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News Release Information

16-2188-BOS
Thursday, November 17, 2016

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (617) 565-4141

Average Energy Prices In Boston-Brockton-Nashua – October 2016

Boston area households paid an average of $2.198 a gallon for gasoline in October 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Deborah A. Brown noted that this was similar to last October’s average of $2.180 per gallon. Utility (piped) gas prices averaged $1.155 per therm in the Boston area in October 2016. Area natural gas prices sharply increased 39.3 cents from one year ago when they averaged $0.762 per therm.  The average cost of electricity at 19 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) in October was up 1.3 cents per kWh from the 17.7 cents spent last year. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)

At $2.198, Boston area consumers paid 4.6 percent less than the national average of $2.304 in October 2016. One year ago, consumers in the Boston area paid 7.5 percent less than  the national average for a gallon of gasoline. (See chart 1.) 

 

The 19.0 cents per kWh Boston households paid for electricity in October 2016 was 41.8 percent more than the nationwide average of 13.4 cents per kWh.  Last October, electricity costs were 30.1 percent higher in Boston compared to the nation. In each of the last five years, the price of electricity in Boston has exceeded that for the nation in the month of October, by 11.7 percent or more. (See chart 2.)

 

Prices paid by Boston area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $1.155 per therm, 20.2 percent higher than the national average in October 2016 ($0.961 per therm).  In October of 2015 local prices were $0.76 per therm or 16.2 percent lower than those of the nation ($0.909). (See chart 3.)

 

The Boston-Brockton-Nashua, Mass.-N.H.-Maine-Conn. consolidated area consists of Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk, Bristol, Hampden, and Worcester Counties in Massachusetts; Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham, and Strafford Counties in New Hampshire; York County in Maine; and Windham County in Connecticut.


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: 1-800-877-8339.

Table 1. Average prices for gasoline, electricity, and utility (piped) gas, Boston-Brockton-Nashua and the United States, October 2015 - October 2016, not seasonally adjusted
Year and
month
Gasoline, all types,
per gallon
Electricity
per kilowatt hour
Utility (piped) gas
per therm
Boston
area
United
States
Boston
area
United
States
Boston
area
United
States

2015

      

October

2.1802.3570.1770.1360.7620.909

November

2.1722.2490.1940.1341.2020.903

December

2.0772.1250.1940.1331.1660.892

2016

      

January

1.9512.0340.2030.1341.1680.898

February

1.7881.8330.2030.1341.1670.895

March

1.9072.0210.2050.1341.1170.884

April

2.1382.1960.2050.1341.1170.879

May

2.2612.3240.1970.1330.9250.877

June

2.3002.4220.1880.1381.0060.891

July

2.1952.2870.1860.1391.0410.931

August

2.1352.2180.1860.1391.0410.943

September

2.152.2690.1870.1391.1550.954

October

2.1982.3040.190.1341.1550.961

 

Last Modified Date: Thursday, November 17, 2016