KCP&L Announces Plans to Cease Burning Coal at

Three Power Plants

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KCP&L FURTHERS SUSTAINABILITY COMMITMENT BY ANNOUNCING PLANS TO CEASE BURNING COAL AT

THREE POWER PLANTS

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (January 20, 2015) — Kansas City Power & Light Company (KCP&L) announced today that in

the coming years it will no longer burn coal at three of its coal­fired 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 coal­fired 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 coal­fired power plants was the most cost­effective 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 cost­effective way to

meet environmental regulations.

Timeline for Coal Cessation:

Generating Unit: Capacity: In­Service Year: Cease Coal Burning By:

Lake Road 6 96 MW 1967 December 31, 2016

Montrose 1 170 MW 1958 December 31, 2016

Sibley 1 48 MW 1960 December 31, 2019

Sibley 2 51 MW 1962 December 31, 2019

Montrose 2 164 MW 1960 December 31, 2021

Montrose 3 176 MW 1964 December 31, 2021

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 coal­fired generation. Our commitment and focus is to move to a cleaner energy future for our

1/20/2015
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 investor­owned 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 energy­efficiency programs

for customers.

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

(http://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 (http://www.greatplainsenergy.com/) or www.kcpl.com

(http://www.kcpl.com/).

Forward-Looking Statements:

Statements made in this release that are not based on historical facts are forward­looking, may involve risks and

uncertainties, and are intended to be as of the date when made. Forward­looking 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 forward­looking 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, re­regulation 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 long­lived 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, weatherrelated 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 in­service 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 all­inclusive 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 10­Q and annual report on Form

10­K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Each forward­looking 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 forward­looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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and an opportunity for our future.

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