If granted, after a review process, new rates would take effect April 1, 2005.

Under statutory procedures, the revised rate may not take effect for a year or two.

The conservation plan and higher rates will take months of regulatory review.

Nor do death rates take into account the high rate of crimes like muggings.

Most economists estimate that higher rates take at least a year to slow economic growth.

The new rates will take effect Aug. 1, the company said.

That was cut to 1.5 mills this year; a 1-mill rate takes effect in January.

But the rate took 15 more months to hit its eventual high of 7.8 percent.

Prices and rates expressed in real terms take inflation into account.

This time long-term rates took a while to respond, then fell, but have since begun to climb again.