Gasoline prices averaged $2.689 a gallon in the Atlanta area in July 2015, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that area gasoline prices were $0.915 lower than last July when they averaged $3.604 per gallon. Atlanta area households paid an average of 14.9 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in July 2015, similar to the 14.7 cents per kWh paid in July 2014. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.444 per therm was less than the $1.593 per therm spent last year. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect the impact of seasonal influences.)

Atlanta area consumers paid $2.689 a gallon for gasoline in July 2015, 7.1 percent lower than the  $2.893 paid nationally. A year earlier, consumers in the Atlanta area paid a similar price to the national average for a gallon of gasoline. The local price of gasoline has been below the national average by more than 4 percent in the month of July in three of the past five years. (See chart 1.)

The 14.9 cents per kWh Atlanta households paid for electricity in July was 4.9 percent more than the nationwide average of 14.2 cents per kWh. Last July, electricity costs in Atlanta were comparable to those paid for the nation. In three of the past five years, prices paid by Atlanta area consumers for electricity exceeded the U.S. average by more than 4 percent. (See chart 2.)

Prices paid by Atlanta area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $1.444 per therm, or 54.8 percent higher than the national average in July 2015 ($0.933 per therm). A year earlier, area consumers paid 45.7 percent more per therm for natural gas compared to the nation. In the past five years, the per therm cost for natural gas in July for Atlanta households was at least 38 percent more than the U.S. average. (See chart 3.)

The Atlanta, Ga., Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Pickens, Rockdale, Spalding, and Walton Counties in Georgia.

The August 2015 Consumer Price Index for the Atlanta area is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, September 16, 2015.

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

Table 1. Average prices for gasoline, electricity, and utility (piped) gas, Atlanta and the United States, July 2014-2015, not seasonally adjusted

Year and month	Gasoline per gallon		Electricity per kWh		Utility (piped) gas per therm
	Atlanta area	United States	Atlanta area	United States	Atlanta area	United States
2014
July	3.604	3.690	0.147	0.143	1.593	1.093
August	3.414	3.540	0.148	0.143	1.547	1.060
September	3.406	3.463	0.148	0.141	1.552	1.058
October	3.222	3.241	0.115	0.136	1.549	1.033
November	2.818	2.945	0.111	0.134	1.514	1.035
December	2.493	2.618	0.111	0.135	1.561	1.060
2015
January	2.073	2.170	0.113	0.138	1.484	1.036
February	2.152	2.308	0.113	0.138	1.463	1.007
March	2.246	2.544	0.113	0.136	1.455	0.985
April	2.295	2.545	0.113	0.137	1.426	0.947
May	2.609	2.832	0.118	0.137	1.422	0.930
June	2.801	2.889	0.150	0.143	1.444	0.942
July	2.689	2.893	0.149	0.142	1.444	0.933