Louisiana's electricity costs rise amid data center boom
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It's getting more expensive to power Louisiana, and electricity costs are rising faster here than in most parts of the county, according to new data.
Why it matters: Many residents already struggle with the cost of everyday living, but electricity costs could get even higher for some as data centers move in.
By the numbers: The nationwide average retail residential price for 1 kilowatt-hour of electricity rose by about 6.5% between May 2024 and May 2025, per the latest available data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
- Some states saw much larger increases, such as Maine (+36.3%), Connecticut (+18.4%) and Utah (+15.2%).
- Louisiana has the fourth-highest increase at 14.1%.
Between the lines: Electricity prices vary regionally and have many influences, from basic supply and demand to fuel rates and infrastructure costs.
- Yet many analysts point to power-hungry data centers as a driver of rising rates, especially in data center hot spots.
- That's partly because of data centers' immediate demand for energy, but also because grid operators are investing in new transmission lines and other gear to handle their expected proliferation — and passing those costs along to customers.
What they're saying: "Anywhere you're seeing a massive takeoff in load growth, the most likely cause is data centers, and that is almost certainly going to have an impact on electric rates," says Cathy Kunkel, energy consultant at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
- A new IEEFA analysis highlights a dramatic spike in capacity market prices set at auction by PJM largely tied to data centers.
- One estimate found that data centers accounted for over 60% of the increase in prices in a PJM auction held last year, the report says — representing $9.3 billion that will be passed along to customers.
Zoom in: Louisiana has only one planned data center, and it'll be in Richland Parish in the northern part of the state. Shovels are in the ground now for that $10 billion Meta facility, and state economic development leaders have said they hope more are on the way.