Consumers in the Philadelphia area paid more for utility (piped) gas (24.0 percent) and electricity (19.5 percent) than the U.S. city average in July 2012, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Gasoline prices in the Philadelphia area remained close to those nationwide. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted the local and national average prices for utility (piped) gas, electricity, and gasoline all declined over the year. (See table A. All data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year analysis is used throughout.)

A therm—a measure of constant heating value—of utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, in the Philadelphia area averaged $1.169 in July 2012, a decrease of 7.0 percent from the previous July. Nationwide, a therm of natural gas averaged $0.943 in July 2012, 12.5 percent lower than a year ago. Since peaking in the summer of 2008, utility (piped) gas prices have been generally declining both locally and nationwide, though local prices have remained above those for the nation. (See chart 1.)

A kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity cost Philadelphia consumers $0.159 in July 2012, down 7.6 percent from one year earlier. (See table 1.) Nationwide, electricity prices averaged $0.133, close to last July’s price of $0.135. After maintaining a general upward trend for several years, local electricity prices began to level off in 2010, peaking at $0.174 in September of that year. Nationwide, electricity prices peaked at $0.135 in the summer of 2011 and reached that price again last month. Still, Philadelphia area prices have remained above those for the nation. (See chart 2.)

In July 2012, gasoline prices in the Philadelphia area averaged $3.523 per gallon, close to the national average of $3.502. Over the year, gasoline prices decreased 4.7 percent in the Philadelphia area and 5.4 percent nationwide. Though gasoline prices are historically subject to rapid monthly fluctuations, local area prices have been close to the national average over the past five years. (See chart 3.)

The Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. Consolidated Metropolitan Area includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania; Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem Counties in New Jersey; New Castle County in Delaware; and Cecil County in Maryland.

Additional Information

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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.

Table 1. Average prices for utility (piped) gas, electricity, and gasoline, United States and the Philadelphia area, July 2011-July 2012, not seasonally adjusted

Year and Month	Utility (piped) gas per therm		Electricity per kWh		Gasoline per gallon
	United States	Philadelphia	United States	Philadelphia	United States	Philadelphia
2011
July	$1.078	$1.257	$0.135	$0.172	$3.703	$3.695
August	1.079	1.256	0.135	0.173	3.680	3.632
September	1.063	1.220	0.135	0.172	3.664	3.584
October	1.047	1.209	0.130	0.169	3.521	3.431
November	1.044	1.214	0.128	0.169	3.475	3.369
December	1.034	1.243	0.127	0.169	3.329	3.263
2012
January	1.021	1.238	0.128	0.163	3.447	3.415
February	0.986	1.223	0.128	0.164	3.622	3.586
March	0.978	1.198	0.127	0.162	3.918	3.777
April	0.951	1.192	0.127	0.163	3.976	3.911
May	0.907	1.194	0.129	0.164	3.839	3.753
June	0.927	1.170	0.135	0.167	3.602	3.476
July	0.943	1.169	0.133	0.159	3.502	3.523