Document:

Exhibit 10 (b)

Name

Address
1

Address 2

Dear                         :

The Empire District Electric Company

2006 Stock Incentive Plan
(the “Plan”)

Form of Notice of
Non-Qualified Stock Option Award

This is to advise you that effective as of [             ]
(the “Grant Date”), The Empire District Electric Company (“the Company”) has
granted to you an option (“Option”) under the Plan consisting of the right to
purchase                       
shares of Common Stock of the Company (“Stock”) at an Option price of [             ]
per share, subject to the conditions and terms herein stated and the applicable
terms and conditions of the Plan (copy attached).

This
Option is not intended to be, and will not be treated as, an incentive stock
option within the meaning of Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,
as amended.

1.             Exercisability. 
This Option shall vest and become exercisable on the earlier of the
third anniversary of the Grant Date or the date of a Change in Control of the
Company.  Thereafter, this Option shall
remain exercisable until the tenth anniversary of the Grant Date unless sooner
terminated pursuant to Section 2 below.

2.             Termination of
Employment.  In the event
of the termination of your employment with the Company and its Subsidiaries by
reason of your death, Retirement, Disability, involuntary termination by the
Company and its Subsidiaries without Cause or voluntary termination by you with
the consent of the Committee, this Option, if not already exercisable, shall
become exercisable on the date determined pursuant to the first sentence of
Section 1 above and shall remain exercisable until the tenth anniversary of the
Grant Date.  A termination of employment
for any of the reasons specified in the preceding sentence is hereinafter
referred to as a “Designated Termination.” 
In the event of the involuntary termination of your employment by the
Company and its Subsidiaries for Cause, this Option shall terminate immediately
upon such termination of employment.  In
the event of the voluntary termination of your employment by you without the
consent of the Committee, this Option shall terminate on the 30th day following
such termination of employment, and shall be exercisable prior to such
termination only to the extent it has become exercisable, or becomes
exercisable during that 30-day period pursuant to the first sentence of
Section 1 above.

3.             Exercise.  After this Option becomes exercisable
pursuant to Section 1 above and during the period that this Option remains
exercisable pursuant to Sections 1 and 2 above, this  Option
may

be exercised in whole or
in part by filing a written notice with the Company.  The exercise notice must specify the number
of shares of Stock which you elect to purchase and must be accompanied by
payment of the Option price (including any applicable withholding taxes) for
such shares of Stock indicated by your election.  Payment of the Option price (and any
applicable withholding taxes) shall be made in cash or shares of Stock having a
Fair Market Value (as defined in the Plan) on the date of the exercise of this
Option equal to the Option price payable under this Option or a combination of
cash and shares of Stock, and no shares of Stock shall be issued upon exercise
of this Option until full payment has been made therefore.

4.             Heirs and
Successors.  This Award shall
be binding upon, and inure to the benefit of, the Company and its successors
and assigns, and upon any person acquiring, whether by merger, consolidation,
purchase of assets or otherwise, all or substantially all of the Company’s
assets and business.  If any of your
rights or benefits distributable to you under this Award have not been
exercised or distributed, respectively, at the time of your death, such rights
shall be exercisable by your Designated Beneficiary, and such benefits shall be
distributed to your Designated Beneficiary, in accordance with the provisions
of this Award and the Plan.  The “Designated
Beneficiary” shall be the beneficiary or beneficiaries designated by you in a
writing filed with the Committee in such form and at such time as the Committee
shall require.  If you are deceased and
failed to designate a beneficiary, or if the Designated Beneficiary does not
survive you, any rights that would have been exercisable by you and any benefits
distributable to you shall be exercised by or distributed to the legal
representative of your estate.  If you
are deceased and have designated a beneficiary and the Designated Beneficiary
survives you but dies before the Designated Beneficiary’s exercise of all
rights under this Award or before the complete distribution of benefits to the
Designated Beneficiary under this Award, then any rights that would have been
exercisable by the Designated Beneficiary shall be exercised by the legal
representative of the estate of the Designated Beneficiary, and any benefits
distributable to the Designated Beneficiary shall be distributed to the legal
representative of the estate of the Designated Beneficiary.

