contracts

  • Data centers must enter into long-term contracts of at least 15 years that assign them responsibility for cost overruns, decommissioning, and potential early termination or abandonment. a minimum fifteen years with data centers

  • Utility investments serving data centers are subject to independent prudence reviews. Procedures for independent prudence reviews of utility investments serving data centers

  • The commission must deny any rate adjustment, tariff change, or certificate of public convenience and necessity if it would make household customers bear any portion of the costs associated with a data center’s new electric demand. shall deny any rate adjustment, tariff change, or certificate

Sources

failed · Statewide
Creates a state task force to assess data centers’ long-term water and energy needs and recommend how their resource impacts should be evaluated.Louisiana HCR 61 (2025)

What this means

The measure creates a task force to study data center energy and water use and recommend how proposals might be reviewed (study and make recommendations). It does not itself require data centers to get new approvals, meet new standards, or receive incentives, so its direct effect on building or operating them is not meaningful.

People behind it

  • Sponsor of HCR 61. The bill is listed as by Representative Kimberly Coates.

  • The task force created by the resolution to study data center operations and make recommendations. The resolution creates the group to study and make recommendations.

  • Chairs the Interagency Group. The group shall be chaired by the chairman.

Show 1 more peopleShow fewer people

  • Staffs the Interagency Group and receives its reports. The group shall report to and be staffed by the Department.

Sources

failed · Statewide
Would require data centers designed for at least 100 megawatts to obtain a state water-use permit before operating and assign a unique ID to related permits; the bill was deferred and is not law.Louisiana HB 1206 (2026)

What this means

The proposal would require data centers designed for at least 100 MW to get a water-use permit before operating, adding a real regulatory step that could bring costs or delay. The bill does not spell out the permit’s requirements, so the size of that burden is uncertain (permit required before operations).

People behind it

  • Primary sponsor of HB 1206, identified as Representative Walters in the bill and as Joy Walters on the bill page. Primary sponsor

  • Proposed the committee substitute for HB 1206. Substitute proposed by the House Committee

  • Assigned water-use permitting and related implementation responsibilities under the measure. Water use permit

Show 2 more peopleShow fewer people

  • Directed to adopt rules and regulations to implement the data-center permitting section. Promulgate and adopt rules

  • Assigned responsibility for implementing the data-center permit identifier requirement. Implement the provisions

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements3

  • A data center—a facility designed for a load of at least 100 megawatts—may not begin operations until it obtains a water-use permit from the Department of Conservation and Energy. The secretary must adopt implementing rules by August 31, 2027. Agricultural water users are exempt from the chapter’s requirements. Permit before operations and rulemaking deadline

  • The secretary is authorized to monitor and regulate withdrawals of groundwater and surface water, subject to the laws listed in the substitute. Authority to monitor and regulate withdrawals

  • Permits issued by the Department of Environmental Quality for data centers are subject to specified existing public-hearing laws and regulations. Permit hearing requirements

Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions1

  • The bill’s data-center provisions cover facilities designed for a load of one hundred megawatts or more. Facilities below that threshold are outside the definition and therefore outside requirements that apply to a “data center.”

Sources

failed · Statewide
Would allow data centers to use private power-generation and storage networks without those networks being regulated as public utilities.Louisiana SB 490 (2026) — Private Use Electrical Networks

What this means

If enacted, this would make it much easier for qualifying data centers to use their own power generation and storage: the network would not be treated as a public utility, and utilities would face a deadline to complete interconnection work. The benefit is limited to networks meeting conditions, including a long-term agreement to serve identified customers, but the bill also protects qualifying networks from some future utility regulation. Not be deemed a public utility Five-year agreement condition

People behind it

  • Senator and sponsor of SB 490.

  • Vice Chairman of the Louisiana Public Service Commission; requested the Commission directive to evaluate private use electrical networks.

  • Charged by SB 490 with adopting implementing rules for private use electrical networks.

Show 1 more peopleShow fewer people

  • Directed by the Commission to open a docket and evaluate private use electrical networks.

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements2

  • To qualify as a private use electrical network under the bill, the generation, storage, and related facilities must be on contiguous, adjacent, or commonly controlled property and deliver electricity through privately owned facilities. Networks that do not meet these conditions do not qualify for the bill’s nonutility treatment.

  • A qualifying network must commit at least 50% of its annual net output or contract nameplate capacity to one or more identified load customers under a written agreement with an initial term of at least five years. Scheduled maintenance, force majeure, customer commissioning, and customer ramp-up deviations are excluded from this test.

Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions6

  • A qualifying private use electrical network can supply a data center without being treated as a retail electricity sale or public utility solely because it serves that customer. It must use privately owned facilities on contiguous, adjacent, or commonly controlled property, and at least 50% of its annual output or contract capacity must be committed to identified large-load customers under written agreements with initial terms of at least five years. The definition of “primarily dedicated”

  • A qualifying network’s backup, standby, reliability, maintenance, or export arrangements—and participation in specified wholesale-market or reliability programs—do not by themselves make it a public utility or change its status. The LPSC retains authority over rates, terms, and conditions of backup, standby, or export service provided by an electric utility. Backup service and surplus exports

  • An electric utility must complete required interconnection studies and execute an agreement within 180 days after receiving a complete application for backup, standby, reliability, or export service. If it does not, the applicant may petition the commission to compel interconnection on just and reasonable terms. Within one hundred eighty days

  • The LPSC must establish an expedited process for a declaration that a network is outside its public-utility jurisdiction, decide a complete application within 30 days, and treat it as approved if the commission does not act within that period. Deemed approved

  • A declaration of nonjurisdiction is binding and remains effective after changes in ownership, financing, affiliate structure, or customer identity, as long as the network continues to meet the statutory requirements. The commission may revoke it only after notice and hearing upon finding those requirements are no longer met. Shall be binding on the commission and all parties

  • An applicant may seek confidential treatment for the identified customer’s identity before public announcement and for submitted power-purchase-agreement pricing and commercial terms. The commission must grant the request upon a showing that disclosure would cause competitive harm and may not publicly disclose information granted confidential treatment. Upon a showing that public disclosure would cause competitive harm

Sources

Data provided by Regbase · Cookie preferences · Report missing data