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News Release Information

23-2042-SAN
Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (415) 625-2270

Average Energy Prices, San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward – August 2023

Gasoline prices averaged $5.226 a gallon in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward area in August 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chris Rosenlund noted that area gasoline prices were 29.9 cents lower than last August when they averaged $5.525 per gallon. San Francisco area households paid an average of 34.9 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in August 2023, higher than the 31.1 cents per kWh paid in August 2022. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.865 per therm in August was lower than the $2.242 per therm spent last year. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)  

At $5.226 a gallon, San Francisco area consumers paid 28.6 percent more than the $4.064 national average in August 2023. A year earlier, consumers in the San Francisco area paid 31.4 percent more than the national average for a gallon of gasoline. The local price of a gallon of gasoline has ranged from 31.4 to 43.9 percent above the national average in the month of August during the past five years. (See chart 1.)

The 34.9 cents per kWh San Francisco households paid for electricity in August 2023 was 105.3 percent more than the nationwide average of 17.0 cents per kWh. Last August, electricity costs were 86.2 percent higher in San Francisco compared to the nation. In each of the past five years, prices paid by San Francisco area consumers for electricity exceeded the U.S. average by at least 59.7 percent in the month of August. (See chart 2.)

Prices paid by San Francisco area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $1.865 per therm, or 33.0 percent above the national average in August 2023 ($1.402 per therm). A year earlier, area consumers paid 32.3 percent more per therm for natural gas compared to the nation. In the past five years, the per therm cost for natural gas in August in the San Francisco area has varied between 32.3 percent and 62.9 percent above the U.S. average. (See chart 3.)

The San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif. metropolitan area consists of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo 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, 9 divisions, 2 population size classes, 8 region/size-class cross-classifications, and the 23 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 in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Average prices for gasoline, electricity, and utility (piped) gas, the United States and San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA, August 2022–August 2023, not seasonally adjusted
Year and monthGasoline per gallonElectricity per kWhUtility (piped) gas per therm
United StatesSan Francisco areaUnited StatesSan Francisco areaUnited StatesSan Francisco area

2022

August

$4.205$5.525$0.167$0.311$1.694$2.242

September

3.9905.6710.1670.3111.7392.424

October

4.1306.1650.1660.3071.6682.519

November

3.9585.4100.1630.3071.6162.325

December

3.4594.5950.1650.3071.6672.348

2023

January

3.5554.5690.1680.3171.8192.683

February

3.6224.8010.1680.3171.6092.769

March

3.6604.9920.1660.3321.4932.137

April

3.8395.0000.1650.3321.4131.772

May

3.7944.9260.1650.3321.3851.700

June

3.8214.9320.1700.3301.3711.756

July

3.8424.9560.1690.3491.3951.809

August

4.0645.2260.1700.3491.4021.865

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, September 19, 2023