Gov. Jeff Landry signed an executive order Thursday while flanked by Louisiana utility company executives saying that data center projects must have their benefits to citizens “evaluated and balanced” against their use of electric generation, water and land.

Landry named the order the “Ratepayer and Community Protection Framework for Large Load Investments,” assigning the Louisiana Economic Development Office to ensure that future projects “adequately protect Louisiana’s resources, ratepayers, and communities,” according to the text of the order.

“These resources are vital to the welfare of our citizens and to the future of our economy, and that is why our approach demands thoughtful and responsible stewardship,” Landry said.

The order comes on the heels of questions around Entergy’s plans to purchase a $1.8 billion power plant in Texas, which a consultant for the state’s Public Service Commission said is largely needed for Meta’s north Louisiana data center.

The gas-fired Cottonwood plant would cost average residential ratepayers $8 a month, records show. Entergy and Meta have disputed that it’s needed for the data center.

Landry last week expressed concerns about the plant in a social media post responding to coverage from The Times-Picayune | The Advocate. He said Entergy promised him Meta would not pass along costs to customers.

“The PSC should not allow anyone to take advantage of power markets at the expense of our ratepayers,” he said last week.

On Thursday, though, Landry punted taking a position on the plant to the Public Service Commission, which he dinged as “somewhat dormant” for the past 50 years. Landry also repeatedly defended data centers, saying they are vital for Louisiana’s future.

“I don’t get a vote,” he said. “That’s a decision for the public service (commission) and that’s something for them and Entergy to work out.”

The Public Service Commission’s five-member elected body has the ultimate authority over whether to approve the purchase.

The consultant, Lane Sisung, who regularly analyzes utilities’ proposals for the commission, raised other concerns about the plant as well. The plant’s private equity owners bought it a few years ago for far less than what Entergy plans to pay for it. It’s also 22 years old and has had reliability issues that would require Entergy to spend hundreds of millions more on improving it, the report said.

Entergy President and CEO Phillip May attended the press conference Thursday but did not speak at it. In a statement Entergy released afterward, the utility defended the Cottonwood plant.

“The Cottonwood generating facility is needed to support broader customer growth across Louisiana and deactivation of legacy units that have been serving all customers for over five decades, and it has been part of Entergy Louisiana’s supply plan before Meta was a potential customer,” the statement from Entergy said.

“Despite reports to the contrary, through its contract term, Meta is fully supporting and funding the construction of 7.5 gigawatts of new, highly efficient natural gas generation, along with additional solar and battery resources and purchase capacity,” the utility said.

A Meta spokesperson, Francis Brennan, described the consultant’s report as “inaccurate speculation” in a statement last week. He pushed back against claims that ratepayers picking up the tab for the Cottonwood plant would violate a White House pledge from the spring, in which tech companies agreed to pay for their own data center power needs.

“Meta pays its own way, both for the power and new infrastructure we use,” Brennan said. “Our agreement with Entergy is built to guarantee we pay those costs, not Louisianans.”

Concerns about the plant in southeast Texas have come from both state Republicans and Democrats.

PSC member Davante Lewis, a Democrat who represents Baton Rouge and New Orleans, held his own press conference after Landry’s on Thursday afternoon. He said that while he agrees with Landry’s contention that data centers should bear their own costs, Landry’s actions have differed.

Lewis noted that while Landry spoke of transparency and accountability, he’s also signed nondisclosure agreements related to Meta’s data center.

“When he says we are committed to making sure these energy-intensive organizations are paying their own costs, that’s simply not true,” Lewis said.

PSC member Eric Skrmetta, a Metairie Republican who has supported data center projects, said last week that he does not plan to approve the plant’s purchase unless Meta pays for it. He described the sale price as “taking advantage of the moment.”

Mike Francis, another Republican commission member who represents Crowley, said in an interview this week that he generally trusts Sisung.

“If that’s his opinion, I’m going to be inclined to go with it,” Francis said. “But I haven’t seen all the details yet.”

State Sen. Bob Hensgens, a Republican who chairs the Senate Committee on Natural Resources, recently warned Francis in a letter about data centers’ potential impact on customers’ electric bills. Hensgens, who represents Abbeville, asked the commission to consider “stronger safeguards” to protect residential and small commercial ratepayers from bearing power costs for data centers.

This is a developing story. Check back later for more.