Gasoline prices averaged $2.308 a gallon in the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City area in November 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that area gasoline prices were up 4.4 percent from last November when they averaged $2.210 per gallon. Philadelphia area households paid an average of 15.2 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in November 2016, close to the 15.5 cents paid in November 2015. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.002 per therm in November was similar its price of $0.999 per therm a year earlier. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)

At $2.308 a gallon, the price for gasoline in the Philadelphia area was close to the national average of $2.246 a gallon in November 2016. A year earlier, the price for a gallon of gasoline in the Philadelphia area was also close to the national average. In fact, from 2012 to 2015, local prices for a gallon of gasoline in November differed from the national average by less than 2.0 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

The 15.2 cents per kWh that Philadelphia households paid for electricity in November 2016 was 16.0 percent higher than the nationwide average cost of 13.1 cents per kWh. Last November, electricity prices in Philadelphia were 15.7 percent higher than the nation. From 2012 to 2014, prices paid by Philadelphia area consumers for electricity in November exceeded the U.S. average by more than 14 percent. (See chart 2.)

The price paid by Philadelphia-area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, was $1.002 per therm in November 2016, 3.3 percent above the national average of $0.970 per therm. Utility (piped) gas prices in the Philadelphia area were also above the national average in November for the previous four years, ranging from 10.1 percent to 18.3 percent higher. (See chart 3.)

The Consumer Price Index for December 2016 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 18, 2017, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

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.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

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.

Table 1. Average prices for gasoline, electricity, and utility (piped) gas, United States and the Philadelphia area, November 2015-November 2016, 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
2015
November	$2.210	$2.249	$0.155	$0.134	$0.999	$0.903
December	2.146	2.125	0.155	0.133	0.954	0.892
2016
January	2.000	2.034	0.160	0.134	0.954	0.898
February	1.845	1.833	0.159	0.134	0.955	0.895
March	1.911	2.021	0.157	0.134	1.003	0.884
April	2.175	2.196	0.156	0.134	0.997	0.879
May	2.341	2.324	0.155	0.133	0.991	0.877
June	2.338	2.422	0.157	0.138	0.992	0.891
July	2.207	2.287	0.158	0.139	0.993	0.931
August	2.146	2.218	0.157	0.139	0.993	0.943
September	2.220	2.269	0.158	0.139	1.000	0.954
October	2.246	2.304	0.153	0.134	0.995	0.961
November	2.308	2.246	0.152	0.131	1.002	0.970