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Study finds data centers increase energy costs
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VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) — A study that was released Thursday, May 28, finds data center construction in the Magnolia State has increased energy costs for residents.
According to a study by Synapse Energy Economics Inc., Entergy residential customers have seen an average increase of $10.60 each month since 2024. Entergy is Mississippi’s largest energy service provider.
State and local leaders have argued the construction of Amazon Data Centers in Mississippi will help fund the economy and provide jobs. According to reports, since 2024, the company has announced four sites to be located in Mississippi and include the cities of Ridgeland, Canton, Clinton and Vicksburg. The company is claiming to bring 2,000 jobs to the state and investing $25 billion in the economy.
Mississippi Today has reported the based on public utility filings, energy companies have charged residential customers in the state a total of about $38 million for data center investments as of March.
The advocate groups Earthjustice and Environmental Advocates Mississippi sponsored the study. Although the study only estimated the increases the groups are confident customers will see a continued increase in rates. The numbers are estimates due because large amounts of information behind Entergy’s agreement with Amazon isn’t available to the public.
”Based on, you know, all of the publicly available evidence, we are quite confident that rates have increased because of data center investments,” Ben Havumaki, one of the report’s authors, told Mississippi Today.
Havumaki also spoke about the passage of Senate Bill 2001 which was signed into law in 2024. The bill allows Energy and Amazon to skip through certain regulatory processes in order to expedite construction of the data centers.
“(SB 2001) creates an unusually frictionless path for the utility to make investments on behalf of data centers,” said Havumaki.
Mississippi Today also reports lawmakers hid the company’s agreement with Entergy from the public. The law eased the path and allowed Entergy to recover, through its rates, costs associated with the data center projects even before the facilities are running.
“Normally, utilities make investments on their own dime, then they go before the regulatory commission and they make the case for the investment. If the commission finds that it’s prudent, then (the utility) is permitted to recover that investment (through rates). That usually would occur in public with transparency and reasonable vetting from other parties. In this case, a lot of that is just shrouded in regulatory cover and secrecy,” Havumaki told the publication.
Mississippi Public Service Commission is responsible for regulating utilities, including approval of spending and rate increases. The Commission is split into three districts and each commissioner is elected. Representing Warren County is Commissioner De’Keither Stamps who took office in 2020.
In a response to the publishing of the study, Entergy Mississippi stated that its customers are not subsidizing data centers. The utility said data centers pay their fair share and contribute to grid improvements. It added that Amazon’s investments help keep power bills affordable and enhance reliability across the state.
Entergy did acknowledge a rate increase, but also projects by 2030, customer bills will be about 16% lower than they would be without Amazon’s investment. According to reports there is limited data to support this claim.
In March Entergy announced it’s “Fair Share Plus” pledge which claimed the data center projects would lead to over $2 billion in savings for Mississippi ratepayers.
Amazon released its own response to the study.
“We pay the full cost of the power and infrastructure we use through long-term investments in transmission, substations, grid upgrades, and new energy generation that help strengthen the broader grid for everyone. We believe other large energy users should as well,” said a spokesperson for the company.
A copy of the full report can be found here.
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