THE HERSHEY COMPANY NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued) The 2006 charges (credits) relating to previous business realignment initiatives which began in 2003 and 2001 resulted from the finalization of the sale of certain properties, adjustments to liabilities which had previously been recorded, and the impact of the settlement of litigation in connection with the 2003 business realignment initiatives.
Liabilities Associated with Business Realignment Initiatives The liability balance as of December 31, 2008 relating to the 2007 business realignment initiatives was $31.0 million for employee separation costs to be paid primarily in 2009.
The liability balance as of December 31, 2007 was $68.4 million, primarily related to employee separation costs.
Charges for employee separation and contract termination costs of $12.9 million were recorded in 2008.
During 2008 and 2007, we made payments against the liabilities recorded for the 2007 business realignment initiatives of $46.9 million and $13.2 million, respectively, principally related to employee separation and project administration.
The liability balance as of December 31, 2008 was reduced by $3.4 million as a result of foreign currency translation adjustments.4.
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES We enter into certain obligations for the purchase of raw materials.
These obligations are primarily in the form of forward contracts for the purchase of raw materials from third-party brokers and dealers.
These contracts minimize the effect of future price fluctuations by fixing the price of part or all of these purchase obligations.
Total obligations for each year consisted of fixed price contracts for the purchase of commodities and unpriced contracts that were valued using market prices as of December 31, 2008.
The cost of commodities associated with the unpriced contracts is variable as market prices change over future periods.
We mitigate the variability of these costs to the extent that we have entered into commodities futures and options contracts to hedge our costs for those periods.
Increases or decreases in market prices are offset by gains or losses on commodities futures contracts.
Taking delivery of and making payments for the specific commodities for use in the manufacture of finished goods satisfies our obligations under the forward purchase contracts.
For each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2008, we satisfied these obligations by taking delivery of and making payment for the specific commodities.
As of December 31, 2008, we had entered into purchase agreements with various suppliers.
Subject to meeting our Company’s quality standards, the purchase obligations covered by these agreements were as follows as of December 31, 2008:
## Table 0 ##
We have commitments under various operating leases.
Future minimum payments under non-cancelable operating leases with a remaining term in excess of one year were as follows as of December 31, 2008:
## Table 1 ##
Our Company has a number of facilities that contain varying amounts of asbestos in certain locations within the facilities.
Our asbestos management program is compliant with current applicable regulations.
Current regulations require that we handle or dispose of this type of asbestos in a special manner if such facilities undergo major renovations or are demolished.
We believe we do not have sufficient information to estimate the
Commercial Operations Overview NRG seeks to maximize profitability and manage cash flow volatility through the marketing, trading and sale of energy, capacity and ancillary services into spot, intermediate and long-term markets and through the active management and trading of emissions allowances, fuel supplies and transportation-related services.
The Company's principal objectives are the realization of the full market value of its asset base, including the capture of its extrinsic value, the management and mitigation of commodity market risk and the reduction of cash flow volatility over time.
NRG enters into power sales and hedging arrangements via a wide range of products and contracts, including PPAs, fuel supply contracts, capacity auctions, natural gas derivative instruments and other financial instruments.
In addition, because changes in power prices in the markets where NRG operates are generally correlated to changes in natural gas prices, NRG uses hedging strategies that may include power and natural gas forward sales contracts to manage the commodity price risk primarily associated with the Company's coal and nuclear generation assets.
The objective of these hedging strategies is to stabilize the cash flow generated by NRG's portfolio of assets.
NRG also trades electric power, natural gas and related commodity and financial products, including forwards, futures, options and swaps, through its ownership of BETM, which is also an energy management service provider for primarily thirdparty generating assets.
Certain other NRG entities trade to a lesser extent, utilizing similar products as well as oil and weather products.
The Company seeks to generate profits from volatility in the price of electricity, capacity, fuels and transmission congestion by buying and selling contracts in wholesale markets under guidelines approved by the Company's risk management committee.
