Data Center Cost Index
Facility build, operating and hardware input costs. Independent indexes with component-level sources and weights.
The cost of building and operating
Cite
MacroGauge DC Build Index, 2026-10-02, 2018-01=100, +8.4% YoY — https://macrogauge.vercel.app/datacenterExport
Index · January 2018 = 100
Source: BLS, EIA and market data · 2018-01=100 · Input-price indexes; build and operating costs remain separate.
What's driving each index component weights, moves and contributions
Weight, year-over-year move, and percentage-point contribution to the DC Build headline (as of Oct 2, 2026). Every component is adding to costs right now.
| Component | Weight | YoY | Contribution | Last reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction labor30% of the index · +1.35pp | ||||
| Construction wages | 15% | +4.2% | +0.63pp | Sep 2026 |
| Electrical contractors | 9% | +5.3% | +0.48pp | Aug 2026 |
| Plumbing/HVAC contractors | 6% | +4.0% | +0.24pp | Aug 2026 |
| Materials20% of the index · +3.37pp | ||||
| Steel mill products | 7% | +23.4% | +1.52pp | Aug 2026 |
| Ready-mix concrete | 5% | +2.3% | +0.11pp | Aug 2026 |
| Copper wire & cable | 6% | +22.8% | +1.25pp | Oct 2, 2026live tail |
| Aluminum mill shapes | 3% | +15.9% | +0.48pp | Oct 2, 2026live tail |
| Electrical equipment35% of the index · +3.11pp | ||||
| Switchgear & switchboard | 14% | +12.3% | +1.72pp | Aug 2026 |
| Power & distribution transformers | 12% | +7.6% | +0.91pp | Aug 2026 |
| Generator sets & turbines | 9% | +5.3% | +0.47pp | Aug 2026 |
| Mechanical / cooling15% of the index · +0.57pp | ||||
| AC & refrigeration equipment | 10% | +3.9% | +0.39pp | Aug 2026 |
| Industrial pumps | 5% | +3.5% | +0.18pp | Aug 2026 |
Same hardware, 11 official answers why the index uses transaction-sensitive series
| Official series | ID | YoY | Last obs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer storage devices PPI | PCU334112334112 | +87.2% | 2026-08-01 | in index | |
| Import: semis & components (NAICS) | IZ3344 | +35.1% | 2026-08-01 | ||
| Semis & components group PPI | PCU33443344 | +26.7% | 2026-08-01 | in index | |
| Import: computers ex-semis | IR213COM | +23.8% | 2026-08-01 | in index | |
| Network & telephone apparatus PPI | PCU334210334210 | +10.8% | 2026-08-01 | in index | |
| CPI computers & peripherals | CUUR0000SEEE01 | +8.4% | 2026-08-01 | ||
| Import: semiconductors | IR21320 | +6.9% | 2026-08-01 | in index | |
| IC packages incl. microprocessors PPI | WPU117839 | +1.4% | 2026-08-01 | ||
| Servers (host computers) PPI | PCU3341113341115 | −0.1% | 2026-08-01 | ||
| Semiconductor mfg PPI (headline) | PCU334413334413 | −3.1% | 2026-08-01 | ||
| Other semis incl. wafers PPI | PCU334413334413A | −10.1% | 2026-08-01 |
The construction boom Census C30 · US data-center construction spend
The power bill wholesale prices, capacity charges and the utility tariffs data centers sign
Wholesale power across the grid
Thirty-day average at each hub, against the same thirty days a year earlier. On-peak ICE trades and all-hours day-ahead averages measure different things, so compare each hub with its own history rather than across rows.
