A controversial plan to power Meta's largest artificial intelligence data center anywhere in the world, to be built in rural northeast Louisiana, will head for a vote by state regulators next week, far ahead of initially planned.

The fast-tracked approval by the Public Service Commission is drawing concern from advocates who say average ratepayers and other industrial companies are being put at risk of covering electricity costs for the giant facility, equivalent to the size of around 70 football fields. Entergy and supporters of the plan say enough safeguards are in place and that there is no reason to further delay a project that could be transformational for the impoverished region.

Entergy, which is proposing to build three gas-fired plants to power the data center, requested tha

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