A new series of construction cost indexes for powerplant projects has recently been launched by the firm Power Advocate, Boston, Mass. ENR will publish its index for a 550-MW combined-cycle powerplant in its cost report.

The most recent PowerAdvocate cost index for a combined-cycle plant shows a year-to-year increase of 10.2%, well above the 3% to 7% tracked by other indexes for commercial buildings. Most of this is due to the surge in steel prices, which has a greater impact on powerplant work than commercial buildings, as well as increased demand for plant components, says Paul Schuster, managing director, who developed the index.