New UCS Report: More Data Centers Will Cost Louisianans Billions Without Policymaker Intervention

BATON ROUGE, La. (April 14, 2026)-Data centers are flocking to Louisiana and are widely anticipated to reshape the energy landscape due to their massive power demands. At the same time, household electricity bills are on the rise and grid reliability has been repeatedly tested by extreme weather. A new report released today by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) projects that data centers could increase Louisiana's wholesale electricity costs by up to $26 billion and cause up to $90 billion in health and climate damages over the next 15 years if state decisionmakers continue to prioritize Big Tech and utility company profits over people's health, wallets, and the environment.

"A poorly managed data center boom severely jeopardizes Louisiana's affordable, reliable, clean energy future," said Paul Arbaje, lead report author and energy analyst at UCS. "Policymakers should hold utilities and Big Tech accountable and protect ratepayers from the potentially extreme economic, health and climate impacts of courting massive data centers. Transparency, robust community engagement and a diverse electricity mix will help shield people from toxic, unreliable fossil fuels and soaring energy costs as data centers continue to come to the Bayou State."

The report, "Data Center Threats in Louisiana," assesses the potential costs of meeting the next 15 years of projected data center load growth and the consequences on the electricity system, public health and the climate. Since future data center demand growth is highly uncertain, largely due to a lack of transparency from utilities and Big Tech companies, UCS modeled multiple demand growth scenarios.

The report shows that in a scenario of higher data center growth, data centers could account for up to 87% of Louisiana's electricity demand growth by 2030. Under such a scenario, those new city-sized demands on the power grid would raise the state's wholesale electricity system costs by an estimated $26 billion over the next 15 years. Without better ratepayer protections from the Louisiana Public Service Commission, everyday Louisianans are at risk of substantially subsidizing those additional costs triggered by data center growth.

"This report brings much-needed transparency to conversations about the costs of data center expansion in our state," said Logan Burke, Executive Director of the Alliance for Affordable Energy. "This is exactly the kind of data regulators at the Louisiana Public Service Commission need to make informed, balanced decisions that ensure the costs and risks of Big Tech's massive projects are not unfairly shifted onto Louisiana households."

Due to the state's overreliance on fossil fuels, such demand growth will also lead to worsening pollution causing up to $3 billion in public health harms. UCS also calculated up to $87 billion in cumulative global climate damages due to a 22% increase in planet-warming emissions from Louisiana's power sector.