Topeka, Kan., March 2, 2015 - Westar Energy, Inc.
(NYSE: WR) today filed a request with the Kansas Corporation
Commission to adjust its prices by 7.9 percent or $152
million. The requested increase reflects 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,
among other costs. The KCC will scrutinize the request, with a
resulting price adjustment to occur late this year.
"We've nearly completed retrofitting our power
plants to meet requirements of the Clean Air Act," said Mark
Ruelle, Westar Energy president and chief executive officer. "Not
only do our Kansas power plants meet these tough new standards, but
when coupled with our commitment to renewable energy, our customers
now use electricity that's cleaner than any time in history, and at
prices the lowest of any major utility in Kansas and which compare
favorably across the country."
Westar's filing has three primary components:
first, to recover costs of the clean air retrofits to its La Cygne
Energy Center and costs related to improving Wolf Creek; second, to
seek approval for a five-year program to strengthen the power grid
against storms and outages; and third, to request authority from
the KCC to offer customers their choice of rate plans that best fit
their needs and budgets.
"Our ReliabiliTree tree trimming and equipment
repair program in three years has cut tree-related outages by
two-thirds - even more in some communities," said Bruce Akin,
Westar Energy senior vice president, power delivery. "But some
equipment is several decades old, and it's time to replace it
instead of spending more time and money to repair it. So we're now
asking to use that same proactive approach to most efficiently
replace out-dated equipment that causes power outages. Our
customers' lives depend on electricity today, more than ever, and
it needs to be reliable, particularly to withstand storms and high
winds. We know outages are inconvenient for our customers at home,
but for some of our business customers, even a blink in their
electricity can cost them thousands of dollars in lost inventory
and productivity. Outages also create health and safety risks."
Westar has invested nearly $2 billion during the
past few years to keep its power plants in compliance with
environmental regulations. The improvements at the La Cygne power
plant alone, operated by and co-owned with Kansas City Power &
Light, cost Westar about $600 million.
Wolf Creek received a 20-year license extension
from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, authorizing it to operate
through 2045. Wolf Creek's owners, of which Westar owns 47 percent,
continually invest to ensure the plant operates safely and
reliably. It is the state's largest single source of emission-free
electricity.
"Our stable and low-cost coal power plants and our
nuclear plant remain important contributors, not just to our
electric system, but to our economy, where they provide
1,700 good-paying jobs in our local communities, plus hundreds
of construction jobs for their related projects, and contribute
about $125 million dollars a year to our tax base, most of which
funds K-12 education," Ruelle said.
"Our customers also are telling us they'd like
choices in how to pay for their energy and more ways to monitor
their use," said Ruelle. "Today our customers have only one rate
plan. We are asking for permission to offer new pricing plans that
give customers choice in how they budget for and use
electricity."
One of the rate plans is designed specifically to
reduce the volatility associated with high summer bills as air
conditioners keep customers comfortable on hot days. Another
rewards customers who spread out their electricity demand instead
of using so much at once.
Two-thirds of Westar's residential customers use a
monthly average of 900 kWh or fewer, so their average monthly
increase would be less than $13, or about 40 cents per day. For
about a quarter of our residential customers, about 150,000
households, the proposed increase will be less than 30 cents per
day.
The KCC is the state's regulatory body that
oversees this process. Regulators will take eight months to review,
audit and evaluate Westar's request to assure that prices reflect
actual cost of providing electricity. To justify any price
increase, Westar must prove that its costs to provide electricity
are warranted and prudent.
A summary of the filing, all the supporting
documents and an overview of the regulatory rate review process can
be found at www.WestarEnergy.com/2015RateRequest.
- 30 -
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 and landfill gas. We are also a leader
in electric transmission in Kansas. Our innovative customer service
programs include mobile-enabled customer care, a smart meter pilot
project and paving the way for electric vehicle adoption. Our
employees live, volunteer and work in the communities we serve.
Forward-looking statements: Certain matters
discussed in this news release are "forward-looking statements."
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 has
established that these statements qualify for safe harbors from
liability. Forward-looking statements may include words like
"believe," "anticipate," "target," "expect," "pro forma,"
"estimate," "intend," "guidance" or words of similar meaning.
Forward-looking statements describe future plans, objectives,
expectations or goals. Although Westar Energy believes that its
expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, all
forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty. The
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
these forward-looking statements include those discussed herein as
well as (1) those discussed in the company's Annual Report on Form
10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2014 (a) under the heading,
"Forward-Looking Statements," (b) in ITEM 1. Business, (c) in ITEM
1A. Risk Factors, (d) in ITEM 7. Management's Discussion and
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, and (e)
in ITEM 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data: Notes 13
and 15; and (2) other factors discussed in the company's filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking
statement speaks only as of the date such statement was made, and
the company does not undertake any obligation to update any
forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after
the date on which such statement was made.
For more information about Westar Energy, visit us
on the Internet at http://www.WestarEnergy.com. Westar Energy is on
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/yourwestar 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:
Bruce Burns
Director, investor relations
Phone: 785-575-8227
Bruce.Burns@westarenergy.com
This
announcement is distributed by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions on
behalf of NASDAQ OMX 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
HUG#1898893
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