Westar Energy's rate request to recover costs to make air cleaner, system more reliable
October 26 2016 - 04:49PM
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
This
announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf
of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.
The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely
responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the
information contained therein.
Source: Westar Energy, Inc. via Globenewswire
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