Gasoline prices averaged $4.226 a gallon in the Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County area in March 2013, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Richard J. Holden noted that area gasoline prices were up 16.8 cents compared to last March when they averaged $4.394 per gallon. Los Angeles area households paid an average of 23.2 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in March 2013, up from 20.4 cents per kWh in March 2012. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.005 per therm in March was more than the $0.931 per therm spent last year. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)

At $4.226 a gallon, Los Angeles area consumers paid 11.4 percent more than the $3.792 national average in March 2013. A year earlier, consumers in the Los Angeles area paid 12.1 percent more than the national average for a gallon of gasoline. The local price of a gallon of gasoline has exceeded the national average by at least 9.0 percent in the month of March in each of the past five years. (See chart 1.)

The 23.2 cents per kWh Los Angeles households paid for electricity in March 2013 was 81.3 percent more than the nationwide average of 12.8 cents per kWh. Last March, electricity costs were 60.6 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 more than 42 percent in the month of March. (See chart 2.)

Prices paid by Los Angeles area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $1.005 per therm, compared to the national average of $0.994 per therm in March 2013. A year earlier, area consumers paid 4.8 percent less per therm for natural gas compared to the nation. In three of the past 5 years, the per therm cost for natural gas in March has been within 5 percent of 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 Information
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 Services: 800-877-8339.

Table 1. Average prices for gasoline, electricity, and utility (piped) gas, United States and the Los Angeles area, March 2012–March 2013, not seasonally adjusted

Year and Month	Gasoline per gallon		Electricity per kWh		Utility (piped) gas per therm
	Los Angeles	United States	Los Angeles	United States	Los Angeles	United States
2012
March	4.394	3.918	0.204	0.127	0.931	0.978
April	4.257	3.976	0.204	0.127	0.883	0.951
May	4.333	3.839	0.204	0.129	0.978	0.907
June	4.037	3.602	0.193	0.135	1.054	0.927
July	3.800	3.502	0.193	0.133	1.053	0.943
August	4.073	3.759	0.193	0.133	1.072	0.960
September	4.175	3.908	0.193	0.133	1.027	0.953
October	4.499	3.839	0.211	0.128	1.052	0.962
November	3.924	3.542	0.211	0.127	0.995	0.994
December	3.677	3.386	0.211	0.127	1.042	1.004
2013
January	3.749	3.407	0.232	0.129	1.013	0.996
February	4.236	3.748	0.232	0.129	1.039	0.997
March	4.226	3.792	0.232	0.128	1.005	0.994