| Hub | 30-day avg | vs year ago | Latest | Last 6 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PJMPJM Western HubMid-Atlantic incl. Northern Virginia · On-peak, ICE trades | $85.72/MWh | +61.9% | $124.31Sep 29 | |
| ERCOTERCOT North HubTexas (Dallas–Fort Worth) · Day-ahead, all-hours average | $38.88/MWh | +30.7% | $42.29Oct 3 | |
| MISOMISO Indiana HubMidwest · Day-ahead, all-hours average | $58.57/MWh | +43.2% | $86.98Oct 1 | |
| SPPSPP North HubKansas and Nebraska · Day-ahead, all-hours average | $32.41/MWh | −0.3% | $36.05Oct 4 | |
| CAISOCAISO SP15Southern California · Day-ahead, all-hours average | $42.89/MWh | +14.8% | $50.28Oct 2 | |
| Desert SouthwestPalo VerdeArizona (Phoenix) · On-peak, ICE trades | $40.95/MWh | +11.6% | $26.13Sep 29 | |
| Pacific NorthwestMid-ColumbiaWashington / Oregon · On-peak, ICE trades | $51.00/MWh | −8.2% | $51.47Sep 29 | |
| NYISONYISO Zone A (West)Western New York · Day-ahead, all-hours average | $36.89/MWh | −0.2% | $31.37Oct 5 | |
| ISO-NEISO-NE Mass HubNew England · Day-ahead on-peak, ICE trades | $44.65/MWh | +14.6% | $44.00Sep 29 |
Capacity prices by grid operator
What grid operators pay to have enough power plants on call, which utilities pass through to large customers. PJM's clearing price rose about 11× from 2024/25 to 2028/29.
RTO clearing price · PJM, 2026-07-14 · 2028/29 cleared at the price cap
Annualized North/Central price · MISO auction results, 2026-04-28 · MISO publishes annualized prices from 2025/26; earlier years are our day-weighted average of its seasonal prices. Summer 2025/26 cleared $666.50
Rest-of-Pool clearing price · ISO-NE, 2024-02-21 · No auction after 2027/28 until the redesigned market starts in 2028
Rest of State, May–April average · NYISO market monitor, 2026-05-19 · New York City (Zone J) averaged $10.98/kW-month in 2025/26, about $361/MW-day
- ERCOT runs an energy-only market: there is no capacity price, and scarcity pricing pays for new plants. Potomac Economics
- SPP has no centralized capacity market; utilities must carry 16% summer and 36% winter reserve margins from 2026. FERC order
- CAISO relies on bilateral resource-adequacy contracts, not an auction; the CPUC reports system contracts averaged about $11.87/kW-month for 2025 (roughly $390/MW-day). CPUC 2023 RA report
What the utilities charge data centers
Large-load tariffs where most new data-center demand is landing: the minimum share of contracted capacity a customer pays for whether or not it uses it, how long it is locked in, and how much load is lined up.
- Dominion Energy VirginiaPJM
Rate Schedule GS-5 · VA
Approved, Virginia SCC PUR-2025-00058 (Nov 25, 2025); applies to contracts signed from Jan 1, 2027
- Minimum bill
- 85% of contracted demand for distribution and transmission; 60% for generation
- Term
- 14 years, including up to a 4-year ramp
- Applies at
- 25 MW and a 75% load factor
Pipeline 53.8 GW contracted, 12.0 GW of it under signed service agreements (Jul 2026)
Dominion Q2 2026 slides; SCC final order, Jul 31, 2026
- AEP OhioPJM
Data Center Tariff (Schedule DCT) · OH
Approved, PUCO 24-0508-EL-ATA (Jul 9, 2025); appeal pending at the Ohio Supreme Court
- Minimum bill
- Up to 85% of contract capacity (tiered formula)
- Term
- Ramp of up to 4 years, then 8 years
- Applies at
- 25 MW of new data-center load
Pipeline About 12 GW of AEP's 69 GW contracted load through 2030 is in Ohio (Sep 2026)
AEP Ohio tariff page, Oct 4, 2026
- Indiana Michigan PowerPJM
Large Load Terms (Tariff I.P.) · IN