Coal and Nuclear Operations The following table summarizes NRG's U. S.  coal and nuclear capacity and the corresponding revenues and average natural gas prices and positions resulting from coal and nuclear hedge agreements extending beyond December 31, 2015, and through 2019 for the Company's Gulf Coast region:
## Table 2 ##
(a) Net coal and nuclear capacity represents nominal summer net MW capacity of power generated as adjusted for the Company's ownership position excluding capacity from inactive/mothballed units, see Item 2 - Properties for units scheduled to be deactivated.
(b) Forecasted generation dispatch output (MWh) based on forward price curves as of December 31, 2015, which is then divided by number of hours in a given year to arrive at MW capacity.
The dispatch takes into account planned and unplanned outage assumptions.
(c) Includes amounts under power sales contracts and natural gas hedges.
The forward natural gas quantities are reflected in equivalent MWh based on forward market implied heat rate as of December 31, 2015, and then combined with power sales to arrive at equivalent MWh hedged which is then divided by number of hours in a given year to arrive at MW hedged.
The coal and nuclear sales include swaps and delta of options sold which is subject to change.
For detailed information on the Company's hedging methodology through use of derivative instruments, see discussion in Item 15 - Note 5, Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities, to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Includes inter-segment sales from the Company's wholesale power generation business to the retail business.
(d) Percentage hedged is based on total coal and nuclear sales as described in (c) above divided by the forecasted coal and nuclear capacity.
(e) Represents U. S.  coal and nuclear sales, including energy revenue and demand charges.
Interest Expense – Interest expense increased in 2014 versus 2013 due to an increased weightedaverage debt level of $10.8 billion in 2014 from $9.6 billion in 2013, which more than offset the impact of the lower effective interest rate of 5.3% in 2014 versus 5.7% in 2013.
Interest expense decreased in 2013 versus 2012 due to a lower effective interest rate of 5.7% in 2013 versus 6.0% in 2012.
The increase in the weighted-average debt level to $9.6 billion in 2013 from $9.1 billion in 2012 partially offset the impact of the lower effective interest rate.
Income Taxes – Higher pre-tax income increased income taxes in 2014 compared to 2013.
Our effective tax rate for 2014 was 37.9% compared to 37.7% in 2013.
Higher pre-tax income increased income taxes in 2013 compared to 2012.
Our effective tax rate for 2013 was 37.7% compared to 37.6% in 2012.
OTHER OPERATING/PERFORMANCE AND FINANCIAL STATISTICS We report a number of key performance measures weekly to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
We provide this data on our website at www.
up.
com/investor/aar-stb_reports/index.
htm.
Operating/Performance Statistics Railroad performance measures are included in the table below:
## Table 3 ##
Average Train Speed – Average train speed is calculated by dividing train miles by hours operated on our main lines between terminals.
Average train speed, as reported to the Association of American Railroads, decreased 8% in 2014 versus 2013.
The decline was driven by a 7% volume increase, a major infrastructure project in Fort Worth, Texas and inclement weather, including flooding in the Midwest in the second quarter and severe weather conditions in the first quarter that impacted all major U. S.  and Canadian railroads.
Average train speed decreased 2% in 2013 versus 2012.
The decline was driven by severe weather conditions and shifts of traffic to sections of our network with higher utilization.
Average Terminal Dwell Time – Average terminal dwell time is the average time that a rail car spends at our terminals.
Lower average terminal dwell time improves asset utilization and service.
Average terminal dwell time increased 12% in 2014 compared to 2013, caused by higher volumes and inclement weather.
Average terminal dwell time increased 3% in 2013 compared to 2012, primarily due to growth of manifest traffic which requires more time in terminals for switching cars and building trains.
Gross and Revenue Ton-Miles – Gross ton-miles are calculated by multiplying the weight of loaded and empty freight cars by the number of miles hauled.
Revenue ton-miles are calculated by multiplying the weight of freight by the number of tariff miles.
Gross ton-miles, revenue ton-miles and carloadings all increased 7% in 2014 compared to 2013.
Gross ton-miles and revenue ton-miles declined 1% in 2013 compared to 2012 and carloads remained relatively flat driven by declines in coal and agricultural products offset by growth in chemical, autos and industrial products.
