Evergy tells legislators it will invest billions in new generation, seeks rate approval and large‑load tariff

Evergy CEO David Campbell and Chuck Kaysley, the utility’s executive vice president for public affairs and chief customer officer, told a legislative committee that Evergy plans historic investment in generation and grid upgrades and has filed a rate case and a new large‑load tariff intended to allocate the cost of serving very large new customers.

Campbell opened the presentation by describing the company’s priorities: “We emphasize affordability, reliability, and sustainability,” and said Evergy has reduced costs sharply since its 2018 merger while seeking to maintain reliability. The company is pursuing a five‑year capital plan that Campbell said totals about $17.5 billion, driven in part by new generation projects and continued transmission and distribution work.

The planned build includes multiple natural‑gas combined‑cycle plants and utility‑scale solar. Campbell said one combined‑cycle plant in Sumner County near Viola is pending regulatory approval and is expected online in 2029; a second plant south of Hutchinson in Reno County is expected online in 2030. He called the overall program “historic” and said the company expects to add roughly 6,000 megawatts of capacity through the period discussed, with about three‑quarters of planned additions using natural gas.

Why it matters: Evergy told legislators that the proposed capital spending is intended to preserve reliability while enabling robust customer growth — particularly from large industrial and data‑center customers — and that regulators must weigh affordability for existing customers against the cost of new construction required to serve those incoming loads.

Campbell and Kaysley framed the plan as balancing three objectives. Campbell said the company has cut costs since the merger, noting it has “reduced our costs by nearly 30% since 2018” and trimmed headcount by about 20% while continuing to invest in automation and infrastructure. Kaysley said reliability metrics have held steady or improved despite the cost reductions: he cited a system‑average interruption duration index (SAIDI) falling from about 101 minutes in 2019 to roughly 96 minutes in 2024, and said Evergy’s performance is below regional and national averages.

The company also described a large pipeline of prospective customers. Kaysley said Evergy has five publicly announced “mega” customers — Google, Panasonic, Meta and two other large data centers — that together total about 800 megawatts of demand. He added that the broader economic‑development pipeline, across Kansas and Missouri, totals more than 11 gigawatts in prospective peak demand — a figure he said exceeds the utility’s current peak of about 10.6 gigawatts. Kaysley called the pipeline “a generational opportunity,” and said some prospects are at advanced stages (land acquired, engineering underway) while others remain earlier in the queue.

To protect existing customers, Evergy said large new customers should pay for the incremental infrastructure they require. Kaysley described a large‑load power service tariff the company filed earlier this month with the Kansas Corporation Commission. The tariff, he said, includes capital‑acceleration charges for projects driven by a new customer’s arrival and other protections such as a minimum bill, long‑term contracts (10–15 years), exit fees and explicit written service agreements for customers above a 100‑megawatt threshold. Kaysley said those provisions are intended to ensure the cost of accelerated investment is borne by the customers that cause it, not spread to the utility’s existing customers.

Campbell and Kaysley said regulatory approval will be required. Campbell described the regulatory process for plant approvals and rate recovery, noting NERC (the North American Electric Reliability Corporation) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as part of the broader regulatory environment that influences planning. Kaysley said the Kansas rate filing for Evergy Kansas Central requests an 8.62% increase compared with 2023 rates; he added that rate cases and generation pre‑approval proceedings will proceed before the Kansas Corporation Commission over the coming months and that intervenors will participate in the proceedings.

Lawmakers’ questions and other points: Committee members asked about capitalization and market support for the investments. Campbell said utility capital structure at the operating level is roughly balanced between debt and equity (about 50/50) and that Evergy maintains investment‑grade credit ratings. He said recent debt issuances have priced well. Senators also pressed on comparative models: Campbell said deregulated markets such as Texas show greater volatility in pricing and can deliver both high and low price years, while regulated models are designed to smooth volatility.

Campbell and Kaysley discussed generation mix. Campbell said Evergy favors an “all‑of‑the‑above” approach — dispatchable gas, nuclear and renewables — and highlighted Wolf Creek nuclear as “the crown jewel” of the fleet, producing low‑cost, zero‑emission energy when online. Both executives said some older coal units will retire over time as the company replaces aging assets.

Quotes from the presentation included Kaysley’s summary of the business opportunity: “We have a better pipeline of economic development than I’ve seen in the last 20 years at this company. It’s truly a generational opportunity.” Campbell summarized the policy tradeoffs: “If we ever emphasize affordability too much, we really ratchet down on cost and we ratchet down on investment… that can cause trouble with reliability and sustainability over the longer term.”

Next steps and outlook: Evergy said the company will pursue KCC approval of its rate request and generation pre‑approvals, and that the large‑load tariff will be litigated in the coming months. Kaysley said the company expects regulatory proceedings to continue through the third quarter for the tariff and later in the year for some pre‑approval matters. He also noted separate wildfire‑related legislation the company expects to pursue in the legislature. The committee followed with questions from Senators Clifford, Bowser and Francisco before adjourning.

Ending: Evergy’s presentation laid out planned capital spending and a new cost‑allocation approach for very large customers; the timeline for implementation and the ultimate impact on customer bills will depend on decisions by the Kansas Corporation Commission and the outcome of rate and tariff proceedings.