Approved, IURC Cause 46097 (Feb 19, 2025)
- Minimum bill
- 80% of contract capacity
- Term
- 12 years or more after a ramp of up to 5 years
- Applies at
- 70 MW per site or 150 MW aggregated
Pipeline Indiana peak load 2.8 GW today, more than 7 GW by about 2030
IURC order 46097, Feb 19, 2025
- ComEdPJM
Transmission Security Agreements and large-load deposits · IL
First agreements signed Jan 2026; deposit tariff approved by the ICC (Docket 25-0677, Mar 2026)
- Minimum bill
- Take-or-pay on transmission service, backed by 10 years of collateral
- Term
- Not a retail minimum bill
- Applies at
- 50 MW
Pipeline About 9 GW in advanced design plus about 17 GW in cluster studies (Jul 2026)
Exelon Q2 2026 slides, Jul 30, 2026
- Georgia PowerSoutheast (no RTO)
Large-load rules and contracting framework · GA
Approved, Georgia PSC Docket 44280 (Jan and Apr 2025); base rates frozen through 2028
- Minimum bill
- Minimum bill set to recover transmission and generation cost; no percentage published
- Term
- Longer terms; leaving early owes the remaining minimum bills
- Applies at
- 100 MW
Pipeline 12.4 GW committed across 31 customers (Mar 2026), plus OpenAI's 3.2 GW (Aug 2026); 76.2 GW pipeline
Georgia PSC large-load report, May 15, 2026
- Duke Energy Carolinas and ProgressSoutheast (no RTO)
Large-load terms in service agreements; NC tariff proposed · NC / SC
Terms filed with the NCUC (E-100 Sub 208, Oct 2025); separate large-load tariff proceeding agreed Aug 2026
- Minimum bill
- 75% of contract demand
- Term
- 15 years or more
- Applies at
- Proposed tariff: 50 MW (press report)
Pipeline 7.8 GW of signed data-center service agreements (Aug 2026 call)
Duke NCUC filing, Oct 10, 2025
- Entergy LouisianaMISO
Customer-specific agreements (Meta) · LA
Hyperion approved, LPSC U-37425 (Aug 20, 2025); a second 5.3 GW Meta agreement awaits a decision targeted for Dec 2026
- Minimum bill
- Minimum monthly bills plus upfront contributions; percentage not disclosed
- Term
- Not disclosed
- Applies at
- Bespoke
Pipeline 7 to 12 GW of potential data-center load beyond the current plan (May 2026)
Entergy 10-Q, Q2 2026, Jul 31, 2026
- Texas (Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP Texas)ERCOT
Statewide large-load rules under SB 6 · TX
Interconnection standards adopted, PUCT Project 58481 (effective Oct 8, 2026); 20-year minimum-billing rule proposed (Project 58000)
- Minimum bill
- Proposed: 100% of contracted peak
- Term
- Proposed: 20 years of payments
- Applies at
- 75 MW per site
Pipeline ERCOT tracks about 474 GW of large-load requests, about 90% data centers (Jun 2026)
PUCT order, Project 58481, Sep 18, 2026
- EvergySPP
Large Load Power Service (LLPS) · KS / MO
Approved, KCC 25-EKME-315-TAR (Nov 6, 2025) and Missouri PSC EO-2025-0154 (Nov 13, 2025)
- Minimum bill
- 80% of contract demand
- Term
- 12 years plus an optional ramp of up to 5 years
- Applies at
- 75 MW
Pipeline About 2.6 GW of data-center service agreements signed in 2026
Kansas Corporation Commission, Nov 6, 2025
- Ameren MissouriMISO
Large Load Customer Service (Schedule LLCS) · MO
Approved, Missouri PSC ET-2025-0184 (Nov 24, 2025)
- Minimum bill
- 80% of contract capacity
- Term
- 12 years plus an optional ramp of up to 5 years
- Applies at
- 75 MW
Pipeline 2.8 GW of signed service agreements; 3.4 GW under construction agreements (Jul 2026)
Missouri PSC stipulation, Nov 7, 2025
- Xcel Energy (Minnesota)MISO
Large-load tariff · MN
Approved, Minnesota PUC M-25-289 (May 2026); Colorado and Wisconsin versions pending
