Gasoline prices averaged $2.842 a gallon in the Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County area in December 2015, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Richard J. Holden noted that area gasoline prices were 1.3 cents more than last December when they averaged $2.829 per gallon. Los Angeles area households paid an average of 20.9 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in December 2015, down from 22.3 cents per kWh in December 2014. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.153 per therm in December was less than the $1.242 per therm spent last year. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)

At $2.842 a gallon, Los Angeles area consumers paid 33.7 percent more than the $2.125 national average in December 2015. A year earlier, consumers in the Los Angeles area paid 8.1 percent more than the national average for a gallon of gasoline. The local price of a gallon of gasoline has ranged from 8.1 to 33.7 percent above the national average in the month of December during the past five years. (See chart 1.)

The 20.9 cents per kWh Los Angeles households paid for electricity in December 2015 was 57.1 percent more than the nationwide average of 13.3 cents per kWh. Last December, electricity costs were 65.2 percent higher in Los Angeles compared to the nation. In the past five years, prices paid by Los Angeles area consumers for electricity exceeded the U.S. average by 57.1 percent or more in the month of December. (See chart 2.)

Prices paid by Los Angeles area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $1.153 per therm, or 29.3 percent more compared to the national average in December 2015 ($0.892 per therm). A year earlier, area consumers paid 17.2 percent more per therm for natural gas compared to the nation. In the Los Angeles area over the past five years, the per therm cost for natural gas in November has varied between 3.9 percent below and 29.3 percent above the U.S. average. (See chart 3.)

The Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, Calif. metropolitan area consists of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura Counties in California.

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) and per 500 kWh are published. For utility (piped) gas, average prices per therm, per 40 therms, and per 100 therms 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.

Price quotes for 40 therms and 100 therms of utility (piped) gas and for 500 kWh of electricity are collected in sample outlets for use in the average price programs only. Since they are for specified consumption amounts, they are not used in the CPI. All other price quotes used for average price estimation are regular CPI data.

With the exception of the 40 therms, 100 therms, and 500 kWh price quotes, 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, electricty, and utility (piped) gas, Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County and the United States, December 2014-December 2015, not seasonally adjusted

	Gasoline per gallon		Electricity per kWh		Utillity (piped) gas per therm
	Los Angeles area	United States	Los Angeles area	United States	Los Angeles area	United States
2014
December	$2.829	$2.618	$0.223	$0.135	$1.242	$1.060
2015
January	2.540	2.170	0.216	0.138	1.170	1.036
February	2.867	2.308	0.216	0.138	1.165	1.007
March	3.371	2.544	0.215	0.136	1.161	0.985
April	3.229	2.545	0.217	0.137	1.124	0.947
May	3.898	2.832	0.217	0.137	1.124	0.930
June	3.625	2.889	0.206	0.143	1.261	0.942
July	4.022	2.893	0.206	0.142	1.259	0.933
August	3.684	2.745	0.205	0.142	1.275	0.932
September	3.206	2.463	0.205	0.141	1.261	0.921
October	2.956	2.357	0.213	0.136	1.253	0.909
November	2.850	2.249	0.213	0.134	1.104	0.903
December	2.842	2.125	0.209	0.133	1.153	0.892