Electric power distribution company Entergy has announced that customers in Mississippi will save more than $2 billion on power bills due to data center projects in its service range.

Entergy Mississippi customers join those in Louisiana and Arkansas as the largest recipients of a broader $5 billion in savings. The company’s announcement comes after Amazon Web Services announced plans to build a pair of multi-billion-dollar data centers in Madison County and another in Warren County, along with AVAIO Digital settling on Rankin County as a data center destination.

While ratepayers in the areas where data centers are being constructed voiced concerns of bill hikes, Entergy Mississippi President and CEO Haley Fisackerly has maintained that the projects will have the opposite effect on the wallets of utility customers. Fisackerly added that having a big customer — like Amazon — helps offset the rising cost of powering homes, small businesses, and even healthcare facilities.

“When you don’t have growth, and 25% of your customers are below the national poverty level, affordability becomes a big concern,” Fisackerly said on MidDays with Gerard Gibert. “Just like any business or community, you need growth. You need economies of scale. By bringing in a large customer like AWS, they are bringing the volume we need, but they also bring in additional revenues that are going to allow us to invest more to improve reliability.”

Not only is the money Entergy Mississippi is bringing in from data center owners helping customers save money, but it is also going toward major grid upgrades that consumers don’t have to subsidize, Fisackerly said. Efforts by the state legislature, Gov. Tate Reeves, and the Mississippi Public Service Commission paved the way for large companies constructing data centers to contribute to a $300 million “Superpower Mississippi” campaign by Entergy to modernize and improve power lines and systems.

These grid upgrades are expected to reduce power outages, which is a plus in a state prone to year-round inclement weather events, and make services more reliable for customers.

“These large technology customers will help pay the cost for needed power grid maintenance and upgrades that would otherwise have been borne by our existing customers,” Fisackerly continued. “During a rising cost environment, when we are having to replace two half-century-old power plants with new units, securing such relief right now is perfect timing for our residential and small commercial customers.”

Though concerns remain about the environmental impacts data centers will have on the area, along with the possible noise associated with powering them, officials contend that the affordability of utilities can be erased from the list of worries.

Entergy’s existing agreements with data center owners have been structured to benefit all ratepayers, while also protecting existing customers from risks, the company announced. The company included prepayment requirements, multi-year contract terms, credit and collateral requirements, and early termination penalties in contracts with data center owners to protect existing customers.

Political newcomer and Capitol Hill attorney Evan Turnage proved no match for longtime U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, who defeated him and one other challenger to earn the Democratic nomination for Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional District on Tuesday.

Some politicos thought Turnage – who went to Yale and later worked for some of Thompson’s Democratic colleagues, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) – wouldn’t necessarily win but could make waves as one of the more viable candidates to challenge Thompson in recent years. However, that wasn’t the case as Thompson garnered approximately 85% of the vote when the race was called.

Thompson, 78, is seeking an 18th term. The civil rights leader who chaired the Jan. 6 Committee was first elected in 1993 and serves as a ranking member on the House Homeland Security Committee. He will face either Ron Eller or Kevin Wilson on the Republican side, a race yet to be called as of late Tuesday night, and independent Bennie Foster in November’s general.

All of Mississippi’s U.S. House seats are up for grabs this year.

In the 1st Congressional District, Republican Rep. Trent Kelly ran unopposed, while civil rights attorney and University of Mississippi School of Law professor Cliff Johnson beat former state lawmaker Kelvin Buck in the Democratic primary. Libertarian challenger Johnny Baucom awaits Kelly and Johnson in the general.

In the 3rd Congressional District, both Republican Rep. Michael Guest and Democrat Michael Chiaradio ran unopposed. They will meet Libertarian Erik Kiehle in the general.

In the 4th Congressional District, Republican Rep. Mike Ezell had over 80% of the vote when his race was called against former Mississippi Department of Marine Resources officer and political staffer Sawyer Walters. State Rep. Jeffrey Hulum easily won the Democratic nomination over Paul Blackman and D. Ryan Grover. Ezell and Hulum will face independent Carl Boyanton in the general.

Arguably the most watched races of the night occurred in the state’s lone U.S. Senate seat in this year’s cycle. Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith had no problem with Ocean Springs doctor Sarah Adlakha, seeing her name bolded around 30 minutes after the polls closed. It wasn’t long after that when Lowndes County District Attorney Scott Colom was announced the winner of the Democratic primary over Priscilla Till and Albert Littell. Independent Ty Pinkins will meet Hyde-Smith and Colom in the general on Nov. 3.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Election results are from The Associated Press.

By The New York Times election results team: Michael Andre, Neil Berg, Matthew Bloch, Lily Boyce, Irineo Cabreros, Nico Chilla, Nate Cohn, Annie Daniel, Saurabh Datar, Andrew Fischer, Martín González Gómez, Jasmine C. Lee, Alex Lemonides, Zach Levitt, Ilana Marcus, Alicia Parlapiano, Dan Simmons-Ritchie, Caroline Soler, Charlie Smart, Jonah Smith and Christine Zhang.

Additional contributions by Sarah Cahalan, Amanda Cordero, Patrick Hays, Jacob Meschke and Jessica White.

Edited by Wilson Andrews, Lindsey Rogers Cook, William P. Davis, Kenan Davis, Amy Hughes, Ben Koski and Allison McCartney.

Source: Election results are from The Associated Press.