BLS U S Bureau of Labor Statistics : Average Energy Prices, San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward – December 2018

News Release Information

19-102-SAN
Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Gasoline prices averaged $3.674 a gallon in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward area in December 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that area gasoline prices were higher than last December when they averaged $3.164 per gallon. San Francisco area households paid an average of 20.9 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in December 2018, greater than the 20.4 cents per kWh paid in December 2017. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.313 per therm in December was lower than the $1.372 per therm spent last year. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.)

At $3.674 a gallon, San Francisco area consumers paid 48.2 percent more than the $2.479 national average in December 2018. A year earlier, consumers in the San Francisco area paid 25.5 percent more than the national average for a gallon of gasoline. The local price of a gallon of gasoline has ranged from 9.8 to 48.2 percent above the national average in the month of December during the past five years. (See chart 1.)

​

The 20.9 cents per kWh San Francisco households paid for electricity in December 2018 was 54.8 percent more than the nationwide average of 13.5 cents per kWh. Last December, electricity costs were 50.0 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 29.3 percent in the month of December. (See chart 2.)

​

Prices paid by San Francisco area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $1.313 per therm, or 21.0 percent above the national average in December 2018 ($1.085 per therm). A year earlier, area consumers paid 31.7 percent more per therm for natural gas compared to the nation. In the past five years, the per therm cost for natural gas in December in the San Francisco area has varied between 21.0 percent and 49.6 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: [phone]; Federal Relay Service: 800-877-8339.

Year and month	Gasoline per gallon		Electricity per kWh		Utility (piped) gas per therm
	San Francisco area	United States	San Francisco area	United States	San Francisco area	United States
2017
December	$3.164	$2.521	$0.204	$0.136	$1.372	$1.042
2018
January	3.302	2.596	0.205	0.135	1.390	1.048
February	3.428	2.632	0.205	0.135	1.423	1.077
March	3.494	2.631	0.212	0.135	1.339	1.054
April	3.624	2.795	0.205	0.134	1.615	1.044
May	3.796	2.963	0.211	0.136	1.538	1.050
June	3.803	2.970	0.211	0.139	1.485	1.042
July	3.790	2.930	0.211	0.139	1.515	1.038
August	3.764	2.919	0.211	0.139	1.577	1.055
September	3.766	2.930	0.214	0.138	1.547	1.030
October	3.911	2.945	0.214	0.136	1.415	1.023
November	3.829	2.733	0.209	0.134	1.240	1.020
November	3.674	2.479	0.209	0.135	1.313	1.085