Entergy re-submits AVAIO power agreement to Arkansas Public Service Commission

Entergy Arkansas has released new details about its agreement to power AVAIO Digital’s data center in Pulaski County.

AVAIO plans to build a $6 billion data center near Wrightsville. The data center developer is working with Entergy to supply an initial 150 megawatts of power, however the company has estimated the power demand for the project could grow to as much as one gigawatt.

In April, Entergy filed an application with the Arkansas Public Service Commission for its power contract with AVAIO. The application is still pending before the commission.

The power agreement, a component of the overall application, covers the 150 megawatt supply. Any future expansion by AVAIO needing additional electricity would require a separate negotiation between AVAIO and Entergy and the commission’s approval.

The agreement is not a special rate contract — an agreement with negotiated pricing or other terms that is different from standard tariffs or rates — rather it is an agreement for electric service with added customer protection terms. AVAIO will take service under Entergy’s Large Power Service rate.

Matt Ramsey, a spokesman for Entergy said the rate AVAIO is taking is a standard tariff offered to other Arkansas customers of a similar size.

“Entergy Arkansas will not need to build new generation specifically to serve this new project, which results in all their revenue helping decrease costs for our more than 735,000 customers,” Ramsey said.

In August, the commission’s general staff filed a motion to disclose information in the agreement that had been redacted. The attorney general’s office also filed a response supporting staff’s request to disclose some information in the agreement.

“There is currently great concern from Arkansas ratepayers regarding disclosure of information relating to large load customers of 50 (megawatts) or more,” Doralee Chandler, an attorney with the attorney general’s office, said in regulatory filings. “(Entergy) claims the additional terms protect the company’s other customers, but those same customers are not able to review what those terms may include.”

Entergy submitted a revised version of its agreement with AVAIO to the commission after conferring with the company. Some parts of the agreement remain redacted to “protect AVAIO’s account information and competitively sensitive terms.”

The redacted information in the agreement includes portions of AVAIO’s load ramp schedule (the timeline by which the project will reach its full electric demand), minimum billing requirements, security obligations and certain curtailment terms.

“As part of our Fair Share Plus pledge, we are adding additional protections in the form of a long-term contract that requires the customer to pay their full costs associated with serving them, protecting all other customers from bearing any cost for a data center,” Ramsey said.

Entergy and AVAIO entered into a nondisclosure agreement on April 15, 2024 and on December 8, 2025 executed an agreement for electric service, according to regulatory filings.

According to the agreement, Entergy intends to begin serving the AVAIO data center on or around June 30, 2027. AVAIO will gradually increase its load until it reaches a maximum demand of 150 megawatts.

For Entergy to serve the data center, the project will require two new 115kV transmission lines and associated facilities. In January, Entergy filed an application with the commission seeking approval to build those facilities. That application is still pending before the commission.

The transmission lines would stretch 3.5 miles from the Wrightsville 115kV substation to a new substation owned and built by AVAIO. Entergy is proposing two potential routes for the project, one preferred and the other an alternative.

The transmission upgrades will cost about $19 million, which AVAIO will pay in full as a contribution in aid of construction, according to regulatory filings. Ramsey said that payment is subject to a true-up to “ensure that AVAIO is responsible for 100% of the actual costs” of the upgrades.

The electric agreement also has a provision that AVAIO must curtail some of its load when that is needed.

The agreement has an initial 15 year term beginning when AVAIO reaches its full load of 150 megawatts, which is estimated to occur around January 2028, according to regulatory filings. The agreement will then automatically renew in successive five year terms.

If AVAIO breaches the agreement, Entergy can terminate the contract and seek financial damages, including any remaining minimum payments under the agreement. If the breach occurs before electric service begins, AVAIO would owe 36 months of minimum billings and other costs.