Chicago area households paid an average of 15.2 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity in February 2017, comparable to the 15.3 cents per kWh paid in February 2016. In February, the average cost of utility (piped) gas was 88.5 cents per therm, up from its average price of 73.3 cents per therm a year earlier. At $2.420 a gallon, prices for gasoline in the Chicago area were 6.0 cents higher than the national average of $2.360 a gallon in February 2017.