5.             Administration.  The authority to manage and
control the operation and administration of this Award shall be vested in the
Committee identified in the Plan, and the Committee shall have all of the
powers with respect to this Award that it has with respect to the Plan.  Any interpretation of this Award by the Committee
and any decision made by it with respect to this Award are final and binding on
all persons.

6.             Amendment.  This Award may be amended by written
agreement between you and the Company, without the consent of any other person.

7.             Nontransferability.  This Award shall not be
transferable except by will or the laws of descent and distribution or by
beneficiary designation in accordance with Section 5 above and shall be
exercisable during your lifetime only by you.

8.             Taxes.  The Company shall be entitled to
withhold the amount of any withholding tax payable with respect to the Option
and to sell such number of shares of Stock as may be necessary to produce the
amount so required to be withheld, unless the recipient supplies to the Company
cash in the amount requested by the Company for the purpose.

 2
 

9.             Employee and
Shareholder Status.  This
Award does not constitute a contract of continued service and does not give you
the right to be retained as an employee of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries.  This Award does not confer
upon you or any other holder thereof any right as a shareholder of the Company
prior to the issuance of shares of Stock pursuant to the exercise of the
Option.

10.           Plan Governs.  Notwithstanding anything in this Award to the
contrary, the terms of this Award shall be subject to the terms of the Plan.

11.           Rules Relating to
Termination of Employment.  For purposes of this Award, the
date of termination of your employment shall be the first day occurring on or
after the Grant Date on which you are not employed by the Company or any
Subsidiary, regardless of the reason for the termination of employment; provided
that a termination of employment shall not be deemed to occur by reason of a
transfer of you between the Company and a Subsidiary or between two
Subsidiaries; and further provided that your employment shall not be considered
terminated while you are on a leave of absence from the Company or a Subsidiary
approved by your employer.  If, as a result
of a sale or other transaction, your employer ceases to be a Subsidiary (and
your employer is or becomes an entity that is separate from the Company), and
you are not, at the end of the 30-day period following the transaction,
employed by the Company or an entity that is then a Subsidiary, then, the
occurrence of such transaction shall be treated as the date of termination of
your employment caused by you being discharged by the employer.

12.           Definitions.  For purposes of this Award, the terms used in
this Award shall have the following meanings:

(i)                            Cause.  A termination of employment for “Cause” means
any termination of your employment by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries
for (i) serious, willful misconduct in respect of your obligations to the
Company or its Subsidiaries, which has caused demonstrable and serious injury
to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, monetary or otherwise, as evidenced
by a determination in a binding and final judgment, order or decree of a court
or administrative agency of competent jurisdiction, in effect after exhaustion
or lapse of all rights of appeal, in an action, suit or proceeding, whether
civil, criminal, administrative or investigative; (ii) con­viction of a felony,
which has caused demonstrable and serious injury to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries,
monetary or otherwise, as evidenced by a binding and final judgment, order, or
decree of a court of competent jurisdiction, in effect after exhaustion or
lapse of all rights of appeal; or (iii) your willful and continual failure to
substantially perform your duties for the Company or any of its Subsidiaries
(other than resulting from your incapacity due to physical or mental illness)
which failure continued for a period of at least thirty (30) days after a
written notice of demand for substantial performance has been delivered to you
specifying the manner in which you have failed to substantially perform.

(ii)                           Change
in Control.  A “Change
in Control” of the Company shall mean “a change in the ownership or effective
control” of the Company, or “in the ownership of a substantial portion of the
assets” of the Company, within the meaning of Section 409A of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and Treasury regulations and Internal Revenue
Service guidance thereunder.

