KANSAS CITY, MO, September 2, 2005 - Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L), a subsidiary of Great Plains Energy (NYSE: GXP), announced today a multi-faceted campaign to raise up to $1million to assist those ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.
KCP&L, working through the American Red Cross, will process contributions and match, on a dollar-for-dollar basis, all contributions up to $500,000. Contributions 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.
Contributions from customers, employees and other members of the community will qualify for the match and will enable those contributions to be doubled, providing additional assistance. Contributions will be accepted through October 31, 2005.
"We are responding to our community’s desire to help, with a matching program that magnifies the contributions of individuals and businesses in Kansas City," said Mike Chesser, Chairman and CEO of Great Plains Energy, Inc. "Our community has always reached out to those in need and we are proud to play a role in the hurricane relief effort."
In addition, KCP&L, partnering with Heart to Heart International, and with the support of select Kansas City area Hy-Vee grocery stores, will provide collection points for items most needed by Hurricane Katrina victims. KCP&L will calculate the value of the items donated and include that value in the American Red Cross match. As soon as the drop-off locations and list of needed items are finalized, they will be forwarded in a separate media advisory and posted on KCP&L’s website, www.kcpl.com, and Heart to Heart’s website, www.hearttoheart.org.
"The devastation from Katrina is almost beyond comprehension," said Bill Downey, KCP&L president and CEO. "The victims literally will be rebuilding their lives from scratch. Our employees, retirees, and customers have expressed a desire to help and partnering with the American Red Cross and Heart to Heart will ensure the spirit of Kansas City is felt in our relief efforts."
Forty-three KCP&L employee and contractor crews left Monday and are restoring power for Entergy customers in Jackson, Mississippi. It is expected that these and other employees will be engaged for months to come in restoring power to the affected areas.
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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