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Kansas City Power & Light Begins Implementation of Long-Term Energy Plan

Posted on: Tuesday, 9 August 2005, 18:01 CDT

Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L), a subsidiary of Great Plains Energy (NYSE:GXP), announced today it has begun implementation of its comprehensive long-term energy plan, which has received unanimous approval from both the Missouri Public Service Commission (MPSC) and Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC).

The five-year, $1.3 billion plan is designed to address the region's growing need for affordable, reliable energy while meeting increasingly stringent environmental regulations.

Bill Downey, President and CEO of Kansas City Power & Light, said the company has mobilized teams and begun establishing timelines for the various components of the comprehensive plan. "This plan represents a significant investment and we are aiming for excellence in our implementation," said Downey. "Our goal is to facilitate long-term growth -- for our community, our company and our investors -- while minimizing risks along the way."

Downey said the company this week will issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the development of a 100 MW wind generation facility in Kansas, with the goal of receiving bids within 30 days and starting construction as soon as practical thereafter.

"We will continue working collaboratively with wind developers, local governments and the Governor's office in Kansas as we transition from planning to construction," said Downey. "This is the first major wind project targeted for the Kansas City region and we want to manage it effectively, efficiently and responsibly."

Also, the company will begin preparations for the installation of environmental upgrades at two of its coal-fired generating plants. The company expects to receive responses in the next 60 days to an RFP for work at its LaCygne, Kansas, plant. Environmental upgrades at the Iatan plant will be coordinated with the construction of the new unit at the Iatan site.

"This is a significant part of our comprehensive plan because it supports the Mid-America Regional Council's goal of improving our regional air quality," said Downey. "We want to do our part, and we want to start this initiative right away."

In addition, the company expects to announce co-owners this month for the construction of a new coal-generating plant in Platte County. KCP&L will be the majority owner of the facility and will share construction costs and power generation with one or more co-owners. Negotiations already are under way and progressing favorably, the company said.

Permitting for the new plant is continuing and is expected to be received by early 2006.

Finally, by year end, the company will implement a pilot air conditioner cycling program, offering programmable thermostats to participating customers. It will be the first in a series of innovative new programs the company will launch to help customers more efficiently manage their energy use. Downey said the company already is participating in a Customer Program Advisory Group in Missouri to finalize the design, implementation and evaluation of all the energy efficiency components of the plan.

"We don't want to just 'push' electricity into our customers' homes or offices," said Downey. "We want a dynamic system where, collectively, our customers and KCP&L manage customers' usage, distributed generation, and our supply in an easy and convenient way. We want to form an energy partnership based on technology that is interactive, intelligent and intuitive."

Plan Benefits

KCP&L's long-term energy plan has been designed to produce benefits for a variety of stakeholders, including development of a long-term supply of low-cost generation, cleaner air, rate stability, increased investment in system reliability through more automation in management of assets, and numerous energy efficiency and affordability programs to help manage energy costs.

"Our plan complements the work of Congress on the Energy Policy Act of 2005 signed by the President," said Mike Chesser, Chairman and CEO of Great Plains Energy, Inc. "Our focus on a diverse fuel supply, improved environmental performance, and energy efficiency and conservation is right on target with the initiatives contained in the Act. Thanks to this plan, our customers will continue enjoying the reliable, stable and affordable electric service they have grown accustomed to while also seeing new customer programs and capabilities."

The plan represents a number of significant investments that total nearly $1.3 billion and stretch through the year 2010. They include:

-- $776 million for KCP&L's portion of a high-efficiency coal-fired plant scheduled to be in service in 2010. KCP&L will own approximately 500MW of the 800-900MW plant;

-- $131 million in 100MW renewable wind generation scheduled for completion in 2006, with an option for another 100 MW in 2008;

-- $272 million in environmental upgrades to existing power plants, beginning in 2005;

-- $95 million in various demand management, distributed generation and efficiency programs, as well as transmission and distribution reliability and automation programs being launched later this year.

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.

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 of forced 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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