# 2026-06 Staff Proposes November Hearing Schedule in the Rate Case On **2026-06-05** the [[APSC General Staff]] filed its Motion to Adopt Procedural Schedule (Doc. 160) in [[psc/docket-26-001-u-2026-05-22/_overview|Docket 26-001-U]], the Entergy Arkansas base rate case — proposing Staff/Intervenor direct testimony **2026-08-05**, an evidentiary hearing **2026-11-04/05**, and the two public comment hearings Order No. 4 required: **Batesville (2026-10-20)** and **El Dorado (2026-10-27)**. ## Sources - [[Staff Motion to Adopt Rate-Case Procedural Schedule]] — Doc. 160 (Tier-1, `raw/psc/docket-26-001-u-procedural-2026-06-10/`). ## What happened Staff proposed the full contested calendar (direct 8/5 → rebuttal 9/2 → surrebuttal 10/2 → sur-surrebuttal 10/13 → issues list/settlement 10/23 → hearing 11/4–5) and recorded EAL's proposed public-comment-hearing dates and locations, "to which Staff has no objection" (`26-001-U_160_1.pdf`, pp. 2–3). The 60-day intervention period has closed (¶4), fixing the party roster. ## Significance - **The rate case's decision clock is now visible.** The class cost-of-service allocation — the proceeding where "who pays" is actually decided across customer classes — will be contested in Staff/Intervenor direct testimony due **2026-08-05**, with a decision trajectory pointing to late 2026/early 2027. - **The only public-participation venues in the rate case now have dates.** The Batesville (10/20) and El Dorado (10/27) public comment hearings are the two statutory occasions for ratepayers to address the Commission on the record before the evidentiary hearing. Neither is in Central Arkansas, where the AVAIO and Port data-center loads would sit. - The schedule means the rate case will be decided **after** the GAJA rider's first annual cycle closed ([[2026-06 APSC Order No. 7 Approves the GAJA Rider Annual Update|Order No. 7]]) — the rider charges bills now; the base-rate allocation questions wait for November. ## Open follow-ups - Watch for the ALJ's adoption order and the noticed venues/times for the public comment hearings. - The 2026-08-05 Staff/Intervenor direct testimony is the next Tier-1 retrieval milestone in 26-001-U.