KANSAS CITY, MO, September 29, 2005 - Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L), a subsidiary of Great Plains Energy (NYSE: GXP), announced today that it has received more than $500,000 in contributions from the community and will match $500,000 for a total of $1 million to assist those ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.
"The heart of Kansas City is clear from the tremendous response. Contributions from customers, employees and other members of the community poured in and enabled us to meet our $1 million goal much faster than what we anticipated," said Mike Chesser, Chairman and CEO of Great Plains Energy, Inc. "The response to the campaign truly has been amazing and gratifying. We’re proud that so many Kansas Citians are reaching out to help those in need and are particularly glad to be able to make those dollars go further through our matching program."
Even though KCP&L has reached its matching contribution goal and will not be matching any further contributions, the company will continue its campaign through October 31. Contributions still can be made by check or money order, payable to American Red Cross Hurricane Katrina Fund and mailed to American Red Cross, P.O. Box 412844, Kansas City, MO 64141-2844.
In addition, KCP&L, partnering with Heart to Heart International, and with the support of select Kansas City area Hy-Vee grocery stores, will continue to provide collection points for items most needed by Hurricane Katrina victims through October 7. Hy-Vee collection points are 8301 NW St. Clair Ave., Kansas City, Mo.; 7620 State Line Road, Prairie Village, Kan.; and 8900 W. 135th St., Overland Park, Kan.
KCP&L REACHES $1 MILLION GOAL
"One thing that stands out about this particular fundraising effort is how the entire community, from school children to corporations, pitched in to make a difference," commented Bill Downey, KCP&L president and CEO. "We received a number of contributions from children who organized lemonade stands and donated the proceeds. And we received outstanding support from larger organizations such as the Blue Springs School District that presented a check for $48,000; and Controlled Environment Products, Kansas City, Mo., that donated seven pallets of products to the relief effort. This type of effort shows what a caring community Kansas City is and how much people want to make a difference in people’s lives."
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.
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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, 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.
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