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(iii)                          Disability.
 Except
as otherwise provided by the Committee, “Disability” means the determination by
the Committee, in its sole discretion, that a permanent and total disability  Notice of Non-exists in accordance with uniform and
non-discriminatory standards adopted by the Committee from time to time.

(iv)                          Retirement.  “Retirement” means your retirement on an “Early
Retirement Date” or on or after your “Normal Retirement Date,” as those terms
are defined in The Empire District Electric Company Employees’ Retirement Plan.

(v)                           Voting Securities.  “Voting Securities” means any securities
which carry the right to vote generally in the election of directors.

(vi)                          Plan Definitions.  Except where the context clearly implies or
indicates the contrary, a word, term, or phrase used in the Plan is similarly
used in this Award.

Please acknowledge receipt of this Notice of Award
by signing and returning to the Secretary of the Company the enclosed copy
thereof, together with a completed and signed beneficiary designation form.

	
  

  	
  Very truly yours,

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  Chairman of the Plan Committee

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
  Receipt of the
  foregoing Notice of Non-Qualified

  	
   

  
	
  Stock Option
  Award is hereby acknowledged.

  	
   

  
	
  My signed
  beneficiary designation form is attached.

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
  Name

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
  Date

  	
   

  

 

 4Exhibit 10 (c)

Name

Address 1

Address
2

Dear
                         :

The Empire District Electric Company

2006 Stock Incentive Plan
(the “Plan”)

Form of Notice of Performance-Based Restricted Stock Award

This is to advise you that effective as of [            ]
(the “Grant Date”), The Empire District Electric Company (“the Company”) has
granted to you a performance-based Restricted Stock Award (the “Award”) under
the Plan consisting of the right to receive the number of shares of Common
Stock of the Company (“Stock”) as set forth in Exhibit 1 attached hereto,
subject to the performance measures, forfeiture and other conditions and terms
herein stated and the applicable terms and conditions of the Plan (copy
attached).  This Award shall relate to
the Performance Period beginning on [              ]
and ending on [              ]
(the “Performance Period”).

1.             Settlement
of Awards.  The Company shall
deliver to you one share of Stock for each Performance Share earned by you, as
determined in accordance with the provisions of Exhibit 1, which is attached to
and forms a part of this Award.  The earned  Performance
Shares  payable to  you
in accordance  with  the  provisions of this Section 1 shall be paid solely in shares
of Stock.

2.             Time of
Payment.  Except as otherwise provided in
this Award, payment of Performance Shares earned in accordance with the
provisions of Section 1 above will be delivered as soon as practicable after
the end of the Performance Period.

3.             Retirement,
Disability, or Death During Performance Period.  If your employment with the Company
and its Subsidiaries terminates during the Performance Period because of your
Retirement, Disability, or death, you shall be entitled to a prorated number of
the Performance Shares earned in accordance with Exhibit 1, determined at the
end of the Performance Period, and based on the ratio of the number of months
you were employed during the Performance Period (rounding a fraction of a month
to the next higher number of whole months) to the total number of months in the
Performance Period.  Fractional shares
shall be disregarded.

4.             Termination
of Employment During Performance Period.  If your employment with the
Company and its Subsidiaries terminates during the Performance Period for any
reason other than your Retirement, Disability, or death, the Performance Shares
granted under this Award will be forfeited on the date of such termination of
employment; provided, however, that  in
such circumstances, the  Committee,

in its sole discretion,
may determine that you will be entitled to receive a pro rata or other portion
of the Performance Shares.

