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