- Minimum bill
- 80% minimum bill and exit fee (PUC); Xcel's deck still lists 75%
- Term
- 15 years; 24-month exit notice
- Applies at
- 100 MW
Pipeline About 2 GW contracted or under construction; more than 20 GW pipeline (Jul 2026)
Minnesota PUC release, May 18, 2026
- PPL ElectricPJM
Large-load rate class · PA
Approved in the rate-case settlement, PA PUC R-2025-3057164 (order Jun 11, 2026; rates from Jul 1, 2026)
- Minimum bill
- Not disclosed
- Term
- Minimum 10 years (press report)
- Applies at
- Large-load class
Pipeline 31.8 GW in advanced planning; more than 11 GW under signed service agreements (Aug 2026)
PPL Q2 2026 8-K, Aug 7, 2026
- FirstEnergyPJM
Ohio Data Center Tariff · OH / PA / NJ / MD / WV
Pending, PUCO 26-0697-EL-ATA (filed Jun 12, 2026)
- Minimum bill
- Not yet set
- Term
- Not yet set
- Applies at
- Data-center load
Pipeline 24.8 GW of data-center demand, 6.4 GW of it contracted (Q2 2026)
FirstEnergy Q2 2026 8-K, Jul 28, 2026
- Arizona Public ServiceWestern (WEIM)
Rate Schedule XHLF (Extra High Load Factor) · AZ
In effect since Mar 2024; changes pending in rate case E-01345A-25-0105 (ACC vote due by Dec 31, 2026)
- Minimum bill
- Set customer by customer in each supply agreement
- Term
- Set in each supply agreement
- Applies at
- 5 MW at a 92% load factor
Pipeline 4.5 GW committed; about 20 GW uncommitted (Sep 2026)
Pinnacle West investor deck, Sep 30, 2026
- Salt River ProjectWestern (public power)
Price Plan E-67 (large-load substation service) · AZ
Approved by the SRP board; effective with the Nov 2025 billing cycle
- Minimum bill
- 80% of forecast demand
- Term
- Set in each service agreement
- Applies at
- 20 MW, or 20 MW expected within 5 years
Pipeline Data centers were 5.1% of SRP's summer 2025 peak; no GW pipeline published
SRP E-67 price plan, Nov 1, 2025
- NV EnergyWestern (WEIM)
Standard large-load service agreement · NV
Filed with the 2026 resource plan (May 2026); approval requested by Sep 18, 2026
- Minimum bill
- 90% of maximum demand after the ramp
- Term
- 10 years or more
- Applies at
- 25 MW
Pipeline About 5.7 GW under signed agreements and 11.2 GW in study (Aug 2025)
NV Energy 2026 IRP, Volume 7, May 1, 2026
- PG&ECAISO
Electric Rule 30 (transmission-level retail service) · CA
Interim rule approved, D.25-07-039 (Jul 2025); final rule pending in A.24-11-007
- Minimum bill
- Proposed: 75% of contracted capacity in years 1–15
- Term
- Proposed: 15 years after a ramp of up to 4 years
- Applies at
- 20 MW
Pipeline 12.7 GW of data-center requests (Jun 2026)
PG&E testimony, A.24-11-007, Jul 23, 2026
The bigger picture demand, scarcity & external checks
| Year | T&T DCCIcost modeldata centres | Turner BCIbid-price proxyUS non-res building | BLS office PPIoutput priceUS office buildingscomputed by us | Our DC Buildinput costUS data centres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | — | +5.6% | +5.6% | +5.4% |
| 2019 | — | +5.5% | +3.6% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | — | +1.8% | +1.5% | +2.6% |
| 2021 | — | +1.9% | +13.9% | +20.5% |
| 2022 | +15.0% | +8.0% | +19.6% | +8.9% |
| 2023 | +6.0% | +6.0% | +2.2% | +3.6% |
| 2024 | +9.0% | +3.9% | +2.8% | +2.7% |
| 2025 | +5.5% | +4.1% | +3.1% | +7.7% |
Annual external calibration for a daily index. These peers do not measure the same thing we do — an em dash means the publisher printed no figure for that year, never a value we filled in. No forecasts: every row is a realised, backward-looking print.
