Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from Peter Hark - Talon Capital.
Peter Hark - Talon Capital
Can you give us an update on the status of the ARP proceedings, and then secondly remind us how you will recover increasing transmission costs, and then lastly we were hoping to get maybe some news on a new contract with Entergy for Vermont Yankee and I was wondering when we might get, I think, what you called Bob the prima facie evidence to go forward in Vermont?
Dale Rocheleau
The status of the alternative regulation plan is that the Department of Public Service and the other parties in the case are required to file their testimony and position in the case on May 23, 2008, as the next step, and the hearings are scheduled for mid-July.
Peter Hark - Talon Capital
Then after hearings, how long will they deliberate before coming out with a final order?
Dale Rocheleau
We are expecting it sometime during the third quarter of this year.
Pamela Keefe
As far as transmission costs go, the forecast for transmission cost for this year is certainly within the range that we had expected. Going forward, under alternative regulation, we would have a more timely recovery to the extent that transmission costs vary from those built into rates.
Peter Hark - Talon Capital
Can you be more explicit, Pam? Do you have to make a filing to demonstrate on an annual basis what transmission costs have done and then get recovery on a forward basis or is there some opportunity for some retroactive recovery of these costs?
Pamela Keefe
Well, the way alternative regulation would work is that we would do a base rate filing, which is like a regular rate case filing where we forecast what we think our transmission costs are going to be, and then let’s say that for the rate year they are much higher than we had planned, we do have rate adjustment mechanisms so that on an annual basis, we’d be able to book an entry that should true us up and then that would be reflected in rates on a forward-looking basis, so from a cash perspective, there would be a bit of a lag, but from an earnings perspective, not so much.
Peter Hark - Talon Capital
Can you say what forecasted transmission expenses will be for ?08 and what the actual were for ’07?
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