Document:

EXHIBIT
(10)(o)

 

February 12, 2009

 

	
  Name

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  Address

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
  Dear

  	
   

  	
  :

  
					

 

The Empire
District Electric Company

2006 Stock
Incentive Plan (the “Plan”)

 

Notice of
Non-Qualified Stock Option Award

 

This
is to advise you that effective as of February 4, 2009 (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 $18.115 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 Award and to sell such number of shares of Stock as may be
necessary to produce the amount requested by the employee to be withheld,
unless the recipient supplies to the Company cash in the amount requested by
the Company for the purpose.  The
employee may request amounts withheld in excess of the minimum statutory
requirement.

 

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.

 

3

 

(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
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)(p)

 

February 12, 2009

 

	
  Name

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  Address

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  	
   

  
	
  Dear

  	
   

  	
  :

  	
   

  
							

 

The Empire
District Electric Company

2006 Stock
Incentive Plan (the “Plan”)

 

Notice of
Performance-Based Restricted Stock Award

 

This
is to advise you that effective as of February 4, 2009 (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 January 1, 2009 and ending on December 31,
2011 (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 the second sentence of Section 5 of
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 but not later than 60 days 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 portion of the Performance Shares
earned in accordance with Exhibit 1, determined at the end of the
Performance Period, but not in excess of a pro rata portion of the
Performance Shares so earned 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 and disregarding fractional 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 but no later than 60 days 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.

 

2

 

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

 

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
requested by the employee to be withheld, unless the recipient supplies to the
Company cash in the amount requested by the Company for the purpose.  The employee may request amounts withheld in
excess of the minimum statutory requirement.

 

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

 

3

 

the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and
Treasury regulations and Internal Revenue Service guidance thereunder.

 

(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 20th percentile level of the peer group of companies;

 

(ii)          “Target”
— equal to the 50th percentile level of the peer group of companies; and

 

(iii)       “Maximum” — equal to the 80th 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.

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