Rebecca Kling, rebecca.kling@sierraclub.org, 202-495-3059
Kansas City, KS -- Earlier today, the Sierra Club released a report on Evergy’s coal fleet titled Kansas Pays the Price: A Comparison of Coal Plants and Renewable Energy for Electric Consumers of Evergy, KCP&L, and Westar. The report finds that the coal plants operated by Evergy--a company that provides power across eastern Kansas and western Missouri under the KCP&L and Westar brands--are losing hundreds of millions of dollars on coal power relative to market energy pricing, and will continue to do so for decades to come.
“For many people in eastern Kansas, Evergy is the only electric provider available,” said Andy Knott, Senior Campaign Representative of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign in Kansas and Missouri. “This gives Evergy a particular responsibility to make financially and environmentally sound decisions, as ratepayers can’t simply take their business elsewhere. Make no mistake: Kansas families and businesses pay the price the longer Evergy/Westar stays married to coal and resists the trends to build more renewable energy.
The newly-released report contains three key findings:
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Evergy’s Kansas coal fleet lost $267 million from 2015 through 2018 relative to market energy pricing.
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Future projections show that Evergy’s La Cygne and Jeffrey plants combined are expected to lose $847 million over the next 20 years.
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Air pollution from Evergy’s Kansas coal plants are responsible for nearly 20 premature deaths and more than 100 asthma attacks every year.
The Sierra Club report also outlines steps the Kansas Corporation Commission could take to ensure Evergy behaves more responsibly in the future, beginning with a robust and transparent economic analyses of the utility’s coal power plants. The full report is available online as a PDF at http://sc.org/EvergyReport.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.