Boston area gasoline prices were up $1.32 compared to last December when they averaged $2.16 per gallon

The New England Information Office of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has released price data for select energy commodities and services from the Boston Consumer Price Index (CPI) for December 2021. The CPI program produces monthly data on changes in the prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services. Some highlights from the press release are listed below.

• In Boston, the price of gasoline averaged $3.475 per gallon in December 2021 which was about the same as the national average of $3.505 a gallon.
  
• Boston households paid electricity prices that were 72.5 percent higher than the national average in December 2021. Locally, the average price of a kilowatt hour of electricity was 24.5 cents, compared with 14.2 cents nationwide. The price of electricity in Boston has been 57.4 percent or more above the national average in December for each of the last five years.
  
• The average cost of utility (piped) gas at $1.894 per therm in December was up from $1.595 per therm a year earlier. Boston area households have paid at least 35.1 percent more than the national average for natural gas over the previous five Decembers.