Great Plains Energy

From SourceWatch
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Climatechangewords.jpg

Learn more from the Center for Media and Democracy's research on climate change.

Coalswarm badge.gif

This article is part of the Coal Issues portal on SourceWatch, a project of Global Energy Monitor and the Center for Media and Democracy. See here for help on adding material to CoalSwarm.

Great Plains Energy
Type Public (NYSEGXP)
Headquarters 1201 Walnut St.
Kansas City, MO 64106
Area served KS, MO
Key people Michael J. Chesser, CEO
Industry Electric Producer and Utility
Products Electricity
Revenue $3.27 billion (2007)[1]
Net income $159.2 million (2007)[1]
Employees 2,504 (2007)
Subsidiaries Kansas City Power & Light
Strategic Energy
Website GreatPlainsEnergy.com

Great Plains Energy Incorporated is a holding company based in Kansas City, Missouri, whose utilities operate under the name Kansas City Power & Light Company (KCP&L). KCP&L established the holding company on October 1, 2001. Great Plains Energy also owns Strategic Energy, LLC, an energy management company.

On July 14, 2008, Great Plains Energy acquired the Missouri operations of Aquila, which now operates under the name of its former competitor KCP&L.[2] (Aquila's operations in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska were acquired by the Black Hills Corporation).[3]

History

Key Dates:[4]

  • 1882: Kawsmouth Electric Light Company is founded.
  • 1885: The company reincorporates as Kansas City Electric Light Company.
  • 1900: J. Ogden Armour and partners acquire Kansas City Electric Light Company.
  • 1916: The company is reorganized as Kansas City Light & Power Company.
  • 1923: The company buys Carroll County Electric Company.
  • 1924: Continental Gas & Electric Corporation purchases the controlling interest in Kansas City Power & Light.
  • 1950: The holding company dissolves, leaving Kansas City Power & Light (KCPL) independent.
  • 1977: Construction of Wolf Creek, a nuclear power plant, begins.
  • 2000: KCPL ends merger talks with Western Resources, Inc.
  • 2001: The company reorganizes and forms holding company Great Plains Energy Inc., with its holdings including Kansas City Power & Light Company, Strategic Energy, LLC, and KLT Gas Inc.
  • 2004: Company announces that it is exiting the gas exploration and development business.
  • 2008: Great Plains Energy acquires the Missouri operations of Aquila.[5]

Power portfolio

Out of its total 4,880 MW of electric generating capacity in 2005 (0.46% of the U.S. total), Great Plains produces 70.9% from coal, 19.1% from natural gas, and 10.0% from oil. Great Plains owns power plants in Kansas and Missouri.[6]

Existing coal-fired power plants

Great Plains owned 8 coal-fired generating stations in 2012, with 4,312 MW of capacity. Here is a list of Great Plains's coal power plants:[6][7][8]

Plant Name State County Year(s) Built Capacity 2007 CO2 Emissions 2006 SO2 Emissions
La Cygne KS Linn 1973, 1977 1578 MW 11,900,000 tons 22,421 tons
Iatan MO Platte 1980, 2010 1576 MW 5,649,000 tons 17,518 tons
Hawthorn MO Jackson 1969 594 MW 5,029,000 tons 1,897 tons
Montrose MO Henry 1958, 1960, 1964 564 MW 3,887,000 tons 11,561 tons

In 2006, Great Plains Energy's 4 coal-fired power plants emitted 26.5 million tons of CO2 and 53,000 tons of SO2.

Coal plants under construction

Contact Details

Phone: (816) 556-2200
Website: http://www.greatplainsenergy.com/

Articles and Resources

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Great Plains Energy Inc., BusinessWeek Company Insight Center, accessed July 2008.
  2. "Great Plains Energy Completes Acquisition of Aquila", Business Wire, July 14, 2008.
  3. "Black Hills offers Kansas regulators new deal on Aquila gas buy" Kansas City, February 13, 2008
  4. "Great Plains Energy Incorporated", Funding Universe, August 2009.
  5. "Great Plains Energy Completes Acquisition of Aquila", Business Wire, July 14, 2008.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Existing Electric Generating Units in the United States, 2005, Energy Information Administration, accessed April 2008.
  7. Environmental Integrity Project, Dirty Kilowatts: America’s Most Polluting Power Plants, July 2007.
  8. Dig Deeper, Carbon Monitoring for Action database, accessed June 2008.

Related SourceWatch Articles

External Articles

Wikipedia also has an article on Great Plains Energy. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.