Gasoline prices averaged $3.385 a gallon in the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City area in September 2014, 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 decreased slightly from last September when they averaged $3.554 per gallon. Philadelphia area households paid an average of 15.6 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in September 2014, down 4.9 percent from September 2013. Meanwhile, the average cost of utility (piped) gas in Philadelphia at $1.144 per therm in September posted a small decline from $1.186 a year ago. (All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

At $3.385 a gallon, Philadelphia area consumers paid close to the national average of $3.463 for gasoline in September 2014. A year earlier, the price for a gallon of gasoline in the Philadelphia area was also close to the national average. In fact, local prices for a gallon of gasoline in September differed by less than 4 percent from the national average from 2011 to 2014. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

The 15.6 cents per kWh that Philadelphia households paid for electricity in September 2014 was 10.6 percent more than the nationwide average of 14.1 cents per kWh. Last September, electricity costs were 19.7 percent higher in Philadelphia compared to the nation. From 2010 to 2012, prices paid by Philadelphia area consumers for electricity in September exceeded the U.S. average by 19 percent or more. (See chart 2.)

 

The price paid by Philadelphia area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, in September 2014 was $1.144 per therm, 8.1 percent more than the national average of $1.058. A year earlier, local area consumers paid 18.6 percent more per therm for natural gas compared to consumers nationwide. From 2010 to 2012, the per-therm cost for natural gas in Philadelphia was at least 14 percent more than the U.S. average in the month of September. (See chart 3.)

 

The Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical 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; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.

Technical Note

Average prices are estimated from Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for selected commodity series to support the research and analytic needs of CPI data users. 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) are published. For utility (piped) gas, average prices per therm 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.

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. The average price per kilowatt-hour represents the total bill divided by the kilowatt-hour usage. The total bill is the sum of all items applicable to all consumers appearing on an electricity bill including, but not limited to, variable rates per kWh, fixed costs, taxes, surcharges, and credits. This calculation also applies to the average price per therm for utility (piped) gas.

 

Table 1. Average prices for utility (piped) gas, electricity, and gasoline, United States and the Philadelphia area, September 2013-September 2014, 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
2013
September	$3.554	$3.616	$0.164	$0.137	$1.186	$1.000
October	3.328	3.434	0.161	0.132	1.176	0.999
November	3.288	3.310	0.162	0.130	1.147	0.999
December	3.419	3.333	0.164	0.131	1.127	0.998
2014
January	3.444	3.378	0.162	0.134	1.163	1.040
February	3.469	3.422	0.162	0.134	1.129	1.078
March	3.552	3.590	0.157	0.135	1.219	1.154
April	3.611	3.717	0.156	0.131	1.233	1.137
May	3.671	3.745	0.156	0.136	1.230	1.111
June	3.662	3.750	0.157	0.143	1.233	1.088
July	3.640	3.690	0.159	0.143	1.236	1.093
August	3.433	3.540	0.158	0.143	1.237	1.060
September	3.385	3.463	0.156	0.141	1.144	1.058