Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Igor Grinman with Zimmer Lucas Partners. Please proceed.
Igor Grinman – Zimmer Lucas Partners
Hi guys, congratulations on the good quarter.
Russ Strobel
Thank you.
Igor Grinman – Zimmer Lucas Partners
Just wondering, besides for the additional rate increase in October, what is driving the increase in expectations at the utility? Is that lower operating costs?
Rick Hawley
Yes, if you look at the utility business, as we have said, we will pick up a little bit from the additional $11 million worth of interest. We actually picked up a little tiny bit from where we were in the second quarter. We continue to have success in our cost containment efforts, and by the way, it is a whole bunch of little things that add up to the differences, there is no one big one. And to be honest with you, even though we expect, and you can see from the press release demand being down from the prior year some of which was anticipated obviously in our projections for the rate case filing, our results through the third quarter are not really down as much as they were as we were forecasting out for the rest of the year in the second quarter. So, a little tiny bit of actually less demand weakness, I guess, if you want to put it that way, or strengthening from our forecast. Again, a bunch of little $1 million kind of items and they cumulated up to put us with good solid earnings, knock on wood, for the gas company for the year.
Igor Grinman – Zimmer Lucas Partners
Fair enough, and the cost containment, are those more temporary or can I consider those ongoing?
Rick Hawley
I think you can consider those ongoing. As you are well aware, we are at the top of all costs, top meaning good cost, cost metrics, among all of the AGA [ph] companies, which in one sense makes it a little harder to find savings but the culture here, which was here long before probably all of us in the room, is very much cost focused without sacrificing anything from the customer side and that just continues. We think, as I have said in earlier calls, we think it is very important now that we have got rate relief, to manage into the cost structure that the Commission provided in the rate case and that is what we have been successful doing so far.
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