KCP&L Continues Sustainability Commitment by Announcing Retirement of Six Units at Three Power Plants

Units to be retired due to age, lack of near-term capacity need

KANSAS CITY, Mo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Kansas City Power & Light Company (KCP&L) announced yesterday its plans
to retire six generating units at the company’s Montrose, Lake Road and
Sibley Stations. These actions further the company’s commitment to a
sustainable energy future and balanced generation portfolio.

“When these power plants started operation more than 50 years ago, coal
was the primary means of producing energy. Today, as part of our diverse
portfolio, we have cleaner ways to generate the energy our customers
need,” said Terry Bassham, President and CEO of Great Plains Energy and
KCP&L. “After considering many options, it is clear that retiring units
at Montrose, Lake Road and Sibley is the most cost-effective way to meet
our customers’ energy needs as we continue to move to a more sustainable
energy future.”

In 2015, KCP&L announced the company was considering retiring the coal
units or converting them to an alternative fuel source at these plants.
One coal-fired unit at the Lake Road Station was converted to natural
gas in 2016. Since that time, several emerging industry trends and
changing circumstances led the company to announce its plans to retire
the six generating units.

A number of factors contributed to the decision to retire these units,
including:

• Reduction in wholesale electricity market prices. The value of
  energy produced by these plants has dropped in recent years, primarily
  driven by new wind generation and lower natural gas prices.
• Near-term capacity needs. KCP&L does not anticipate needing new
  capacity for many years with expected relatively flat long-term peak
  load growth. In addition, the amount of reserve generating capacity
  the company is required to carry has been reduced.
• Plant age. The impacted units are older, with all beginning
  service between 1960-1969. Making costly investments in the units does
  not make financial sense when compared to other generation sources.
• Expected environmental compliance costs. It is not economic to
  retrofit these plants with the controls necessary to meet expected
  environmental requirements.

Wind energy sources have become a much more economic generation resource
for the region. According to the Southwest Power Pool, of which KCP&L is
a member, energy generation from wind has increased 30 percent
year-over-year in 2016. KCP&L announced plans in 2016 to purchase an
additional 500 megawatts (MW) of power from two new wind facilities at
Osborn and Rock Creek. In 2017, the company is set to increase its
renewable portfolio to more than 1,450 MW, or greater than 20 percent of
KCP&L’s total generating capacity needs.

“In addition to our substantial renewable energy portfolio, KCP&L has
the largest per capita energy efficiency portfolio of any investor-owned
utility in the region,” said Bassham. “By retiring these plants, KCP&L
is taking another step forward in our plan to provide cleaner, cost
effective energy to our customers.”

KCP&L intends to retire all the Montrose and Sibley coal units by
December 31, 2018. The Lake Road natural gas unit will be retired by
December 31, 2019. Lake Road’s steam operations are not impacted by
today’s announcement. KCP&L is committed to making every reasonable
effort to find job opportunities within the company for employees
currently working at these plants.

Timeline for Retirement:
Generating unit			Capacity			In-service			Retire by
Lake Road 4/6			97 MW			1967			Dec. 31, 2019
Montrose 2			164 MW			1960			Dec. 31, 2018
Montrose 3			176 MW			1964			Dec. 31, 2018
Sibley 1			48 MW			1960			Dec. 31, 2018
Sibley 2			51 MW			1962			Dec. 31, 2018
Sibley 3			364 MW			1969			Dec. 31, 2018

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.

Contacts

KCP&L 24-hour Media Hotline
816-392-9455