Evergy files for higher customer rates, first request in five years

Evergy (NASDAQ:EVRG) said Tuesday it filed a request with the Kansas Corporation Commission - its first in five years - to recover investments made to modernize and increase the reliability of the power grid.

Evergy (EVRG) said approval would raise revenues by $218M, with more of the burden placed on customers in the Kansas Central service area compared to those in the Kansas City metro area.

An average residential customer in Evergy's (EVRG) Kansas Central service area would see their monthly bill rise by ~$14.24, or 9.7%, while Kansas Metro service area, the average residential customer in the Kansas Metro would pay ~$3.47/month, or 1.9%.

Evergy (EVRG) said the proposed rate increase could have been worse for customers; without cost reductions achieved through the 2018 merger of Westar Energy and Kansas City Power and Light, the proposed rate hike would have needed to raise an additional $130M.

If approved, the rate increase would take effect in December.

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• Stock price return: 1% gain YTD, 9% loss in the past 12 months