Washington-Baltimore area consumers paid 14.9 percent more than the U.S. city average for utility (piped) gas in December 2011 as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In contrast, local prices for both electricity and gasoline were close to the national average. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that local prices for utility (piped) gas and gasoline rose over the year while those for electricity changed little . (See table A. Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

A therm—a measure of constant heating value—of utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, in the Washington-Baltimore area averaged $1.188 in December 2011, an increase of 2.1 percent from the previous December. Nationwide, a therm averaged $1.034 in December 2011, down 4.1 percent from one year earlier. (See table 1.) Over the last five years, local and national prices have followed similar trends, though local prices were above those for the nation in all but one month. (See chart 1.)

A kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity cost Washington-Baltimore area consumers $0.123 in December 2011, little changed from $0.125 one year earlier. Nationwide, electricity prices averaged $0.127 in December 2011. (See chart 2.) Locally, electricity prices have stayed close to those for the nation since October 2010.

In December 2011, gasoline prices in the Washington-Baltimore area averaged $3.311 per gallon. Local gas prices were $0.018 lower than the national average of $3.329. Over the year, gasoline prices rose 8.8 percent in the Washington-Baltimore area and 9.8 percent nationwide. Though gasoline prices are historically subject to rapid monthly fluctuations, local area prices have stayed close to the national average over the past five years. (See chart 3.)

The Washington-Baltimore, D.C.-Md.-Va.-W.Va. Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) includes the District of Columbia; Baltimore City and the counties of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Carroll, Charles, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George’s, Queen Anne’s, and Washington in Maryland; the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park and the counties of Arlington, Clarke, Fairfax, Fauquier, King George, Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren in Virginia; and the counties of Berkeley and Jefferson in West Virginia.

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.

Table 1. Average prices for utility (piped) gas, gasoline, and electricity, United States and the Washington-Baltimore area, December 2010-December 2011, not seasonally adjusted

Year and Month	Utility (piped) gas per therm		Electricity per kWh		Gasoline per gallon
	United States	Washington-Baltimore	United States	Washington-Baltimore	United States	Washington-Baltimore
2010
December	$1.078	$1.164	$0.125	$0.125	$3.031	$3.044
2011
January	1.085	1.185	0.125	0.127	3.139	3.149
February	1.095	1.164	0.125	0.128	3.215	3.176
March	1.077	1.160	0.127	0.128	3.594	3.579
April	1.078	1.135	0.127	0.130	3.863	3.853
May	1.068	1.139	0.129	0.130	3.982	4.035
June	1.077	1.157	0.134	0.133	3.753	3.801
July	1.078	1.180	0.135	0.135	3.703	3.694
August	1.079	1.219	0.135	0.133	3.680	3.704
September	1.063	1.123	0.135	0.133	3.664	3.598
October	1.047	1.122	0.130	0.126	3.521	3.466
November	1.044	1.136	0.128	0.122	3.475	3.441
December	1.034	1.188	0.127	0.123	3.329	3.311