And any updated thoughts on whether you have potential -- likely potential to settle those cases or expect them to be fully litigated to the end?Good you. I think Ohio and Indiana already under way. We were closely following it, Jonathan. The monthly returns are then compounded to arrive at the annual return. We are forecasting the deepest declines in volumes compared to 2019 in both the second and third quarter with a gradual economic recovery beginning in the latter half of the third quarter and extending beyond the end of the year. See its 7 best stocks FREE.Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times.You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer.
Please go ahead.So just the -- could you, if you don't mind, just remind us kind of the North Carolina rate cases, when you expect outcomes? Best of luck.Well, thank you, Derrick, and thanks to all who joined today for your interest and investment in Duke Energy. Please go ahead.Good day and welcome to the Duke Energy First Quarter Earnings Call. At the same time, we expect higher residential volumes until stay-at-home policies are fully relaxed.Yeah, Michael, at this point, I don't have a range to share with you.
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And the ability to do those kind of things is very useful to us. So it's something to keep on the radar screen.
It sounds like you were rapidly able to identify these cost cuts [Indecipherable] as you think about 2Q and 3Q, etc. Or is it a little too early to say? The timing of when that occurs in terms of cash collections will depend on the jurisdictions. That's already baked into the numbers that you're seeing at this point. And thanks to all of you for joining us today.There have also been two meetings on a stakeholder process focused on modernized regulation, performance-based rate making and other tools. We're comfortable with this objective. Our states are just beginning to reopen.
These investments will generate meaningful customer benefits by enhancing reliability, while reducing restoration costs and outage times associated with extreme weather events. We're seeing some erosion in the top line revenues, and that affects FFO. They continue to deliver value, capitalize on the complementary nature of our electric and gas franchises to meet our customers' growing and evolving energy needs. The collective work of the healthcare and government professionals, as well as utility and other essential workers demonstrates the power of working together to serve our communities.In response to the pandemic and in recognition of mild weather entering the year, we are executing on a series of cost-saving initiatives totaling approximately $350 million to $450 million or $0.35 to $0.45 per share.
Steve, you mentioned the idea that you have headroom from lower O&M for more capital improvement. And we will be prepared to strongly defend that when we're on the stand later this summer.With regard to COVID-19 and the expected impacts across our jurisdictions, we are tracking the financial effects on our utilities, including elevated bad debt expense and waived fees for customers. And we are working directly with our commercial and industrial customers to provide assistance with payment options for those most impacted by current economic conditions. As a company, we are well positioned and confident our vibrant and growing communities will resume strong economic growth as we emerge from this pandemic.Got it. But as you know, making investments in T&D intended to address cyber and physical risk, as well as renewables and customer programs, all of that is clearly within our strategic investment plan. Our next question comes from Steve Fleishman with Wolfe Research LLC.