T&T DCCI — Turner & Townsend, Data Centre Construction Cost Index 2025-2026 · global · calendar year basis · as of 2025-2026 edition. Data-centre specific, but global rather than US. This is T&T's cost-index headline, not their separate tender price inflation metric. Turner & Townsend Data Centre Construction Cost Index 2025-2026 (turnerandtownsend.com)
Turner BCI — Turner Construction, Turner Building Cost Index, 2026 2nd quarter · US · annual average basis · as of Q2 2026. US non-residential building of every type, not data centres. A bid-price proxy: Turner's published method includes the competitive condition of the marketplace, so bid climate and contractor margin sit inside the number — though Turner stops short of saying the series prices accepted tenders. Turner Building Cost Index Q2 2026 (turnerconstruction.com)
BLS office PPI — US Bureau of Labor Statistics, PPI by industry: new office building construction (PCU236223236223) · US · Dec/Dec basis · as of December 2025 final; series runs to June 2026, preliminary. Office buildings, not data centres — the de facto deflator for DC capital plans because BLS publishes no data-centre construction PPI. An output-price index: it measures what contractors receive, not what inputs cost. Dec-over-Dec computed by us from the published index levels. BLS PPI series PCU236223236223 (api.bls.gov)
State cost parity multipliers vs national average
multipliers vs national: power 9.77¢/kWh (as of 2026-07-01), construction wage $1,634/wk (as of 2026-01-01).
| Wage rel | Power rel | Power ¢/kWh | QCEW wage | Wage as-of | Power as-of | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HI | 1.031 | 2.664 | 1.105 | 4.026 | 39.33 | $1,805 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| DC | — | 2.260 | — | 3.291 | 32.15 | — | — | 2026-07-01 |
| CA | 1.031 | 1.864 | 1.102 | 2.570 | 25.11 | $1,801 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| AK | — | 1.847 | — | 2.539 | 24.81 | — | — | 2026-07-01 |
| RI | — | 1.737 | — | 2.340 | 22.86 | — | — | 2026-07-01 |
| MA | — | 1.590 | — | 2.073 | 20.25 | — | — | 2026-07-01 |
| NH | 0.990 | 1.473 | 0.965 | 1.860 | 18.17 | $1,577 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| CT | 1.015 | 1.423 | 1.050 | 1.770 | 17.29 | $1,715 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| MD | 1.010 | 1.363 | 1.032 | 1.659 | 16.21 | $1,687 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| NJ | 1.018 | 1.330 | 1.059 | 1.600 | 15.63 | $1,731 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| ME | 0.955 | 1.235 | 0.849 | 1.427 | 13.94 | $1,388 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| VT | — | 1.186 | — | 1.338 | 13.07 | — | — | 2026-07-01 |
| IL | 1.031 | 1.118 | 1.103 | 1.215 | 11.87 | $1,803 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| DE | 0.976 (Q4 2025) | 1.109 | 0.918 | 1.199 | 11.71 | $1,667 | 2025-10-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| PA | 1.003 (Q4 2025) | 1.071 | 1.010 | 1.130 | 11.04 | $1,833 | 2025-10-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| OH | 1.004 | 1.066 | 1.012 | 1.121 | 10.95 | $1,654 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| NY | 1.023 | 1.058 | 1.075 | 1.106 | 10.81 | $1,757 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| WI | 0.988 | 1.039 | 0.961 | 1.071 | 10.46 | $1,571 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| MN | 1.044 | 1.032 | 1.146 | 1.058 | 10.34 | $1,873 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| VA | 1.000 | 1.017 | 0.999 | 1.031 | 10.07 | $1,632 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| NV | 1.007 | 1.015 | 1.023 | 1.028 | 10.04 | $1,671 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| GA | 1.007 | 1.015 | 1.023 | 1.027 | 10.03 | $1,672 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| NE | 0.951 | 1.013 | 0.838 | 1.024 | 10.00 | $1,369 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| IA | 0.975 | 1.012 | 0.918 | 1.022 | 9.99 | $1,500 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| MO | — | 1.006 | — | 1.010 | 9.87 | — | — | 2026-07-01 |