Changes in commodity mix drove the year-over-year variances between gross tonmiles, revenue ton-miles and carloads.
The following is a tabular reconciliation of the total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits (in millions):
## Table 4 ##
We recognize accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense.
During 2017, we released interest and penalties of $38.3 million, and as of December 31, 2017, had a recognized liability for interest and penalties of $75.7 million, which included an increase of $3.0 million from December 31, 2016 related to business combinations.
During 2016, we accrued interest and penalties of $19.3 million, and as of December 31, 2016, had recognized a liability for interest and penalties of $110.8 million, which included an $8.6 million increase from December 31, 2015 related to the Biomet merger.
During 2015, we accrued interest and penalties of $4.8 million, and as of December 31, 2015, had recognized a liability for interest and penalties of $82.9 million, which included an increase of $29.8 million from December 31, 2014 related to the Biomet merger.
We operate on a global basis and are subject to numerous and complex tax laws and regulations.
Additionally, tax laws have and continue to undergo rapid changes in both application and interpretation by various countries, including state aid interpretations and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development led initiatives.
Our income tax filings are subject to examinations by taxing authorities throughout the world.
Income tax audits may require an extended period of time to reach resolution and may result in significant income tax adjustments when interpretation of tax laws or allocation of company profits is disputed.
Although ultimate timing is uncertain, the net amount of tax liability for unrecognized tax benefits may change within the next twelve months due to changes in audit status, expiration of statutes of limitations, settlements of tax assessments and other events.
Management’s best estimate of such change is within the range of a $115 million decrease to a $25 million increase.
Our U. S.  Federal income tax returns have been audited through 2009 and are currently under audit for years 2010- 2015.
The IRS has proposed adjustments for years 2005-2012, reallocating profits between certain of our U. S.  and foreign subsidiaries.
We have disputed these adjustments and intend to continue to vigorously defend our positions.
For years 2005- 2007, we have filed a petition with the U. S.  Tax Court.
For years 2008-2009, we are pursuing resolution through the IRS Administrative Appeals Process.
State income tax returns are generally subject to examination for a period of 3 to 5 years after filing of the respective return.
The state impact of any federal changes generally remains subject to examination by various states for a period of up to one year after formal notification to the states.
We have various state income tax return positions in the process of examination, administrative appeals or litigation.
In other major jurisdictions, open years are generally 2009 or later.16.
Capital Stock and Earnings per Share We are authorized to issue 250.0 million shares of preferred stock, none of which were issued or outstanding as of December 31, 2017.
The numerator for both basic and diluted earnings per share is net earnings available to common stockholders.
The denominator for basic earnings per share is the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period.
The denominator for diluted earnings per share is weighted average shares outstanding adjusted for the effect of dilutive stock options and other equity awards.
The following is a reconciliation of weighted average shares for the basic and diluted share computations (in millions):

