The Louisiana Public Service Commission voted Wednesday to block an order that would have required Meta to turn over records detailing how the tech giant calculated the jobs and electricity demand behind its massive Richland Parish data center expansion, handing the company a significant procedural victory.

The commission reversed a ruling by Chief Administrative Law Judge Melanie Verzwyvelt, who had ordered Meta to produce documents substantiating its projections for investment, permanent job creation, and power consumption. Those projections are central to Entergy Louisiana’s argument that a multibillion-dollar grid buildout to serve Meta is in the public interest.

The move effectively halts — at least for now — an effort by the Alliance for Affordable Energy and the Union of Concerned Scientists to scrutinize the numbers behind one of the largest economic development projects in Louisiana history. The two organizations had sought the documents to evaluate whether Meta’s figures justify the ratepayer costs associated with expanding Entergy’s generation capacity.

The decision carries implications beyond Richland Parish. Louisiana is at the center of a national surge in data center development, with projects from multiple technology companies — including Applied Digital’s proposed campus in Rapides Parish — seeking both regulatory approval and publicly subsidized infrastructure investments.

Critics of the commission’s ruling argue that without access to Meta’s underlying calculations, regulators cannot make an informed determination about whether the proposed grid expansion serves Louisiana ratepayers. Supporters of the decision contend that requiring the disclosure of proprietary business records would create a chilling effect on future economic development in the state.

The Entergy generation case, which includes Meta’s power demands, remains pending before the commission.