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News Release Information

21-73-SAN
Thursday, January 14, 2021

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (415) 625-2270

Average Energy Prices, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim – December 2020

Gasoline prices averaged $3.120 a gallon in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area in December 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that area gasoline prices were lower than last December when they averaged $3.641 per gallon. Los Angeles area households paid an average of 20.8 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity in December 2020, higher than the 19.0 cents price per kWh paid in December 2019. The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.374 per therm in December was higher than the $1.215 per therm spent last year. (Data in this release are not seasonally adjusted; accordingly, over-the-year-analysis is used throughout.) 

At $3.120 a gallon, Los Angeles area consumers paid 39.6 percent more than the $2.235 national average in December 2020. A year earlier, consumers in the Los Angeles area paid 37.3 percent more than the national average for a gallon of gasoline. The local price of a gallon of gasoline has ranged from 17.1 to 39.6 percent above the national average in the month of December during the past five years. (See chart 1.)

The 20.8 cents per kWh Los Angeles households paid for electricity in December 2020 was 52.9 percent more than the nationwide average of 13.6 cents per kWh. Last December, electricity costs were 42.9 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 36.3 percent or more in the month of December. (See chart 2.)

Prices paid by Los Angeles area consumers for utility (piped) gas, commonly referred to as natural gas, were $1.374 per therm, 23.3 percent more than the national average in December 2020 ($1.114 per therm). A year earlier, area consumers paid 14.9 percent more per therm for natural gas compared to the nation. In the Los Angeles area over the past five years, the per therm cost for natural gas in December has varied between 10.7 percent and 27.8 percent above the U.S. average. (See chart 3.)

The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metropolitan area consists of Los Angeles and Orange 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: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 800-877-8339.

 Table 1. Average prices for gasoline, electricity, and utility (piped) gas, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim and the United States, December 2019 - December 2020, not seasonally adjusted
 Gasoline per gallonElectricity per kWhUtility (piped) gas per therm
Los Angeles areaUnited StatesLos Angeles areaUnited StatesLos Angeles areaUnited States
2019      

December

$3.641$2.652$0.190$0.133$1.215$1.057
2020      

January

3.5532.6310.1930.1341.3261.066

February

3.5352.5300.1930.1341.2521.050

March

3.2742.3340.1930.1341.1891.034

April

2.8771.9460.1910.1331.2281.028

May

2.8021.9460.1990.1341.4561.037

June

2.9672.1410.1980.1371.4781.037

July

3.0892.2430.2000.1371.4711.027

August

3.1562.2450.2000.1371.4661.031

September

3.1802.2600.1990.1371.4661.064

October

3.1382.2280.2080.1351.4781.067

November

3.0952.1590.2080.1361.3521.104

December

3.1202.2350.2080.1361.3741.114

 

Last Modified Date: Thursday, January 14, 2021