Topeka, Kan., Oct. 26, 2016 - Westar Energy, Inc. (NYSE: WR) today filed a request with the Kansas Corporation Commission to adjust its prices by 1 percent or $17.4 million. The request was expected by regulators and allows the company to recover costs that weren't final at the time of last year's full price review. 

The request reflects the remaining costs of mandated environmental upgrades to comply with clean air regulations, life-extension improvements to Wolf Creek Nuclear Generating Station and investments to protect the grid against power outages. The KCC will review the request with a resulting price adjustment anticipated in June 2017. The price adjustment for residential customers will be on average about $1.54 per month.

In 2011, the KCC authorized investing up to $1.23 billion in LaCygne Generation Station to meet clean air regulations. The plant is co-owned by Westar Energy and KCP&L, and the cost of upgrades is divided evenly between the companies. The final portion of these important upgrades is in today's request.

"We had a strong team that worked well together and provided great project management. As a result, the project will finish more than $75 million under budget," said John Bridson, Westar Energy senior vice president, generation. "This project has greatly improved air quality in Kansas."

The request also includes investments to begin modernizing targeted areas of the power grid. Westar initially proposed a five-year investment plan to begin updating some of the most critical, aging equipment. In the agreement, a $50 million demonstration pilot was approved. Projects included improvements to substations, replacing more than 2,500 power poles, installing about 1,500 communications modules to prevent and shorten power outages and rebuilding a Topeka circuit where inaccessibility to equipment and aging infrastructure has caused challenging reliability concerns.

The scope of the review was agreed upon in the conclusion of Westar's 2015 price review.

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Westar Energy, Inc. (NYSE: WR) is Kansas' largest electric utility. For more than a century, we have provided Kansans the safe, reliable electricity needed to power their businesses and homes. Every day our team of professionals takes on projects to generate and deliver electricity, protect the environment and provide excellent service to our nearly 700,000 customers. Westar has 7,200 MW of electric generation capacity fueled by coal, uranium, natural gas, wind, sun and landfill gas. We are also a leader in electric transmission in Kansas. Our innovative customer service programs include mobile-enabled customer care, expanding use of smart meters and paving the way for electric vehicle adoption. Our employees live, volunteer and work in the communities we serve.

For more information about Westar Energy, visit us on the Internet at http://www.WestarEnergy.com.  Westar Energy is on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/westarenergy and Twitter: www.Twitter.com/WestarEnergy.

 

Media Contact:

Gina Penzig

Media Relations Manager

Phone: 785-575-8089

Gina.Penzig@westarenergy.com

Media line: 888-613-0003

 

Investor Contact:

Cody VandeVelde

Director, Investor Relations

Phone: 785-575-8227

Cody.VandeVelde@westarenergy.com

 





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Source: Westar Energy, Inc. via Globenewswire

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