Gasoline prices averaged $3.628 a gallon in the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City area in March 2013, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that area gasoline prices were lower than last March when they averaged $3.777 per gallon. Philadelphia area households paid an average of 15.7 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in March 2013, down from 16.2 cents per kWh in March 2012. On the other hand, the average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.224 per therm in March was more than the $1.198 per therm spent last year. (All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

At $3.628 a gallon, Philadelphia area consumers paid less than the national average of $3.792 in March 2013. A year earlier, prices for a gallon of gasoline in the Philadelphia area were closer to the national average. The local prices for a gallon of gasoline in March have differed by less than 5 percent from the national average in each of the last five years. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

The 15.7 cents per kWh that Philadelphia households paid for electricity in March 2013 was 22.7 percent more than the nationwide average of 12.8 cents per kWh. Last March, electricity costs were 27.6 percent higher in Philadelphia compared to the nation. In each of the past five years, prices paid by Philadelphia area consumers for electricity exceeded the U.S. average by more than 20 percent in the month of March. (See chart 2.)

The price paid by Philadelphia area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, was $1.224 per therm, or 23.1 percent more than the national average of 99.4 cents in March 2013. A year earlier, local area consumers paid 22.5 percent more per therm for natural gas compared to consumers nationwide. In each of the last five years, the per-therm cost for natural gas in Philadelphia was at least 20 percent more than the U.S. average in the month of March. (See chart 3.)

The Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania; Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem Counties in New Jersey; New Castle County in Delaware; and Cecil County in Maryland.

Additional information

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Technical Note

Average prices for electricity, utility (piped) gas, and gasoline are published monthly for the U.S. city average, the 4 regions, the 3 population size classes, 10 region/size-class cross-classifications, and the 14 largest local index areas. For electricity, average prices per kilowatt-hour (kWh) and per 500 kWh are published. For utility (piped) gas, average prices per therm, per 40 therms, and per 100 therms are published. For gasoline, the average price per gallon is published. Average prices for commonly available grades of gasoline are published as well as the average price across all grades.

Price quotes for 40 therms and 100 therms of utility (piped) gas and for 500 kWh of electricity are collected in sample outlets for use in the average price programs only. Since they are for specified consumption amounts, they are not used in the CPI. All other price quotes used for average price estimation are regular CPI data.

With the exception of the 40 therms, 100 therms, and 500 kWh price quotes, all eligible prices are converted to a price per normalized quantity. These prices are then used to estimate a price for a defined fixed quantity.

Table 1. Average prices for utility (piped) gas, electricity, and gasoline, United States and the Philadelphia area, March 2012-March 2013, not seasonally adjusted

Year and Month	Gasoline per gallon		Electricity per kWh		Utility (piped) gas per therm
	Philadelphia	United States	Philadelphia	United States	Philadelphia	United States
2012
March	$3.777	$3.918	$0.162	$0.127	$1.198	$0.978
April	3.911	3.976	0.163	0.127	1.192	0.951
May	3.753	3.839	0.164	0.129	1.194	0.907
June	3.476	3.602	0.167	0.135	1.170	0.927
July	3.523	3.502	0.159	0.133	1.169	0.943
August	3.741	3.759	0.159	0.133	1.169	0.960
September	3.868	3.908	0.159	0.133	1.179	0.953
October	3.800	3.839	0.166	0.128	1.173	0.962
November	3.608	3.542	0.165	0.127	1.176	0.994
December	3.445	3.386	0.165	0.127	1.194	1.004
2013
January	3.450	3.407	0.156	0.129	1.187	0.996
February	3.696	3.748	0.157	0.129	1.188	0.997
March	3.628	3.792	0.157	0.128	1.224	0.994