Kansas Corporation Commission

Central Kansas electric bills will increase following approval of Evergy rate hike

BY: - November 21, 2023

TOPEKA — State regulators approved a utility rate change that will decrease electric rates for Kansas City customers and push up prices for other customers in the state after a long tug of war between proposed corporation price hikes and commission staff estimates over fair prices. During a Tuesday meeting, the three-member Kansas Corporation Commission […]

Kansas has $25 million to plug abandoned gas wells that can leak methane, polluting water and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. (Getty Images)

Kansas abandoned wells project reinvigorated, but thousands left to plug

BY: - November 7, 2023

TOPEKA — The state’s efforts to plug abandoned wells are back on track after delays in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to project coordinators.  Ryan Hoffman, conservation division director with the Kansas Corporation Commission, updated lawmakers on the well situation during a Tuesday legislative meeting. The Kansas Corporation Commission oversees the well plugging […]

transmission lines

Lack of oversight on transmission spending leads to higher electric bills, consumer advocate says

BY: - October 7, 2023

Electric customers have fallen into a “regulatory gap” that’s allowed billions of dollars of transmission construction to happen without oversight of need, prudence or cost effectiveness, according to a complaint filed with federal regulators by the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel. And though the complaint to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was made on […]

Gov. Laura Kelly said construction of Inevergy’s new Grain Belt Express transmission line to carry wind-driven electricity to Missouri, Illinois and Indiana can create about 1,000 permanent jobs in Kansas. This image is of Evergy's Flat Ridge Wind Farm near Medicine Lodge. (Submitted/Kansas Reflector)

Evergy, regulators near deal on Kansas electric rates

BY: - October 4, 2023

Evergy is close to a deal with state regulators that would reduce electric rates in the Kansas City area and raise costs for the company’s other Kansas customers. If the deal is approved by the Kansas Corporation Commission, Evergy’s Kansas Central territory — including Topeka, Manhattan and Wichita — would see rates increase by 4.05%, about $4.64 […]

A flock of green-winged teal settle on the marsh at Quivira National Wildlife Refuge.

Pipeline spills oil into Kansas creek near Quivira National Wildlife Refuge

BY: - September 29, 2023

Time will tell whether an oil spill upstream on Rattlesnake Creek will harm the birds that flock to Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, a migratory bird stop in Stafford County.  Its manager, Mike Oldham, said the refuge, owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, had deployed absorbent barriers to catch any oil in case it […]

Kansas condo board says it’s being forced to pay twice for gas used during 2021 winter storm

BY: - September 19, 2023

For an Overland Park condo association, the next natural gas bill after a historic cold snap more than two years ago was stunning. Pinebrooke Condominium Subdivision Association, in Overland Park, typically paid about $4,500 for its members’ monthly bills. But its February 2021 bill came to more than $280,000. It settled and paid 75% of […]

Gov. Laura Kelly nominated former state Rep. Annie Kuether, a Topeka Democrat, to a vacancy on the Kansas Corporation Commission. Kuether spent 25 years in the Legislature and served on the House's energy committee. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Senate committee confirms former Democratic legislator to utility regulatory board

BY: - September 13, 2023

Former Kansas state Rep. Annie Kuether was confirmed as the newest member of the Kansas Corporation Commission Wednesday with a near-unanimous vote.  Kuether, who served in the Kansas House of Representatives from 1997 to 2022, will be seated immediately. She replaces outgoing commission Chair Susan Duffy. Gov. Laura Kelly announced she had appointed Kuether, a […]

Long-awaited Evergy energy efficiency programs approved by Kansas regulators

BY: - September 1, 2023

Kansas regulators approved a robust set of energy efficiency programs for Evergy customers after concerns the deal might fall apart. The 2-1 vote by the Kansas Corporation Commission on Friday brings programs, such as rebates and discounts on efficient HVAC systems and free thermostats, to Evergy’s Kansas customers. Missouri regulators have allowed energy efficiency programs […]

Evergy headquarters in downtown Topeka, Jan. 10, 2023

Evergy’s proposed rate increases are too high, Kansas regulators announce

BY: - August 30, 2023

TOPEKA — State regulators say a detailed financial audit shows Evergy’s proposed $218 million rate hikes are unjustified. The Kansas Corporation Commission on Tuesday announced its staff had determined Evergy should lower rates in the Kansas City area and slightly increase rates for the rest of the state. The investor-owned utility, which serves about 1.6 […]

Evergy's coal plant in Lawrence pumps smog into the sky

Evergy requests first rate increase in five years. Rates outside Kansas City would jump 10%.

BY: - August 11, 2023

Evergy’s request that Kansas customers pay another $218 million each year is a symptom of a system built without efficiency, an environmental advocate says. And until Kansas regulators allow the investor-owned utility to implement its proposed suite of programs designed to bring down customers’ usage, Ashok Gupta, an economist for the Natural Resources Defense Council, […]

Paul Snider, a lobbyist with Kansans for Lower Electric Rates, said inability of the Kansas Corporation Commission to bring about regionally competitive utility rates led to introduction of Senate Bill 88. It would require KCC members to be elected statewide, block utility companies from being involved financally in those campaigns and transfer KCC authority to the attorney general. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

Spirit AeroSystems backs KCC reform bill in quest to bring competitive electric rates to Kansas

BY: - February 13, 2023

Kansas Chamber and SpiritAerosystems seeks overhaul of Kansas Corporation Commission to bring about more affordable utility rates across state.

Evergy blames renewable plans, inflation for $1 billion rise in infrastructure plans

BY: - January 10, 2023

Kansas’ largest electric utility says inflation and plans to add more renewable energy are to blame for the ever-rising estimated cost of its infrastructure investments. Evergy’s plan, which outlines investments in the grid and energy production, is more than $1 billion higher than the one it filed in 2021, which was $1 billion higher than […]