Warehouse Power Due Diligence: An Evidence Checklist
Check warehouse power claims against occupier requirements, service records and utility responses. Use a fictional evidence register and delay sensitivity.
Warehouse Power Due Diligence: An Evidence Checklist
Check warehouse power by matching the intended occupier's load requirements to documented building service and a current utility response. Keep installed equipment, usable capacity, upgrade scope and energization timing separate. An acquisition file should show what is established, what remains conditional, who must verify it and how the uncertainty changes the model.
Begin with the operation, not the listing number
A warehouse listing that says “heavy power” does not define the requirement. Ask the intended occupier for the equipment schedule, operating pattern, planned expansion and target start date. Refrigeration, charging, machinery and ordinary storage can create different questions for the technical reviewer.
J.P. Morgan Asset Management's April 2026 industrial power research describes electricity availability as an increasingly relevant industrial property constraint. That market observation helps explain why the diligence matters. It does not establish capacity, an upgrade cost or a rent premium for the property in front of you.
The industrial acquisition guide helps select the operating workflow. This checklist is the narrower handoff between the acquisition analyst, the occupier, a qualified electrical professional and the serving utility. It organizes evidence; it does not provide an electrical design or certify that a proposed use is feasible.
Keep four different claims in separate fields
A marketing description, a photograph of a panel, an occupier's requirement and a utility service determination answer different questions. Record the source, date, premises served, units and conditions behind each.
| Evidence | What it can establish | What it does not establish alone |
|---|---|---|
| Broker's stated service rating | What the marketing package claims | Verified service configuration or available capacity for the intended use |
| Dated equipment and service records | The configuration documented by those records | Present condition, spare capacity or utility approval of added load |
| Occupier load schedule | The proposed equipment and operating assumptions | Whether the building and utility can support them |
| Utility response for the proposed project | The determination, conditions and scope actually stated | Completion of unfinished works or satisfaction of conditions not yet met |
Do not turn an amp figure into a usable-power conclusion by itself. Keep voltage, phase and the stated basis with the figure, and ask the qualified reviewer to reconcile equipment requirements, existing loads and applicable service limits. Different units and definitions should remain visible until that review supplies a comparable basis.
PG&E's service-request guidance asks applicants for project information including panel size, voltage and new load in kVA. This is a useful example of why a specific load description matters. Use the actual serving utility's current process and requirements for your property.
Worked example: the brochure and the utility reply disagree in scope
Every property, document, date, rating and cost in this exercise is fictional teaching data. Nothing describes a real building or an engineering assessment. The review date is October 2, 2026.
The fictional Quay Warehouse brochure says “800 A, 480 V, three-phase service, ready for occupancy.” A panel schedule from a previous occupier repeats the rating but does not document current loading or condition. The new occupier's draft load schedule lists a proposed total demand of 620 kVA, subject to its engineer's review. The utility reply says the proposed project is under study and supplies no capacity commitment or energization date.
The answer is not a calculation proving the occupier fits. It is a list of different evidence states:
| Record | Exercise decision | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| Brochure service description | Unverified marketing claim | Match it to the current service and premises records |
| Prior occupier panel schedule | Historical configuration evidence | Obtain a current technical assessment and existing-load information |
| Proposed 620 kVA load schedule | Draft requirement | Have the occupier and its engineer confirm the load basis and version |
| Utility study acknowledgement | Process started; availability unresolved | Obtain the project-specific determination, conditions and timing |
| Seller's verbal upgrade allowance | Unsupported budget input | Request scope, cost responsibility and a dated estimate |
The property can remain under investigation. It cannot be marked power-ready from the supplied packet. In particular, a study acknowledgement should not become a capacity approval when the analyst exports the record to the investment memo.
Download the warehouse power evidence practice pack. It contains the fictional source notes, a blank register, a completed answer key and a separate timing sensitivity. No live utility records or engineering calculations are included.
Translate unresolved timing into an explicit scenario
A missing date should stay missing in the evidence register. The underwriting model can still show a clearly labeled sensitivity chosen by the analyst.
In this exercise, assume a delay scenario of three months, a $24,000 monthly base-rent receipt deferred outside the chosen twelve-month model window, and $8,000 of additional carrying expense per month. Assume no offsetting expense savings or reimbursements. These are stipulated scenario inputs, not quoted costs or a prediction of utility timing.
The window loses 3 × $24,000 = $72,000 in assumed receipts and adds 3 × $8,000 = $24,000 of assumed expense. Its cash contribution is therefore $96,000 lower before any separately modeled financing, tax, upgrade or terminal effects. A six-month version produces a $192,000 reduction under the same simplified assumptions.
This is a timing comparison within a fixed window. It does not establish that the full rent is permanently lost over the lease. If the lease term shifts, extend the cash-flow schedule consistently. If the base model already includes a carrying item, do not deduct it again in the sensitivity. Record who chose the delay assumption and keep it separate from a utility-confirmed date.
Give upgrade scope and responsibility their own review
Ask what work belongs to the utility, owner and occupier. A utility estimate may leave customer-side equipment, professional fees, site works or approvals outside its scope. The analyst should identify those boundaries and request a supported cost schedule before building a complete capital allowance.
PG&E's building and renovation page distinguishes project processes and directs applicants through service planning. It is a process reference for its territory, not a transferable promise of timing. Keep the specific utility project ID, response version and outstanding actions in the deal record.
Lease and transaction documents also need their own review. Who must perform the work, who pays, what triggers rent commencement, and what happens if the planned use cannot start? Give those questions to the responsible legal and technical reviewers. Do not infer contractual responsibility from the party who forwarded the estimate.
Use AI to prepare the evidence handoff
Supply the fictional records and ask: “Return each power-related claim with its exact source and date. Separate historical configuration, proposed demand, utility determination, cost and timing. Identify conflicts and the next responsible reviewer. Leave available capacity and energization date unknown when the supplied documents do not establish them.”
Check the output against the answer key. Then replace the utility acknowledgement with a hypothetical conditional response and see whether the conditions survive the summary. A response subject to a revised load schedule must not appear as unconditional availability.
For sourcing work, the public off-market sourcing walkthrough shows an adjacent research-to-pipeline workflow. It is not evidence that a sourcing system verifies electrical suitability. Keep that boundary visible when a promising property moves into diligence.
Build the next request around the operating requirement
Use the industrial acquisition guide and working kit to organize the broader building, yard and process review. Add the power register when utilities are material to the proposed operation. The useful handoff is a documented requirement, the evidence supporting it and an assigned question wherever support is missing.
Frequently asked questions
Does a warehouse service rating prove usable capacity?
No. A stated rating does not establish current loading, condition, service boundaries or suitability for the proposed equipment. Keep voltage, phase and the source with it, then obtain the appropriate technical and utility review.
What should I request from the prospective occupier?
Request a versioned equipment and load schedule, the intended operating pattern, planned expansion and required start date. The occupier and its qualified reviewer should establish the requirement before it is compared with property evidence.
Can I model a delay before the utility confirms a date?
You can show an explicitly labeled analyst-selected sensitivity. Keep the actual energization date unknown, state the cash-flow window and assumptions, and avoid double counting expenses already in the baseline.
Does the practice pack certify a warehouse or quote upgrade costs?
No. All records and cash inputs are fictional teaching data. The pack organizes evidence and a simplified timing scenario; it contains no electrical design, capacity determination or quoted upgrade cost.
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