TOPEKA, Kan. — In a unanimous decision Tuesday morning, the Kansas Corporation Commission has denied the petition for reconsideration filed by Great Plains Energy, Kansas City Power & Light, and Westar Energy seeking additional time to determine whether the parties could agree on a revised transaction proposal for Great Plains to acquire Westar.
The petition was filed on May 5, 2017, in response to a commission order on April 19, 2017, denying the acquisition on the grounds that the proposed $12.2 billion transaction failed to meet the commission’s merger standards.
In Tuesday’s order, the commission ruled that the filing does not meet the legal standard for a petition for reconsideration and ultimately leaves no choice under Kansas law except to deny the request.
The commission encouraged the parties to continue to work together to revise the transaction to address the commission’s concerns and welcomes the filing of a new application that can satisfy the merger standards and advance the public interest.
Westar serves many residents in the Hutchinson area.
Today’s order can be viewed at: http://estar.kcc.ks.gov/estar/ViewFile.aspx?Id=8951daab-ddb9-4c42-8c22-5c7a538a3d9c.