Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator instructions) Your first question comes from the line of Jonathan Arnold with Deutsche Bank. Please proceed.
Bob Skaggs
Good morning, Jonathan.
Jonathan Arnold – Deutsche Bank
Good morning, guys.
Steve Smith
Hi, how are you?
Jonathan Arnold – Deutsche Bank
Good. Thank you. Thanks for taking my question. I noticed on your schedule that you showed for the regulatory timeline that the first or the current NiSource NIPSCO rate case is you're now thinking for the late second quarter resolution that used to be, sort of a middle of first quarter. Is that just having a better sense of the schedule or what exactly changed?
Steve Smith
That’s correct. The creeping process finishes or was completed mid-January 2010 and Jonathan, we really begin counting 90 days from that date. And that would probably be the minimum time that commission would need to complete its deliberations. So I count 90 days out from that date and then you could begin adding from that point.
Jonathan Arnold – Deutsche Bank
And now that you're into briefing, is it reasonable to assume that settlement is will be tougher at this point of the schedule or is it still something that (inaudible)?
Steve Smith
That's the correct assumption. Challenging we'll never say never. We have ongoing conversations not emphasized conversations supposed to negotiations with our stakeholders, but I do believe that it’s more likely in north we'll go through litigated commission decision on this case.
Jonathan Arnold – Deutsche Bank
Okay. And then if I could just ask a some more strategy question. You obviously laid out this plan in the beginning of the year to address some of the upcoming mature season and had great success with that. As you look forward now and some of the things you had looked out in the past like the MOP, for example, and I think what should we be looking at this kind of the next significant strategic move on the part of the company as you can now begin to you go visibility on addressing this liquidity issues that were pressing?
Bob Skaggs
I appreciate your comments and your forward look at this point but we are at the moment still focused on the relative near-term. We believe that we have to continue our work on fixing NIPSCO, improving clarity in and around NIPSCO. So our near-term priority is fix NIPSCO, continue to address our pension expense challenge and advance our key business initiatives. So that’s really the process and that’s probably where our thinking is. Let’s continue to strengthen the business, continue to reduce the business risk and position ourselves to address the longer-term considerations, but we still have near-term work in front of us.
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