| SD | — | 1.003 | — | 1.006 | 9.83 | — | — | 2026-07-01 |
| MI | 0.987 | 1.002 | 0.957 | 1.004 | 9.81 | $1,564 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| CO | 1.011 | 0.987 | 1.037 | 0.977 | 9.54 | $1,694 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| AZ | 1.001 | 0.976 | 1.002 | 0.957 | 9.35 | $1,638 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| FL | 0.966 | 0.966 | 0.887 | 0.939 | 9.17 | $1,450 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| IN | 0.996 | 0.966 | 0.988 | 0.938 | 9.16 | $1,614 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| UT | 0.964 | 0.962 | 0.880 | 0.931 | 9.10 | $1,438 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| ID | 0.957 | 0.958 | 0.856 | 0.923 | 9.02 | $1,399 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| OR | 1.009 | 0.952 | 1.029 | 0.913 | 8.92 | $1,681 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| WY | 0.952 | 0.935 | 0.842 | 0.882 | 8.62 | $1,375 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| KS | 0.969 (Q4 2025) | 0.930 | 0.895 | 0.872 | 8.52 | $1,625 | 2025-10-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| AL | 0.972 | 0.924 | 0.905 | 0.862 | 8.42 | $1,479 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| WV | 0.956 | 0.923 | 0.853 | 0.860 | 8.40 | $1,394 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| NC | 0.975 (Q4 2025) | 0.921 | 0.918 | 0.857 | 8.37 | $1,666 | 2025-10-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| ND | 0.980 | 0.912 | 0.933 | 0.840 | 8.21 | $1,524 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| OK | 0.950 | 0.909 | 0.832 | 0.835 | 8.16 | $1,360 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| AR | 0.934 | 0.891 | 0.780 | 0.802 | 7.84 | $1,275 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| SC | 0.988 | 0.891 | 0.960 | 0.802 | 7.84 | $1,568 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| MT | 0.962 | 0.884 | 0.873 | 0.789 | 7.71 | $1,426 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| MS | 0.957 | 0.881 | 0.855 | 0.784 | 7.66 | $1,397 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| KY | 0.961 | 0.873 | 0.869 | 0.769 | 7.51 | $1,420 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| WA | 1.012 | 0.873 | 1.039 | 0.769 | 7.51 | $1,698 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| TN | 0.980 | 0.851 | 0.933 | 0.730 | 7.13 | $1,524 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| TX | 1.012 | 0.848 | 1.039 | 0.724 | 7.07 | $1,698 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| LA | 0.996 | 0.792 | 0.987 | 0.622 | 6.08 | $1,612 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
| NM | 0.943 | 0.684 | 0.809 | 0.426 | 4.16 | $1,322 | 2026-01-01 | 2026-07-01 |
A quarter in brackets in the Build column: BLS suppressed that state's newest QCEW construction wage, so its multiplier compares the state's own latest published quarter with the national wage for that same quarter — like-for-like, one quarter older than the rest.
— in the Build column: BLS suppresses small-cell QCEW wages for these states, so no wage relative exists.
