A data center can secure a site, complete its engineering plans, line up customers, and negotiate substantial financing, yet still struggle to reach financial close because its power supply lacks a credible delivery schedule. The problem is no longer simply whether a utility has allocated capacity on paper, but whether the project can obtain dependable electricity when its computing equipment is ready to operate. AI workloads intensify that pressure because high-density computing requires sustained power, predictable commissioning, and enough electrical headroom to support future expansion. Developers therefore face a more demanding question: what happens when the grid connection arrives later than the revenue forecast assumes? On-site gas turbines, modular nuclear reactors, and microgrids offer different ways to address that exposure, although each introduces its own engineering, permitting, fuel, and capital requirements.