<table><tr><td> Obligations</td><td> 2009</td><td> 2010</td><td> 2011</td><td> 2012</td></tr><tr><td> In millions of dollars</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Purchase obligations</td><td>$1,103.4</td><td>$492.4</td><td>$122.1</td><td>$84.9</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td> Lease Commitments</td><td> 2009</td><td> 2010</td><td> 2011</td><td> 2012</td><td> 2013</td><td> Thereafter</td></tr><tr><td> In millions of dollars</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Future minimum rental payments</td><td>$14.9</td><td>$11.2</td><td>$8.9</td><td>$8.0</td><td>$4.3</td><td>$13.9</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td>Gulf Coast</td><td>2016</td><td>2017</td><td>2018</td><td>2019</td><td>AnnualAverage for2016-2019</td></tr><tr><td></td><td colspan="5">(Dollars in millions unless otherwise stated)</td></tr><tr><td>Net Coal and Nuclear Capacity (MW)<sup>(a)</sup></td><td>6,290</td><td>6,290</td><td>6,290</td><td>6,290</td><td>6,290</td></tr><tr><td>Forecasted Coal and Nuclear Capacity (MW)<sup>(b)</sup></td><td>4,843</td><td>4,850</td><td>4,692</td><td>4,881</td><td>4,817</td></tr><tr><td>Total Coal and Nuclear Sales (MW)<sup>(c)</sup></td><td>5,108</td><td>2,017</td><td>1,171</td><td>1,018</td><td>2,329</td></tr><tr><td>Percentage Coal and Nuclear Capacity Sold Forward<sup>(d)</sup></td><td>105%</td><td>42%</td><td>25%</td><td>21%</td><td>48%</td></tr><tr><td>Total Forward Hedged Revenues<sup>(e)</sup></td><td>$1,876</td><td>$716</td><td>$470</td><td>$446</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Weighted Average Hedged Price ($ per MWh)<sup>(e)</sup></td><td>$41.80</td><td>$40.54</td><td>$45.84</td><td>$50.05</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Average Equivalent Natural Gas Price ($ per MMBtu)<sup>(e)</sup></td><td>$3.51</td><td>$3.66</td><td>$4.12</td><td>$4.43</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Gas Price Sensitivity Up $0.50/MMBtu on Coal and Nuclear Units</td><td>$-37</td><td>$139</td><td>$172</td><td>$190</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Gas Price Sensitivity Down $0.50/MMBtu on Coal and Nuclear Units</td><td>$24</td><td>$-141</td><td>$-157</td><td>$-171</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Heat Rate Sensitivity Up 1 MMBtu/MWh on Coal and Nuclear Units</td><td>$15</td><td>$86</td><td>$83</td><td>$97</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Heat Rate Sensitivity Down 1 MMBtu/MWh on Coal and Nuclear Units</td><td>$-2</td><td>$-77</td><td>$-74</td><td>$-86</td><td></td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td><i>2014</i></td><td><i>2013</i></td><td><i>2012</i></td><td><i>% Change</i> <i>2014 v 2013</i></td><td><i>% Change</i><i>2013 v 2012</i></td></tr><tr><td>Average train speed (miles per hour)</td><td>24.0</td><td>26.0</td><td>26.5</td><td>-8%</td><td>-2%</td></tr><tr><td>Average terminal dwell time (hours)</td><td>30.3</td><td>27.1</td><td>26.2</td><td>12 %</td><td>3 %</td></tr><tr><td>Gross ton-miles (billions)</td><td>1,014.9</td><td>949.1</td><td>959.3</td><td>7 %</td><td>-1%</td></tr><tr><td>Revenue ton-miles (billions)</td><td>549.6</td><td>514.3</td><td>521.1</td><td>7 %</td><td>-1%</td></tr><tr><td>Operating ratio</td><td>63.5</td><td>66.1</td><td>67.8</td><td>-2.6pts</td><td>-1.7pts</td></tr><tr><td>Employees (average)</td><td>47,201</td><td>46,445</td><td>45,928</td><td>2 %</td><td>1 %</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td colspan="3">For the Years Ended December 31,</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>2017</td><td>2016</td><td>2015</td></tr><tr><td>Balance at January 1</td><td>$649.3</td><td>$591.9</td><td>$321.7</td></tr><tr><td>Increases related to business combinations</td><td>70.2</td><td>70.2</td><td>247.6</td></tr><tr><td>Increases related to prior periods</td><td>172.8</td><td>36.7</td><td>1.3</td></tr><tr><td>Decreases related to prior periods</td><td>-262.2</td><td>-94.7</td><td>-</td></tr><tr><td>Increases related to current period</td><td>24.8</td><td>53.0</td><td>25.7</td></tr><tr><td>Decreases related to settlements with taxingauthorities</td><td>-21.7</td><td>-3.2</td><td>-1.4</td></tr><tr><td>Decreases related to lapse of statute of limitations</td><td>-6.4</td><td>-4.6</td><td>-3.0</td></tr><tr><td>Balance at December 31</td><td>$626.8</td><td>$649.3</td><td>$591.9</td></tr><tr><td>Amounts impacting effective tax rate, if recognizedbalance at December 31</td><td>$499.6</td><td>$511.5</td><td>$443.7</td></tr></table>

Question: What's the growing rate of Total Forward Hedged Revenues in 2019?
Answer: -0.05106