As procurement firms struggle to keep up with data center demand amidst ongoing supply chain and labor constraints, there’s a growing sentiment that data center developers will be forced to be more realistic with their project timelines.

The issue was a major discussion point at Gulf Coast Power Association’s ongoing Spring 2026 conference in Houston during a panel hosted by CPS Energy Chief Strategy Officer Elaina Ball including Zachry Group Senior Power Market Executive Michael Kotara, Siemens Industry’s VP of Utility Sales and Solutions Chad Burk, Mesa Power Solutions’ Senior VP of Corporate Development Tom Poteet, and Danovo Energy Solutions President Andrew Schwaitzberg.

Schwaitzberg noted data center developers are putting a lot of pressure on the rest of the energy supply chain to meet their demand of speed to power. However, he noted a number of issues working against meeting that demand including “crazy” risk management negotiations between different participants in the supply stack, geopolitical constraints in the Middle East, and a need for energy providers to “sort out what’s real and what’s not” to inform transmission buildouts.

The result is contractors are being forced to buy equipment earlier than they otherwise would, often without an RFP process ensuring best prices which “take too long,” according to Burk. Instead, firms like Siemens are prioritizing upfront partnerships to help reduce time deltas and absorb risk between partners. Kotara agreed, arguing this paradigm is an advantage to developers who can sign these agreements without regulatory oversight, though he noted some may run into issues with financing.

The issue is complicated and expensive enough that some EPC and even historically consulting firms like Danovo and Mesa are bringing some aspects of manufacturing in-house.

Kotara noted supply constraints are not the only bottlenecks threatening speedy power buildouts for data centers as labor constraints begin to become more commonplace. He estimated a typical combined cycle gas project (CCGT) requires about 1,000 workers each and that high number coupled with wage escalation makes fixed pricing on long duration projects “almost impossible” with construction often coming into play years after contracts are signed. This, he says, is a major disadvantage for project developers that need to lock in project financing without clarity on final costs.

Exacerbating this problem, he says, are data center projects themselves which often utilize the same labor force on an even grander scale resulting in what he called “hyper-inflation.” Worse, Schwaitzberg notes these bigger projects are often magnets that result in more projects stacking against each other.

Meanwhile, Kotara said he has had more than one conversation with data center customers expecting construction projects to work 24 hours a day, something he says Zachry Group never plans to do.

“Their expectations are unrealistic and I don’t see that changing thanks to the revenue incentives they have,” Kotara said, noting data centers can collect revenues up to USD 10m per day.

The panelists were divided on the realistic pace data center customers can expect. Schwaitzberg argued the energy sector needs to “have some recognition that it’s a different type of customer that works differently than our industry.” While he said there would likely be a “constant push-pull, I don’t see this as a place where we can afford to slow down.”

Burk meanwhile argued the energy sector would “never be fast enough” to meet what data center companies want and that these firms will “have to live with what we can do.” Poteet agreed, countering that data center companies need to figure out what they want from their developments before they push for faster timelines.

“A lot of times, they’re unsure,” he said.

Looking ahead, Kotara said Zachry would continue to focus on upfront framework agreements between EPC firms and suppliers. Burk agreed this will be essential to “mitigate risks to price changes and tariffs” and help navigate uncertain timelines.

“If we have to eat costs up front, we’re willing to do that as long as we know there’s a pipeline on the back end,” Burk said of Siemens. “It never feels good to pick winners and losers on projects because we don’t have the available supply.”