Gasoline prices averaged $2.191 a gallon in the Atlanta area in March 2017, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that area gasoline prices were 28.5 cents higher than last March when they averaged $1.906 per gallon. Atlanta area households paid an average of 10.9 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in March 2017, down from 11.2 cents per kWh in March 2016. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.530 per therm was more than the $1.372 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 $2.191 a gallon for gasoline in March 2017, less than the $2.386 paid nationally. A year earlier, consumers in the Atlanta area paid 5.7 percent less than the national average for a gallon of gasoline. The average local price of gasoline has been at least five percent lower than the national average in the month of March in four of the past five years. (See chart 1.)

The 10.9 cents per kWh Atlanta households paid for electricity in March 2017 was 18.7 percent lower than the nationwide average of 13.4 cents per kWh. Last March, electricity costs in Atlanta were 16.4 percent less than those paid for the nation. In each of the past five years, prices paid by Atlanta area consumers for electricity in the month of March have been lower than the U.S. average by at least 15 percent. (See chart 2.)

Prices paid by Atlanta area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $1.530 per therm, or 54.7 percent higher than the national average in March 2017 ($0.989 per therm). A year earlier, area consumers paid 55.2 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 46 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 2017 is scheduled to be released on Friday, May 12, 2017.

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 2016-2017, 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
2016
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
October	2.287	2.304	0.113	0.134	1.476	0.961
November	2.208	2.246	0.108	0.131	1.479	0.970
December	2.199	2.289	0.108	0.133	1.531	0.972
2017
January	2.251	2.409	0.108	0.134	1.592	1.000
February	2.186	2.360	0.108	0.135	1.556	1.003
March	2.191	2.386	0.109	0.134	1.530	0.989