24 March 2023
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) — Due to the February 2021 winter storm, bills will increase for most Evergy customers in the KSN viewing area starting in April and going through March 2025. Most residential customers will see their bill increase by $2.82 a month.
In February 2021, Governor Laura Kelly issued a State of Disaster Emergencdue to arctic conditions and stress on electric and natural gas providers. During the extreme cold, Evergy started temporary electricity reductions, and Kansas Electric Co-ops asked members to conserve energy as demand increased.
Last year, the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) approved Evergy’s request to recover costs incurred by energy shortages during the 2021 cold snap. The agreement affects Evergy’s Kansas Central customers. Kansas Central is the area in green on the map.
“The Commission reiterates the unique nature of Winter Storm Uri and the extraordinary costs it produced,” the KCC said. “As the Opponents of the Non-Unanimous Settlement acknowledge, Winter Storm Uri caused unprecedented financial harm throughout Kansas. Likewise, the evidence demonstrates that some customers in all rate classes conserved electricity and assisted in avoiding a system-wide failure like Texas experienced.”
On July 2, 2021, Evergy Kansas Metro and Evergy Kansas Central (Evergy) reported $33.7 million in fuel costs and $113.1 million in purchased power costs in excess of its three-year average.
As outlined in KCC Docket No. 21-EKME-329-GIE below, if Evergy Central gets any federal or state relief payments, the money will be passed on to customers through a retail cost adjustment clause.