Gallup

As I understand the situation, Plains and Tri-State have indicated their
intent to close the merger. Tim's best intelligence is that a June 1 closing
date is the best they can hope for and it may be late June or later. Also,
until the deal actually closes, there is always a small chance it could come
undone. If we get Gallup in service May 1, we have a 1 month or greater bust
between our in service date and the date the cheap electric rate kicks in.
Has Courtney got this covered? I suspect he's been thrashing around so much
on locking in the swap that it hasn't been on his radar screen.

I think we should formally notify ECS that we expect them to negotiate a
favorable interim power deal to cover the gap between our in service date and
the merger closing. (the difference between the $.038 and .067 rate was
about $200,000/ month as I recall, so this is worth some real $$$) Also, we
ought to remind Courtney that he is still obligated to find a better deal for
us if the merger goes south for some reason. I drafted a letter awhile back
that could be updated for this purpose. Susan, assuming Steve and company
agree, could you follow up on this (I'm having Martha email it to you). The
contract requires us to notify ECS by March 1. Thanks. DF