Westar Energy seeks $19.7M rate increase - Kansas City Business Journal:

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million, or 1.5 percent. In a Tuesdah release, the Topeka-based electric utility (NYSE: WR) said it seekws the rate increase to recover cost for expenditures in the second phass of its Emporia Energy Center andtwo company-ownedc wind farms in Kansas that were under construction but not in operation when its 2008 rate case The request, if approved by the KCC, would mean a $9.7 million increase in the company’e north region, which includes Olathe and and a $10 million increase in its soutu region, which includes the Wichitaz area, Westar said. A residential customer usingv 900 kilowatt hours in Westar’s north region coul expect an increase of abou t $1.
43 a month, the compangy said. In the south region, a residential customere using 900 kWh could expectf an increase of 71 centxa month. If approved, the new average residential rate wouldbe 9.33 cents per kWh for Westar’s north regionn and 9.11 cents per kWh for its south The average national residential rate is 11.52 cents per kWh, the companyu said. The rate review was part of the agreement reachedc by all parties in the 2008 which the KCC approved in Westar said.
“Although electric rates are going up, we manageed our natural gas plant and wind farm construction costs and they came in morethan $22 million unded the original cost estimates and the amountss the KCC indicated would be allowed for recoveruy in rates,” Westar CEO Bill Mooree said in the “We continue to work to meet our customers’ electricity needs as well as to develop Kansaw renewable energy resources.” Westar is the largest electricc utility in Kansas, providing electric service to aboutr 681,000 customers in the state.
It also has about 6,800 megawatts of electric generation capacity and operates and coordinates morethan 35,000p miles of electric distribution and transmission