State Legislature hears from farmers impacted by Act 373
Published 5:00 am Wednesday, October 21, 2026
In March of last year, Act 373, sponsored by Sen. Dismang, passed. It gave utility companies the ability to charge ratepayers upfront for power generation construction. Traditionally, power companies would build a power plant, with ratepayers seeing their bills increase once the power was actually flowing. The act, titled the Generating Arkansas Jobs Act, has left some wondering whether it will eliminate more occupations than it creates.
Four farmers spoke before the legislature to describe the real-world impact that these increases have had on their livelihoods. They’ve seen their bills climb as Entergy leverages part of the rate increase to fund the construction of a $1.6 billion solar field in Jefferson County.
“It just appeared on my bill, and I had no idea,” described one farmer. They said the additional charge on their electric bill under the line item “Generating Arkansas Jobs Act” totaled close to $25,000 across three months of bills.
Another farmer presented the power bill for one well for one month. The cost of the power used was $3,229.74. After all charges and taxes were added, including the Generating Arkansas Jobs Act fee, the total was $6,000.
Another farmer explained how they’d decided to plant soy and corn instead of rice to offset the rising cost of power, only to find their electricity bill went up by $12,000 a month with the addition of the Act’s impact.
“I know people think, ‘In the big scheme of life, that’s not a lot.’ But it is when your bottom dollar is already gone. Our bottom dollar went three years ago. We don’t have any more dollars to spend,” they explained. “We’re already at a higher rate.”
The Act, passed as an emergency, left many ratepayers unaware of its existence. A farmer described how it felt, “It’s terrible to open a bill and find out that way. That your legislature put this on you.”
Speaking on behalf of Arkansas agriculture, one of the speakers said, “We’re not a data center, we’re not a steel mill, we’re not Walmart.” As a result, they felt, “We’re getting the brunt of everything.”
The speakers told legislators that farming is tight. The profit margins aren’t large. One of the farmer speakers said that next year’s power bill increases will likely cost them more than $30,000 extra. He described that as more than he took home last year.
“I kind of laugh at the name of it, Generating Arkansas Jobs Act,” he said, “because a data center for a trillion-dollar company in West Memphis isn’t really going to benefit me. They could pay that out of their pocket and not feel it.”
The sentiment was shared by the other farmers: “There’s no way for us to recoup this. Entergy is going to recoup. Google is going to recoup. We’re paying for it now. We may not be in business in five years. We may not be in business next year.”
Sen. McKee offered an explanation, “I know things are tight right now.” He continued, “The legislature last year was presented with a situation. With the closure of the two coal plants because of the Sierra Club suing Entergy under the Obama administration over the carbon dioxide they were releasing, Entergy is going to close those two coal plants. And so we have to build new generation whether we bring data centers in or not. When we build new generation or transmission, that’s how we pay for our electricity.”
In 2018, the Sierra Club filed a lawsuit against Entergy Arkansas over coal-fired power plants in Independence and Jefferson Counties. They alleged that major modifications were made to the plants without the proper permits required under the Clean Air Act. In the settlement, Entergy agreed to stop burning coal at the White Bluff plant by the end of 2028 and the Independence plant by the end of 2030.
McKee explained that they could have gone the historical route in which the power plants would be built, and people’s bills would go up afterward, but instead decided to “stair step” the price hike. He said that data centers were a different conversation because ratepayers would be paying for new generation whether or not data centers were being built.
Perhaps belatedly in this process, Sen. McKee asked the farmers for suggestions as to what a better plan would look like.
“Entergy is not in the red. I am,” a farmer suggested.
After the passage of Act 373, the bill’s sponsor Sen. Dismang, left the Senate and now works for Arkansas Electric Cooperatives.
The Arkansas Electric Cooperatives (AECI) consists of 17 energy cooperatives. Entergy is not among its members.
The AECI provided a representative to the hearing who provided the following statement: “Arkansas’s electric cooperatives have not utilized, and do not plan to utilize, the rider authorized under the Generating Arkansas Jobs Act. Instead, cooperatives will rely on their established tariffs on file with the Arkansas Public Service Commission to address the costs and financial risks associated with large new loads, including data centers.”
As written, Act 373 was supposed to save ratepayers money “in the long run.” Because the AECI is not using the riders made available under Act 373, Sen. Simon asked them if they were doing their users a disservice. The AECI representative said they evaluate all their options to serve the ratepayer as best they can.
Entergy testified before the legislators. They provided a presentation demonstrating that, by using the rider, they will save $200 million compared with traditional recovery methods.
Sen. Hickey challenged the Entergy representatives to explain why agricultural power users were seeing such huge price increases. Entergy defended its methodology, saying that while rates have gone up, they have risen at a rate lower than inflation.
“You’re buying more electricity for your dollar than you were ten years ago,” the Entergy representative explained. He believes they are reacting to increased electricity demand in a stable way. Entergy believes that the incremental increases seen now are preferable to a 20% increase five years from now.