5.             Change in
Control.  If a Change in Control of the
Company occurs during the Performance Period, and the date of termination of
your employment does not fall before the Change in Control date, you shall earn
the Performance Shares that would have been earned by you in accordance with
Exhibit 1 as if performance at the Target for the Performance Period had been
achieved, but prorated based on the ratio of the number of months you were
employed during the Performance Period through the date of the Change in
Control (rounding a fraction of a month to the next higher number of whole
months), to the total number of months in the Performance Period.  As soon as practicable after the Change in
Control, there shall be delivered to you one share of Stock for each
Performance Share so earned.  Fractional
shares shall be disregarded.  As of the
end of the Performance Period, the Committee shall determine the number of
Performance Shares, if any, that you earned pursuant to this Award determined
without regard to this Section 5, and there shall be delivered to you one share
of Stock for each Performance Share earned by you, but reduced by the number of
Performance Shares with respect to which payment was previously made to you
under this Section 5.  If the number of
Performance Shares earned by you as of the end of the Performance Period is
less than the number of Performance Shares with respect to which payment was
previously made to you under this Section 5, you shall not be required to repay
any amounts to the Company on account of such payment under this Section 5
for any reason, including failure to achieve the Performance Measures.

6.             Heirs and
Successors.  This Award shall be binding upon,
and inure to the benefit of, the Company and its successors and assigns, and
upon any person acquiring, whether by merger, consolidation, purchase of assets
or otherwise, all or substantially all of the Company’s assets and
business.  If any of the benefits
distributable to you under this Award have not been distributed at the time of
your death, such benefits shall be distributed to your Designated Beneficiary,
in accordance with the provisions of this Award and the Plan.  The “Designated Beneficiary” shall be the
beneficiary or beneficiaries designated by you in a writing filed with the
Committee in such form and at such time as the Committee shall require.  If you are deceased and failed to designate a
beneficiary, or if the Designated Beneficiary does not survive you, any
benefits distributable to you shall be distributed to the legal representative
of your estate.  If you are deceased and
have designated a beneficiary and the Designated Beneficiary survives you but
dies before the complete distribution of benefits to the Designated Beneficiary
under this Award, then any benefits distributable to the Designated Beneficiary
shall be distributed to the legal representative of the estate of the
Designated Beneficiary.

7.             Administration.  The authority to manage and
control the operation and administration of this Award shall be vested in the
Committee identified in the Plan, and the Committee shall have all of the
powers with respect to this Award that it has with respect to the Plan.  Any interpretation of the Award by the
Committee and any decision made by it with respect to the Award are final and
binding on all persons.

8.             Amendment.  This Award may be amended by
written agreement between you and the Company, without the consent of any other
person.

 2
 

9.             Nontransferability.  This Award shall not
be transferable except by will or the laws of descent and distribution or by
beneficiary designation in accordance with Section 6 above.

10.           Taxes.  The Company shall be
entitled to withhold the amount of any withholding tax payable with respect to
the Award and to sell such number of shares of Stock as may be necessary to
produce the amount so required to be withheld, unless the recipient supplies to
the Company cash in the amount requested by the Company for the purpose.

11.           Employee and
Shareholder Status.  This
Award does not constitute a contract of continued service and does not give you
the right to be retained as an employee of the Company or any of its
Subsidiaries.  This Award does not confer
upon you or any other holder thereof any right as a shareholder of the Company
prior to the issuance of shares of Stock pursuant to this Award.

12.           Plan Governs.  Notwithstanding anything in this Award to the
contrary, the terms of this Award shall be subject to the terms of the Plan.

13.           Unsecured
Creditor.  Your rights with
respect to the Award and the shares of Stock subject thereto during the
Performance Period are those of an unsecured general creditor of the
Company.  No shares of Stock or other
specific property is or will be set apart in trust or otherwise with respect to
the Award but all of your rights in the Award will be evidenced only by entries
on the books of the Company unless and until shares of Stock are actually
issued to you, your beneficiary or your estate pursuant to the Award.

