Power due diligence should establish which capacity is supported by current documents, which conditions remain open, and what must happen before initial and full-load energization. Use a versioned document request and risk register to test the MW, dates, costs, rights, and obligations before relying on the power claim in a transaction.
By Volterra Advisors · Last updated
Data center infrastructure illustration.
Test the power claim in six steps
Reconcile the MW and site. Confirm the parcel, utility territory, customer entity, connection, voltage, service conditions, and facility demand. Match the load letter and ramp to the development plan.
Classify the utility response. Identify the will-serve or capacity letter, its status and validity, any reservation, and the governing service agreements. Record assumptions, conditions, expiry, and assignment requirements.
Verify the study stage. Obtain complete reports and appendices, dates, versions, scope, modeled load, affected-system findings, unresolved issues, and restudy triggers. Distinguish a completed study from permission to energize.
Allocate the remaining costs. Separate customer facilities from network upgrades, estimates from committed prices, and funded obligations from unresolved exposure. Confirm deposits, security, construction contributions, continuing charges, and exit liability.
Challenge the energization schedule. Link initial and full-load dates to permits, easements, equipment, construction, testing, outages, and approvals. Identify the owner and evidence for every critical dependency.
Connect findings to the transaction. Carry unresolved risks into the decision record and the review of diligence, closing, funding, and customer commitments. Obtain written clarification before treating a material assumption as resolved.
Core document request
Power evidence to request and reconcile
Document set
What to verify
Utility letters and agreements
Current issuer response, parcel and customer, MW, validity, reservation, conditions, service class, and assignment.
Load letter and commissioning/ramp plan
Utility demand versus IT demand, initial and ultimate phases, operating profile, and consistency across documents.
Study package
Latest reports and appendices, assumptions, version history, limitations, upgrades, and open technical issues.
Written clarifications, changed assumptions, exceptions, outstanding questions, and the date each conclusion was reconfirmed.
Where on-site generation is part of the plan, add fuel, equipment, operating limitations, and environmental authorizations. A backup-power assumption does not replace diligence on the intended operating mode.
Escalate mismatches before relying on the result
Flag a letter for another parcel, inconsistent MW or ramp figures, missing study appendices, expired conditions, an unfunded upgrade, or a service date unsupported by equipment and construction evidence. Keep the finding open until the responsible party supplies the missing document or the decision explicitly accepts the risk.
What does a will-serve letter establish for diligence?
Only the commitments and conditions in that particular document. Verify its site, customer, MW, dates, validity, and relationship to the governing service agreements.
Is a completed study enough to call a site ready?
No. Check required agreements, upgrades, funding, permits, rights, equipment, testing, and energization approvals in addition to the study results.
How should upgrade cost estimates be treated?
Identify the estimate’s scope, date, exclusions, allocation, and uncertainty. Separate it from amounts already committed or paid and quantify the remaining exposure.
What makes an energization date credible?
A dated service plan that matches phased MW and conditions, with identifiable work, responsible parties, equipment, permits, and approvals supporting the critical path.
When should the power record be refreshed?
Refresh it before a material commitment and after a significant change to load, site, customer, design, studies, costs, or schedule. Keep prior versions so the decision remains traceable.
