Average Energy Prices in the Philadelphia Area – November 2009 (PDF)

Philadelphia area consumers paid 28.2 percent more than the U.S. city average for electricity and 19.4 percent more for utility (piped) gas in November 2009 as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In contrast, the price for gasoline locally was 1.6 percent lower than it was nationally. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that while the percent differential between local and national electricity prices was little changed since November 2008, the percent differential in utility (piped) gas prices narrowed over the year. Last November, the price for gasoline in the Philadelphia area was 7.4 percent higher than the U.S. average. (See table A.)  (All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

Table A. Average prices for utility (piped) gas, electricity, and gasoline, United States and Philadelphia area, November 1999-2009

Item	November 2008			November 2009
	United States	Philadelphia	Percent difference	United States	Philadelphia	Percent difference
Electricity per kWh	$0.123	$0.157	27.6	$0.124	$0.159	28.2
Utility (piped) gas per therm	1.372	1.698	23.8	1.110	1.325	19.4
Gasoline per gallon	2.208	2.371	7.4	2.709	2.665	-1.6
NOTE: A positive percent difference measures how much the price in the Philadelphia area is above the national price, while a negative difference reflects a lower price in the Philadelphia area.

A kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity cost Philadelphia consumers $0.159 in November 2009, 1.3 percent more than one year earlier. (See table 1.) Nationwide, electricity prices averaged $0.124 in November 2009, up 0.8 percent from last year. Electricity prices have generally trended upwards over the last five years, increasing more than 30.0 percent both locally and nationally. (See chart 1.)

A therm—a measure of constant heating value—of utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, in the Philadelphia area averaged $1.325 in November 2009, a decrease of 22.0 percent from the previous November. Nationwide, a therm averaged $1.110 in November 2009, down 19.1 percent over the year. Since November 2004, local and national prices followed similar trends, with local prices remaining generally higher than those for the nation. (See chart 2.)

In November 2009, gasoline in Philadelphia averaged $2.665 per gallon. Local gas prices were $0.044 (or 1.6 percent) lower than the national average of $2.709. The over-the-year increase of 12.4 percent in the Philadelphia area was smaller than the 22.7-percent rise nationwide. Though gasoline prices are historically subject to rapid monthly fluctuations, local gasoline prices have been close to the national average over the past five years. (See chart 3.)

Chart 1. Average prices for electricity, United States and Philadelphia area, November 2004-2009

Chart 2. Average prices for utility (piped) gas, United States and Philadelphia area, November 2004-2009

Chart 3. Average prices for gasoline, United States and Philadelphia area, November 2004-2009

The Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. Consolidated Metropolitan Area 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

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339.

For personal assistance or further information on the CPI data, as well as other Bureau data, contact the Mid-Atlantic Information Office at 215-597-3282 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET. Information on the Consumer Price Index and other surveys and programs is available on our Web site at www.bls.gov/ro3/.

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.