KANSAS CITY, MO, April 22, 2005 - Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L), a subsidiary of Great Plains Energy (NYSE: GXP), announced the Missouri Department of Natural Resources has signed the agreement recommending the approval and implementation of a long-term energy plan with the Missouri Public Service Commission (MPSC). Citing energy efficiency and renewable energy components, and the likelihood of a net decrease in air pollution, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources has joined other parties in signing an agreement regarding KCPL’s long-term energy plan.
KCP&L received considerable input during the drafting of the plan from DNR’s Energy Center. The plan includes increased support of energy efficiency programs for all classes of customers, including low-income customers, and renewable energy projects. In the plan, KCP&L committed to invest in cleaner wind-generated electricity produced in Kansas and examine the economic feasibility of generating electricity from Missouri’s wind resources.
"The plan is designed to meet the growing demand for additional electricity while delivering significant economic and environmental benefits to the Kansas City area," said Bill Downey, president and chief executive officer of Kansas City Power & Light. "We think the energy efficiency and conservation elements will have an immediate impact on helping customers manage their energy costs."
The Missouri Public Service Commission must consider and act upon the proposed energy plan before it is final. The energy efficiency programs could be in place within four months of the plan’s final approval, meaning that customers could realize benefits during the 2005-2006 heating season, Downey said.
Department of Natural Resources Director Doyle Childers said his department’s approval of the plan is based on the expected outcome of the plan’s implementation and is not an endorsement of every element of the plan. "The key factor in the department’s approval was the belief that its implementation will result in a net gain for cleaner air in Missouri," he said.
Some elements of the plan, which includes the construction of a new coal-fired power plant, still need regulatory review by the Department of Natural Resources. Such approval is not implied by the department’s signature on the agreement before the Public Service Commission, Childers said.
Great Plains Energy Incorporated (NYSE: GXP), headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., is the holding company for Kansas City Power & Light Company, a leading regulated provider of electricity in the Midwest; and Strategic Energy LLC, a competitive electricity supplier. The Company's web site is www.greatplainsenergy.com.
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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 and deliverability of fuel; ability to achieve generation planning goals and the occurrence 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.
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