Westar Energy seeks $19.7M rate increase - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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million, or 1.5 percent. In a Tuesday release, the Topeka-based electric utility WR) said it seeks the rate increase to recover costa for expenditures in the second phase of its Emporiaa Energy Center andtwo company-owned wind farms in Kansasx 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 millio increase in the company’s nortbh region, which includes Olathe and and a $10 million increase in its south region, which includes the Wichitaq area, Westar said. A residential customer using 900 kilowatthourse (kWh) in Westar’s north region could expectr an increase of abouty $1.
43 a month, the company In the south a residential customer using 900 kWh could expecyt an increase of 71 centxs a month. If approved, the new average residentiaol rate wouldbe 9.33 centas per kWh for Westar’s nortn region and 9.11 cents per kWh for its south region. The average national residentialk rateis 11.52 cents per kWh, the companyu said. The rate review was part of the agreement reached by all partiex in the2008 case, which the KCC approvedx in January, Westar said.
“Althoughg electric rates are going up, we manages our natural gas plant and wind farm constructiocosts closely, and they came in more than $22 million undeer the original cost estimates and the amountws the KCC indicated would be allowed for recoverh in rates,” Westar CEO Bill Moore said in the release. “Wed continue to work to meet our customers’ electricity needs as well as to develoo Kansas renewableenergy resources.” Westa is the largest electric utility in Kansas, providinvg electric service to about 681,000p customers in the state.
It also has about 6,800 megawatts of electric generation capacity and operatex and coordinates morethan 35,000 milesz of electric distribution and transmissionb lines.