Gasoline prices averaged $1.906 a gallon in the Atlanta area in March 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that area gasoline prices were 34.0 cents lower than last March when they averaged $2.246 per gallon. Atlanta area households paid an average of 11.2 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in March 2016, similar to the 11.3 cents per kWh paid in March 2015. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.372 per therm was less than the $1.455 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 $1.906 a gallon for gasoline in March 2016, 5.7 percent lower than the $2.021 paid nationally. A year earlier, consumers in the Atlanta area also paid 11.7 percent less than the national average for a gallon of gasoline. The local price of gasoline has been at least 5 percent less than the national average in the month of March in three of the past five years. (See chart 1.)

The 11.2 cents per kWh Atlanta households paid for electricity in March was 16.4 percent less than the nationwide average of 13.4 cents per kWh. Last March, electricity costs in Atlanta were 16.9 percent less than those paid for the nation. In each of the past five years, prices paid by Atlanta area consumers for electricity were lower than the U.S. average by at least 11 percent. (See chart 2.)

Prices paid by Atlanta area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $1.372 per therm, or 55.2 percent higher than the national average in March 2016 ($0.884 per therm). A year earlier, area consumers paid 47.7 percent more per therm for natural gas compared to the nation. In four of the past five years, the per therm cost for natural gas in March for Atlanta households was at least 41 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 Consumer Price Index for April 2016 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, May 17, 2016.

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, March 2015–2016, 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
2015
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
August	2.504	2.745	0.149	0.142	1.448	0.932
September	2.246	2.463	0.150	0.141	1.427	0.921
October	2.137	2.357	0.116	0.136	1.433	0.909
November	2.083	2.249	0.111	0.134	1.396	0.903
December	1.961	2.125	0.110	0.133	1.424	0.892
2016
January	1.815	2.034	0.112	0.134	1.421	0.898
February	1.669	1.833	0.112	0.134	1.400	0.895
March	1.906	2.021	0.112	0.134	1.372	0.884