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

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million, or 1.5 percent. In a Tuesdagy release, the Topeka-based electric utility (NYSE: WR) said it seekds the rate increase to recovere costs for expenditures in the secon d phase of its Emporia Energy Centee andtwo company-owned wind farms in Kansa that were under construction but not in operatiomn when its 2008 rate case The request, if approved by the KCC, woulr mean a $9.7 million increasse in the company’s nortuh region, which includes Olathe and Lawrence, and a $10 milliom increase in its soutyh region, which includes the Wichita area, Westar A residential customer using 900 kilowattg hours (kWh) in Westar’s north region coul expect an increase of about $1.
43 a month, the companyy said. In the south region, a residential customer usingb 900 kWh could expect an increase of 71 cent sa month. If the new average residential rate wouldbe 9.33 centse per kWh for Westar’zs north region and 9.11 cents per kWh for its southn region. The average national residential rateis 11.52 cent per kWh, the companu said. The rate review was part of the agreement reached by all parties in the2008 case, whichy the KCC approved in January, Westae said.
“Although electric rates are going up, we managee our natural gas plant and wind farm constructionmcosts closely, and they came in more than $22 million undetr the original cost estimates and the amounts the KCC indicatedr would be allowed for recovery in rates,” Westadr CEO Bill Moore said in the release. “Wee continue to work to meet our electricity needs as well as to develop Kansas renewableenergt resources.” Westar is the largest electricd utility in Kansas, providing electric service to aboutg 681,000 customers in the state.
It also has abouyt 6,800 megawatts of electric generation capacity and operates and coordinated morethan 35,000 miles of electric distributionb and transmission lines.