How it's built
The three indexes
Input-price indexes (2018-01=100), not turnkey build quotes: each component is an official PPI/CES/EIA series weighted by published industry cost breakdowns (facility only — no servers/GPUs; IT hardware indexes are hedonically adjusted and would mislead in the GPU era). Copper and aluminum components carry a live futures tail spliced onto the PPI at the last print and re-anchored every print, so futures never overwrite official history. Parity multipliers pin nationally-priced inputs at 1.0: build = 0.3 × state construction wage relative (QCEW NAICS-23) + 0.70; ops = 0.55 × state industrial power relative (EIA) + 0.45. Weight citations in the methodology page pattern; sources refresh monthly (power, PPI, CES) and quarterly (QCEW, ~2-quarter lag).
DC Hardware
The DC Hardware index uses only transaction-sensitive official series; the hedonically quality-adjusted series (domestic servers PPI, CPI computers, the headline semiconductor PPI) are shown above as contrast, not averaged in — the selection rule is transaction-based, not hot: imported semiconductors ride in the basket at whatever they print. No official DRAM or memory price index exists (BLS catalogs verified 2026-07-15; the microprocessor PPI was discontinued in 2015), which is why a market-data memory nowcast tail is the planned upgrade. Hardware is nationally priced — it does not enter the state parity table. Weights are cited in the methodology notes; group shares: compute 0.65, storage & memory 0.15, network 0.20.
Construction spend
Construction-boom data is Census C30 value-in-place for data centers (monthly, ~2-month lag; no FRED mirror exists — we parse Census's published workbook). The level chart is Census's seasonally adjusted annual rate; YoY is computed on NSA actuals same-month-a-year-ago; the real line deflates nominal spend by our DC Build index to constant 2018-01 dollars — a series that requires a DC-specific input-cost deflator to exist.
The power bill and the ops nowcast
The power bill panel covers every major US grid. Day-ahead hub prices come straight from each operator's public files (CAISO SP15, MISO Indiana Hub, ERCOT North, SPP North and NYISO Zone A, daily all-hours averages); PJM Western Hub, Palo Verde, Mid-Columbia and ISO-NE Mass Hub are on-peak trade averages from EIA's ICE workbook, updated about every two weeks. Each hub shows its own 30-day average against the same window a year earlier. Capacity prices are the operators' published auction results (MISO's seasonal prices are annualized; ISO-NE and NYISO prices converted from $/kW-month), and ERCOT, SPP and CAISO are labeled rather than priced because they run no capacity auction. The utility tariff table is hand-curated from commission orders, tariff sheets and SEC filings, each row citing its source and date. All of it is market visibility only. The DC Ops index deliberately stays on official retail data: wholesale swings ~3× seasonally while tariff-smoothed retail is seasonally flat, so a level-spliced wholesale tail would fabricate seasonal inflation (we measured it, then pulled it). We then built the honest alternative — a like-month year-ratio nowcast, which cancels seasonality by construction — and backtested it against realized retail prints before letting it touch the index: its best pass-through candidate failed the pre-registered backtest gate — FAIL (best MAE 8.479 vs 5.463 YoY pts over 11 months, as of 2026-07-01). Either way the ops index stays on official retail data and the machinery ships config-gated. Wholesale tells you about the grid; it does not nowcast tariff-cycle retail rates, and we publish it as market visibility only.
The bigger-picture cards
The bigger-picture cards are context, not index inputs: colo asking rates (CBRE), grid-queue volumes (LBNL), and the external calibration panel — annual escalation from Turner & Townsend, Turner Construction and BLS shown against our daily DC Build index — are hand-updated from their cited publications and each card carries its as-of date. Those three peers do not measure the same thing we do, and the panel says so in every column header: we price construction inputs; a bid-price proxy like Turner's folds the competitive condition of the marketplace — bid climate and contractor margin — into the owner's cost; and a PPI prices what a contractor receives. The gap between them is the point of showing them. Kalshi odds are market-implied probabilities from thin books, shown only when a live quote exists. Diesel (genset fuel) and the water, sewer & trash collection services CPI ride the daily pipeline.