Gasoline prices averaged $2.610 a gallon in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area in December 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Sheila Watkins noted that area gasoline prices were 4.1 percent higher than those from last December when they averaged $2.507 per gallon. Washington area households paid an average of 12.7 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in December 2019, 1.6 percent higher than the average of 12.5 cents in December 2018. The average price of utility (piped) gas at $1.240 per therm in December 2019 was up 7.3 percent from $1.156 per therm a year earlier. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)

At $2.610 a gallon, Washington area consumers paid close to the national average of $2.652 for a gallon of gasoline in December 2019. Last December, gasoline prices in Washington were also close to the national average. From 2015 to 2017, prices for a gallon of gasoline in Washington differed from the U.S. average by 1.4 percent or less in December. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

The 12.7 cents per kWh that Washington households paid for electricity in December 2019 was 4.5 percent below the nationwide average of 13.3 cents. Last December, the price per kWh for electricity in Washington was 7.4 percent below the national average. From 2015 to 2017, electricity prices for the Washington area remained at least 6.0 percent below those for the nation in December. (See chart 2.)

The price paid by Washington area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, was $1.240 per therm in December, 17.3 percent above the national average of $1.057 per therm. Last December, the price for utility (piped) gas in Washington was 6.5 percent higher than the national average. From 2015 to 2017, the price for utility (piped) gas in the Washington area ranged from 6.5 to 14.1 percent higher than the national average in December. (See chart 3.)

The Consumer Price Index for January 2020 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, February 13, 2020, 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, 9 divisions, 2 population size classes, 8 region/size-class cross-classifications, and the 23 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MA-WV, Core Based Statistical Area includes the District of Columbia; the counties of Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George’s in Maryland; the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park and the counties of Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Rappahannock, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren in Virginia; and the county of Jefferson in West Virginia.

 Table 1. Average prices for gasoline, electricity, and utility (piped) gas, United States and the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria area, December 2018-December 2019, not seasonally adjusted

Year and Month	Gasoline per gallon		Electricity per kWh		Utility (piped) gas per therm
	United States	Washington	United States	Washington	United States	Washington
2018
December	$2.479	$2.507	$0.135	$0.125	$1.085	$1.156
2019
January	2.352	2.399	0.135	0.126	1.082	1.260
February	2.412	2.406	0.136	0.126	1.051	1.281
March	2.620	2.596	0.135	0.128	1.048	1.260
April	2.894	2.829	0.135	0.127	1.034	1.290
May	2.963	2.910	0.136	0.127	1.035	1.276
June	2.814	2.790	0.139	0.132	1.035	1.272
July	2.836	2.805	0.140	0.131	1.029	1.256
August	2.716	2.722	0.139	0.131	1.034	1.337
September	2.694	2.605	0.139	0.134	1.019	1.126
October	2.741	2.637	0.136	0.132	1.041	1.184
November	2.687	2.610	0.133	0.129	1.058	1.195
December	2.652	2.610	0.133	0.127	1.057	1.240