Great Plains Energy : KCP&L Furthers Sustainability Commitment by Announcing Plans to Cease Burning Coal at Three Power Plants

Kansas City Power & Light Company (KCP&L) announced today that in the coming years it will no longer burn coal at three of its coal-fired power plants, Montrose Station, one of its units at Lake Road Station and two of its units at Sibley Station. This announcement furthers the company’s commitment to a sustainable energy future and balanced generation portfolio. Lake Road’s boiler already has the ability to burn natural gas and the company plans to operate on natural gas once it ceases coal combustion. In the coming years, KCP&L will make final decisions regarding whether to retire the units at Montrose and Sibley, or convert them to an alternative fuel source.

“After evaluating options for future environmental regulation compliance, ending coal use at these plants is the most cost effective and cleanest option for our customers,” said Terry Bassham, President and CEO of Great Plains Energy and KCP&L. “By retiring or converting more than 700 megawatts of coal-fired generation, we’ll take an even bigger step toward reducing emissions and improving the air quality in our region.”

The decision comes in part as a result from recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations, which would require KCP&L to make significant environmental upgrades in the coming years in order to continue burning coal at these power plants. While retrofitting our largest, newer coal-fired power plants was the most cost-effective way to comply with environmental regulations, the same cannot be said for the older, smaller units at Montrose, Lake Road and Sibley. Retiring or converting the units at Montrose, Lake Road and Sibley will be a more cost-effective way to meet environmental regulations.

Timeline for Coal Cessation:

While this decision will impact employees at Montrose, Lake Road and Sibley, the utility does not anticipate that any employees will lose jobs as a result. KCP&L will find job opportunities within the company for displaced employees.

“For decades, coal has been a reliable, very low cost way to provide power to our customers, and is one reason why our rates are lower than the national average,” said Bassham. “However, as our nation moves to a cleaner, more sustainable energy future, our industry is facing increasing environmental scrutiny and regulations, many of which are focused on coal-fired generation. Our commitment and focus is to move to a cleaner energy future for our region while balancing the cost impact to our customers.”

Today’s announcement is part of the utility’s larger plan to provide cleaner energy to the region. KCP&L has the largest renewable energy and largest per capita energy efficiency portfolios of any investor-owned utility in the region. In addition, the utility recently made a number of new environmental investments and commitments, including the announcement of up to 400 MW of additional wind power and expanded energy-efficiency programs for customers.

For more information on KCP&L’s sustainability efforts, visit www.kcpl.com/environment.

About Great Plains Energy:

Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., Great Plains Energy Incorporated (NYSE: GXP) is the holding company of Kansas City Power & Light Company and KCP&L Greater Missouri Operations Company, two of the leading regulated providers of electricity in the Midwest. Kansas City Power & Light Company and KCP&L Greater Missouri Operations Company use KCP&L as a brand name. More information about the companies is available on the Internet at: www.greatplainsenergy.com or www.kcpl.com.

Forward-Looking Statements:

Statements made in this release that are not based on historical facts are forward-looking, may involve risks and uncertainties, and are intended to be as of the date when made. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the outcome of regulatory proceedings, cost estimates of capital projects and other matters affecting future operations. In connection with the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Great Plains Energy and KCP&L are providing a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the provided forward-looking information. These important factors include: future economic conditions in regional, national and international markets and their effects on sales, prices and costs; prices and availability of electricity in regional and national wholesale markets; market perception of the energy industry, Great Plains Energy and KCP&L changes in business strategy, operations or development plans; the outcome of contract negotiations for goods and services; effects of current or proposed state and federal legislative and regulatory actions or developments, including, but not limited to, deregulation, re-regulation and restructuring of the electric utility industry; decisions of regulators regarding rates the Companies can charge for electricity; adverse changes in applicable laws, regulations, rules, principles or practices governing tax, accounting and environmental matters including, but not limited to, air and water quality; financial market conditions and performance including, but not limited to, changes in interest rates and credit spreads and in availability and cost of capital and the effects on nuclear decommissioning trust and pension plan assets and costs; impairments of long-lived assets or goodwill; credit ratings; inflation rates; effectiveness of risk management policies and procedures and the ability of counterparties to satisfy their contractual commitments; impact of terrorist acts, including but not limited to cyber terrorism; ability to carry out marketing and sales plans; weather conditions including, but not limited to, weather-related damage and their effects on sales, prices and costs; cost, availability, quality and deliverability of fuel; the inherent uncertainties in estimating the effects of weather, economic conditions and other factors on customer consumption and financial results; ability to achieve generation goals and the occurrence and duration of planned and unplanned generation outages; delays in the anticipated in-service dates and cost increases of generation, transmission, distribution or other projects; Great Plains Energy’s ability to successfully manage transmission joint venture; the inherent risks associated with the ownership and operation of a nuclear facility including, but not limited to, environmental, health, safety, regulatory and financial risks; workforce risks, including, but not limited to, increased costs of retirement, health care and other benefits; and other risks and uncertainties.

This list of factors is not all-inclusive because it is not possible to predict all factors. Other risk factors are detailed from time to time in Great Plains Energy’s and KCP&L’s quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and annual report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of the particular statement. Great Plains Energy and KCP&L undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.