Gasoline prices averaged $2.270 a gallon in the Atlanta area in September 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that area gasoline prices were similar to last September when they averaged $2.246 per gallon. Atlanta area households paid an average of 14.3 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in September 2016, down from 15.0 cents per kWh in September 2015. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.471 per therm was more than the $1.427 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 $2.270 a gallon for gasoline in September 2016, similar to the $2.269 paid nationally. A year earlier, consumers in the Atlanta area paid 8.8 percent less than the national average for a gallon of gasoline. The local price of gasoline has been similar to the national average in the month of September in four of the past five years. (See chart 1.)

The 14.3 cents per kWh Atlanta households paid for electricity in September was comparable to the nationwide average of 13.9 cents per kWh. Last September, electricity costs in Atlanta were 6.4 percent more than those paid for the nation. In three of the past five years, prices paid by Atlanta area consumers for electricity were higher than the U.S. average by at least 5.0 percent. (See chart 2.)

Prices paid by Atlanta area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $1.471 per therm, or 54.2 percent higher than the national average in September 2016 ($0.954 per therm). A year earlier, area consumers paid 54.9 percent more per therm for natural gas compared to the nation. In each of the past five years, the per therm cost for natural gas in September for Atlanta households was at least 40 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 October 2016 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, November 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, September 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
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
April	2.102	2.196	0.112	0.134	1.385	0.879
May	2.246	2.324	0.117	0.133	1.393	0.877
June	2.248	2.422	0.143	0.138	1.393	0.891
July	2.059	2.287	0.146	0.139	1.467	0.931
August	2.097	2.218	0.143	0.139	1.449	0.943
September	2.270	2.269	0.143	0.139	1.471	0.954