14.           Rules
Relating to Termination of Employment.  For purposes of this Award, the date of
termination of your employment shall be the first day occurring on or after the
Grant Date on which you are not employed by the Company or any Subsidiary,
regardless of the reason for the termination of employment; provided that a
termination of employment shall not be deemed to occur by reason of a transfer
of you between the Company and a Subsidiary or between two Subsidiaries; and further
provided that your employment shall not be considered terminated while you are
on a leave of absence from the Company or a Subsidiary approved by your
employer.  If, as a result of a sale or
other transaction, your employer ceases to be a Subsidiary (and your employer
is or becomes an entity that is separate from the Company), and you are not, at
the end of the 30-day period following the transaction, employed by the
Company or an entity that is then a Subsidiary, then, the occurrence of such
transaction shall be treated as the date of termination of your employment
caused by you being discharged by the employer.

15.           Definitions.  For purposes of this Award, the
terms used in this Award shall have the following meanings:

(i)                            Change
in Control.  A “Change in Control” of
the Company shall mean “a change in the ownership or effective control” of the
Company, or “in the ownership of a substantial portion of the assets” of the
Company, within the meaning of Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, as amended, and Treasury regulations and Internal Revenue Service
guidance thereunder.

 3
 

(ii)                           Disability.
 Except as otherwise provided by the
Committee, “Disability” means the determination by the Committee, in its sole
discretion, that a permanent and total disability exists in accordance with
uniform and non-discriminatory standards adopted by the Committee from time to
time.

(iii)                         Retirement.  “Retirement” means your retirement on an “Early
Retirement Date” or on or after your “Normal Retirement Date,” as those terms
are defined in The Empire District Electric Company Employees’ Retirement Plan.

(iv)                          Voting
Securities.  “Voting Securities”
means any securities which carry the right to vote generally in the election of
directors.

(v)                            Plan
Definitions.  Except where the
context clearly implies or indicates the contrary, a word, term, or phrase used
in the Plan is similarly used in this Award.

Please acknowledge receipt of this Notice of Award by signing and
returning to the Secretary of the Company the enclosed copy thereof, together
with a completed and signed beneficiary designation form.

	
  

  	
  Very truly yours,

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  Chairman of the Plan Committee

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
  Receipt of the
  foregoing Notice of

  	
   

  
	
  Performance-Based
  Restricted Stock Award is

  	
   

  
	
  hereby
  acknowledged. My signed beneficiary

  	
   

  
	
  designation form
  is attached.

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
  Name

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
  Date

  	
   

  

 

 4
 

EXHIBIT 1

PERFORMANCE MEASURES

1.             Measures that will be
applied to determine the amount of the award to be made under the terms of the
attached performance-based Restricted Stock Award (the “Award”).  This Exhibit 1 is incorporated into and forms
a part of the Award.

2.             Revision of Performance Measures.  The Performance Measures set forth in this
Exhibit 1 may be modified by the Committee during, or after the end of, the
Performance Period to reflect significant events that occur during the
Performance Period that may have a substantial effect on the application of the
Performance Measure.  No modification
shall be permitted pursuant to this Section 2 that would cause the award to be
deferred compensation subject to inclusion in income and penalties under
Section 409A(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

3.             Performance Goals.  The Performance Measure for the Award is the
percentile ranking of the Company’s “Total Shareholder Return” for the
Performance Period (share price appreciation plus dividends over beginning
share price) as measured against the “Total Shareholder Return” for the
attached peer group of companies for the same period, and specified below:

(i)    “Threshold” – equal to the [    ]
percentile level of the peer group of companies;

(ii)   “Target” – equal to the [    ]
percentile level of the peer group of companies; and

(iii)  “Maximum” – equal to the [    ]
percentile level of the peer group of companies.

4.             Amount
of Award.  The number
of shares of Stock distributable to you under the Agreement shall be determined
in accordance with the following schedule:

5.             Number
of Performance Shares.  For
Company performance against plan metrics, the number of Performance Shares of
Stock granted shall be as follows:

(i)    For performance at Threshold,                     
shares;

(ii)   For performance at Target,                     
shares;

(iii)  For performance at Maximum,                     
shares; and

(iv)  The “Number of Performance Shares” shall be
interpolated to account for performance that falls between Threshold, Target
and Maximum.

Fractional shares shall be disregarded.

 5

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