CERAWEEK-Cost to build gas plants has tripled over the last decade, Carlyle energy investment officer says

HOUSTON, March 24 (Reuters) - The cost of building gas plants has topped $3,000 per kilowatt, more than tripling over the last decade, Carlyle's energy investment officer said on Tuesday.

"There's a real increase that's happened, and that's flowing into the power prices in the market today," Matt O'Connor, chief investment officer of international energy at Carlyle, said at the CERAWeek conference in Houston.