The utility says power is two years out. What now?

The short answer

A long power date is a question to take apart, not an answer to accept. Find out what the utility has actually committed to and which part of the chain is late. Put a monthly price on the wait. Then test the options against it: phase the load, bridge with on-site generation, or move to a site that has power. Until the power question is documented well enough to underwrite, don't commit to anything you can't undo.

Why is the power date now the date that matters?

The site works. The building is priced. The customer wants product next year. Then the utility calls with a date, and it is later than everything else on the schedule.

Electrical equipment can now set the critical path. Mid-2026 procurement data put medium-voltage switchgear at 52 to 80 weeks and pad-mount transformers at 40 to 65 weeks.¹ On some projects, the equipment needed to energize the building can take longer to arrive than the building itself.

That makes the power date a planning problem, not just a utility problem. It can be taken apart, priced and sometimes worked around. The first step is knowing what you've been told.

What has the utility actually committed to?

Utilities use different names for their documents, and the names don't always mean the same thing. Ask about function instead. Which document says service appears feasible? Which one identifies the upgrades required to serve you? And which agreement actually sets responsibilities, costs and a schedule?

The first is common and early. It often confirms capacity in principle without committing to a date or a price, and it may expire.² The last is the one that matters. "We think we can serve it" is not a service plan.

Get these in writing:

The capacity available to you, and when
The voltage and type of service
The upgrades required, and who builds them
Who pays for what, and whether any payment is refundable
What the date depends on: studies, equipment, easements, other projects

That last item is the one people skip. A date with no stated dependencies can't be tested, and it can't be managed.

What is actually late?

A power date can come from four places, and each has a different fix.

The system. The utility needs more generation or transmission capacity to serve the region. You can't speed this up. You can only route around it or wait.

The local substation. The nearest substation lacks capacity, or needs a new bay. This is the utility's work, but sometimes load can be served from a different substation or feeder.

The line to your site. A new feeder or line extension, often with easements to acquire. Easements can become part of the customer-funded scope, depending on the utility and the project.³

Your own equipment. The switchgear and transformer on your side of the meter. This is the one piece partly in your control. It can be ordered early, once the utility's scope is firm enough to size it.

Ask the utility which of the four sets the date. The answer tells you which options are real.

What is the wait costing you?

Put a number on it, the same way My plant is full prices a constraint.

Cost of waiting at this site

The monthly cost of the delay × months until usable power, plus any bridge costs, plus commitments you've already made that are now at risk.

The monthly cost of the delay includes the constraint at your current plant, contracted volume you can't yet serve, carrying costs on land, building or equipment sitting idle, and hiring or investment dates in an incentive agreement that start to slip.

That number is what every option below competes against.

What are the options?

Wait. This is the right answer when the delay is shorter than any fix, or cheaper than every fix. Waiting on purpose is different from waiting by default.

Phase the load. If the utility can energize part of the requirement earlier, find out whether the operation can start with only the lines and equipment that fit inside that first allocation. Then add the rest when full service arrives. Whether this works depends on the process. Some plants run fine at half their power. Some don't run at all.

Reduce the load. Process changes, more efficient equipment, or moving an energy-heavy step to another site can shrink the requirement below the constraint.

Bridge with on-site generation. Temporary or semi-permanent generation can carry some loads until utility service arrives. Generators have their own lead times. Air permitting depends on how the equipment will run, and continuous operation can be treated differently from standby. Fuel supply has to be arranged. Price the bridge as an all-in cost, including equipment, fuel, permitting and operation, and compare it with the cost of waiting.

Order long-lead equipment early. If your own switchgear or transformer is the late item, ordering before the building is under way can take it off the critical path. It is an at-risk commitment, so do it only once the utility's scope is firm enough to size the equipment correctly.

Change sites. Move to a site where capacity already exists and is documented.

When does the power date kill the site?

Compare the two paths.

Cost of waiting at this site	Cost of changing sites
Monthly delay cost × months until usable power, plus bridge costs, plus at-risk commitments	Any premium for the new site, added real estate and infrastructure cost, the difference in schedule, and the disruption of starting over

When the second number is smaller, the power date has killed the site, however good the site is otherwise. Two other conditions can kill it faster: a customer date that can't move, and a utility that can't say what its date depends on.

A delay you can price is an inconvenience. A delay nobody can explain is a site problem.

What shouldn't you commit to yet?

Until the power scope, dependencies and expected service date are documented clearly enough to underwrite, be careful with anything that assumes the date:

Closing on the land. Use contingencies, or extend them.
A construction contract with no power milestone in it.
Customer delivery dates that depend on the new plant.
Incentive agreements with hiring and investment dates.
Equipment orders, beyond items you have deliberately chosen to buy at risk.

A developer can price a building. Nobody can price a service date the utility hasn't made.

What changes if your load is very large?

Most manufacturing plants won't face this, but the rules are moving. A newer class of large-load tariffs asks very large new customers for long commitments. Of the tariffs CoBank tracked through April 2026, nearly three-quarters applied above 20 MW, most required contracts of ten years or more, and those with numeric minimum bills averaged about 80 percent of contracted capacity.⁴ In Georgia, new customers of 100 MW or more can face 15- to 25-year contracts, monthly minimum bills whether or not they use the power, collateral, and termination payments if they leave early.⁵⁶ The purpose is to keep other customers from paying for capacity built for one user. For a very large load, those terms belong in the site comparison from the start.

What if we're wrong?

If power arrives early: you're ready, or you've paid for a bridge you didn't need.
If power arrives later than promised: a phased plan and uncommitted delivery dates are what protect you.
If your load estimate was wrong: too high, and you may pay for capacity you don't use; too low, and you wait in line a second time.

What does waiting cost?

Your place in line. Utilities and equipment manufacturers both work through queues, and a load request or equipment reservation made early costs little compared with one made late.

Current rules · as of September 2026

Equipment lead times from mid-2026 procurement data.¹ Large-load tariff findings from CoBank, April 2026.⁴ Georgia large-load terms from Georgia Power and the Georgia Public Service Commission.⁵⁶ Refreshed at each annual review.

What questions come next?

The Alabama and Georgia specifics: Power readiness in Alabama and Georgia
Water, wastewater, roads and zoning: Can this site carry your plant?
Whether you need the new building at all: My plant is full
How to occupy it: Buy, build, or lease

This is general information, not advice about a specific company, property, or transaction. See the disclaimer.

Sources and disclosure

Terrapin Construction Group, Switchgear, Transformer, and Generator Lead Times in 2026, June 2026. Secondary (drawn from manufacturer slot reservations). Link · Checked September 26, 2026.
Calichi, What Is a Will-Serve Letter? Utilities, Timelines, and Expiration. Secondary. Link · Checked September 27, 2026.
Terrapin Construction Group, Utility Power Interconnection Timeline and Cost 2026, August 2026. Secondary. Link · Checked September 27, 2026.
CoBank, The state of large load rate design: Insights from the DELTa database, April 2026. Secondary (lender research). Link · Checked September 27, 2026.
Georgia Power, Customer Protection Pledge. Primary (utility). Link · Checked September 27, 2026.
Georgia Public Service Commission, PSC Approves Rule to Allow New Power Usage Terms for Large Load Customers, media advisory, January 23, 2025. Government. Link · Checked September 27, 2026.

How Redchip researches and verifies: Method. Disclosure: Dan, who wrote this guide, is a partner in Vanguard Industrial Partners, which develops industrial facilities in the Southeast. Redchip Ventures LLC also provides advisory services as Arkvera Grove Partners. Paid work never changes a conclusion in a Redchip guide.