BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Public Service Commission deferred on a directive proposed by Commissioner Davante Lewis on Wednesday to create a policy addressing the new data centers.

Lewis' policy pushed for a definition on how large-load customers connect to the grid, pay for infrastructure, and share costs while protecting existing ratepayers from higher bills, stranded assets and reliability risks. 

The Commission instead approved a proposal from Commissioner Jean-Paul Coussan that shortens the review process in large-load cases to eight months. The "lightning amendment" allowed certain capacity additions to waive requirements to get on the electric grid faster. Certain standards must be met, like a signed long-term electric service agreement of at least 15 years and a signed letter from Louisiana Economic Development's secretary. 

"If you satisfy a few of those hurdles, then you can be put into this new regulatory process. It's not going to be for everyone, but it will be for those that comply with the directive," Coussan said during the meeting.

Coussan's directive came in support of Gov. Jeff Landry's Louisiana Lighting Speed Initiative executive order that was issued on Sept. 16. The initiative directs state agencies to create a streamlined and accelerated approach to economic development.

The Alliance for Affordable Energy and Louisiana Energy Users Group voiced concerns over the lack of a clear definition of what counts as a large-load project. The "lightning amendment" also leaves little room for stakeholder engagement.

"As these data centers are built, they're causing all kinds of challenges for the folks who live near them. For example, the folks who live near them are discovering the water pressure is not as good as it should be, they're recognizing the quality of their power isn't as reliable as it should be, they're also seeing their utility bills go up. In a state like Louisiana, we just can't afford that," Alliance for Affordable Energy Executive Director Logan Burke said.

The proposal comes after Anthropic announced that it was coming to a West Feliciana data center for $7 billion.

"Hyperscaling large load customers brings opportunity, but without clear rules, they can also bring real risk," Lewis said. "This rulemaking was not about stopping development. It was about ensuring that as we welcome new industry, everyday Louisianans are not left holding the bag for billion-dollar decisions made behind closed doors."