Electricity, Utility (Piped) Gas, and Gasoline Prices in the Philadelphia Area, April 2008 (PDF)

Philadelphia area consumers paid more for electricity (28.0 percent) and utility (piped) gas (7.1 percent) than the U.S. city average, while the local price of gasoline (-5.0 percent) was below the average price charged throughout the country in April 2008 as measured by the Consumer Price Index, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  Regional Commissioner Sheila Watkins noted that during April over the last 10 years, local consumers have consistently paid higher-than-average prices for electricity and utility (piped) gas, while the cost for a gallon of gasoline tended to be lower than the average price recorded nationally.  (See table A.)

A kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity cost Philadelphia area consumers $0.151 in April 2008, 26.9 percent more than in 1998.  Nationwide, electricity prices averaged $0.118 in April 2008.  Though electricity prices have generally trended upwards over the decade at both the local and national levels, the gap between the local price and the U.S. average has narrowed during this period, going from a 40.0-percent differential in April 1998 to a 28.0-percent differential in April 2008.  (See chart A.)

A therm--a measure of constant heating value--of utility (piped) gas in the Philadelphia area averaged $1.528 in April 2008 compared with $1.427 in the nation as a whole.  Local area utility (piped) gas prices have been above the national price levels each April over the last decade.  (See chart B.)  The average price per therm in the local area was 7.1 percent higher than the U.S. average in 2008; however, this was only the second April-to-April difference less than 10.0 percent over the last decade and was well below the 25.3-percent differential in 1998.

Chart A.  Average prices for electricity, United States and Philadelphia area, April 1998-2008

Chart B.  Average prices for utility (piped) gas, United States and Philadelphia area, April 1998-2008

Gasoline prices are historically subject to rapid fluctuations; however, over the last decade, the price per gallon in the Philadelphia area has risen almost continuously--from $1.062 in April 1998 to $3.318 in April 2008.  The April 2008 price locally was $0.515 higher than that recorded one year ago and $2.256 higher than the level reported in April 1998.  Nationally, the average price for a gallon of gasoline rose $0.582 since April 2007 and $2.385 since April 1998.  During this 10-year period, gasoline prices in the Philadelphia area never exceeded those for the nation as a whole.  (See chart C.)

Chart C.  Average prices for gasoline, United States and Philadelphia area, April 1998-2008

The Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. 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

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request.  Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339.

For personal assistance or further information on the CPI data, as well as other Bureau data, contact the Mid-Atlantic Information Office at 215-597-3282 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET.  Information on the Consumer Price Index and other surveys and programs is available on our Web site at www.bls.gov/ro3/.

Technical Information

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.