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Kansas City Power & Light Announces Iatan 2 Co-Owners; Project Secures Region's Long-Term Electricity Needs

Posted on: Tuesday, 13 June 2006, 09:01 CDT

Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L), a subsidiary of Great Plains Energy (NYSE:GXP), announced today that Aquila Inc., Empire District Electric, Kansas Electric Power Cooperative (KEPCO), and Missouri Joint Municipal Electric Utility Commission (MJMUEC) will be co-owners of Iatan 2, a high efficiency coal-fired power plant located at the Iatan Generating Station in Platte County, Missouri. The 850MW Iatan 2 will support the future energy needs of the Kansas City region.

KCP&L will own 465 MW, or 54.71% of the new unit, with the remaining capacity divided as follows: Aquila -- 18%, Empire -- 12%, MJMUEC -- 11.76%, and KEPCO -- 3.53%. The new plant will be developed and operated by KCP&L and is projected to go in service in 2010.

"The ownership group we have assembled reflects the importance of this regional asset," said Mike Chesser, Chairman and CEO of Great Plains Energy. "KCP&L customers and those of our co-owners will share the benefits of an affordable, stable, and reliable energy supply for years to come."

"The Kansas City region is seeing exciting growth. A balanced energy supply is critical in continuing the economic vitality for the area," said Bill Downey, President and CEO of KCP&L. "The addition of Iatan 2, along with the planned environmental upgrades to Iatan Unit 1 will more than double the energy supply at the site, while substantially improving air emissions there."

Headquartered in Kansas City, MO., KCP&L (www.kcpl.com) is a leading regulated provider of electricity in the Midwest. KCP&L is a wholly owned subsidiary of Great Plains Energy Incorporated (NYSE: GXP), the holding company for KCP&L and Strategic Energy LLC, a competitive electricity supplier.

Based in Kansas City, Missouri, Aquila employees operate electric power generation and electric and natural gas transmission and distribution utilities serving 1.2 million customers in communities in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri and Nebraska. At March 31, 2006, Aquila had total assets of $4.2 billion. More information is available at www.aquila.com.

CERTAIN FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION -- Statements made in this release that are not based on historical facts are forward-looking, may involve risks and uncertainties, and are intended to be as of the date when made. In connection with the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the Company is providing a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the provided forward-looking information. These important factors include: future economic conditions in the regional, national and international markets, including but not limited to regional and national wholesale electricity markets; market perception of the energy industry and the Company; changes in business strategy, operations or development plans; effects of current or proposed state and federal legislative and regulatory actions or developments, including, but not limited to, deregulation, re-regulation and restructuring of the electric utility industry and constraints placed on the Company's actions by the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935; adverse changes in applicable laws, regulations, rules, principles or practices governing tax, accounting and environmental matters including, but not limited to, air quality; financial market conditions and performance including, but not limited to, changes in interest rates and in availability and cost of capital and the effects on the Company's pension plan assets and costs; ability to maintain current credit ratings; inflation rates; effectiveness of risk management policies and procedures and the ability of counterparties to satisfy their contractual commitments; impact of terrorist acts; increased competition including, but not limited to, retail choice in the electric utility industry and the entry of new competitors; ability to carry out marketing and sales plans; weather conditions including weather-related damage; cost, availability, quality and deliverability of fuel; ability to achieve generation planning goals and the occurrence and duration of unplanned generation outages; delays in the anticipated in-service dates of additional generating capacity; nuclear operations; ability to enter new markets successfully and capitalize on growth opportunities in non-regulated businesses; performance of projects undertaken by the Company's non-regulated businesses and the success of efforts to invest in and develop new opportunities; and other risks and uncertainties. This list of factors is not all-inclusive because it is not possible to predict all factors.

Source: Business Wire

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