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News Release Information

17-247-ATL
Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (404) 893-4220

Average Energy Prices, Atlanta – January 2017

Gasoline prices averaged $2.251 a gallon in the Atlanta area in January 2017, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that area gasoline prices were 43.6 cents higher than last January when they averaged $1.815 per gallon. Atlanta area households paid an average of 10.8 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in January 2017, down from 11.2 cents per kWh in January 2016. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.592 per therm was more than the $1.421 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 $2.251 a gallon for gasoline in January 2017, less than the $2.409 paid nationally. A year earlier, consumers in the Atlanta area paid 10.8 percent less than the national average for a gallon of gasoline. The local price of gasoline has been at least four percent lower than the national average in the month of January in three of the past five years. (See chart 1.)

The 10.8 cents per kWh Atlanta households paid for electricity in January was 19.4 percent lower than the nationwide average of 13.4 cents per kWh. Last January, 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 were lower than the U.S. average by at least 13.0 percent. (See chart 2.)

Prices paid by Atlanta area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $1.592 per therm, or 59.2 percent higher than the national average in January 2017 ($1.000 per therm). A year earlier, area consumers paid 58.2 percent more per therm for natural gas compared to the nation. In three of the past five years, the per therm cost for natural gas in January for Atlanta households was at least 50 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 February 2017 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, March 15, 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, January 2016–2017, not seasonally adjusted
Year and monthGasoline per gallonElectricity per kWhUtility (piped) gas per therm
Atlanta areaUnited StatesAtlanta areaUnited StatesAtlanta areaUnited States

2016

      

January

1.8152.0340.1120.1341.4210.898

February

1.6691.8330.1120.1341.4000.895

March

1.9062.0210.1120.1341.3720.884

April

2.1022.1960.1120.1341.3850.879

May

2.2462.3240.1170.1331.3930.877

June

2.2482.4220.1430.1381.3930.891

July

2.0592.2870.1460.1391.4670.931

August

2.0972.2180.1430.1391.4490.943

September

2.2702.2690.1430.1391.4710.954

October

2.2872.3040.1130.1341.4760.961

November

2.2082.2460.1080.1311.4790.970

December

2.1992.2890.1080.1331.5310.972

2017

      

January

2.2512.4090.1080.1341.5921.000

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, February 15, 2017