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Acquisition of Aquila now completed
By Mark Johnson
Great Plains Energy completed its acquisition of Aquila, the community’s primary provider of electricity, on Monday, July 14. The utility company will now operate as KCP&L, which is a subsidiary of Great Plains Energy.
“We are proud to welcome Aquila’s employees and customers to the KCP&L family,” Michael Chesser, chairman and CEO of Great Plains Energy, said in a prepared statement. “The integration of KCP&L and Aquila operations creates a solid platform of customer, community and shareholder value and is a critical part of our plan to provide clean, affordable and reliable energy to our region for generations to come.”
Former Aquila customers, including those in Raytown, should expect to see no disruption in service during the transition period.
Customers will also receive one more bill with the Aquila name and should pay it as they normally have, Katie McDonald, senior communications specialist for KCP&L, said.
“What we have to do is file for a name change,” she explained.
As far as any immediate rate increases, she said look for current rates to remain the same.
That isn’t expected to last, though, with the rapidly rising cost of energy.
McDonald said savings realized through the acquisition and consolidation of services should lessen the impact of future rate increases.
The total savings by 2013 is expected to reach close to $200 million, with that figure rising to $547 million by 2017, according to KCP&L officials.
One area where services will be consolidated is at the call center in Raytown, where many of the former Aquila employees will remain in place.
“We’ll also be moving our KCP&L call center employees to Raytown,” McDonald said.
She did note, though, that in order to make room for the additional employees, several departments currently at the Raytown location would be moved to other KCP&L facilities.
Beyond that, she said residents could look for the company to have strong presence in Raytown.
“We are excited about the opportunity to expand our community outreach effort,” she said.
Vicki Turnbow, president of the Raytown Area Chamber of Commerce, said Aquila set the bar high in that area.
“Aquila was one of the best community partners a chamber could have,” she said. “Hopefully, KCP&L will be just as good if not better.”
Contact information:
- To report emergencies or outages, call 888-LIGHT KC (544-4852)
- For service needs or billing questions, call 471-KCPL (544-4852)
- Additional assistance is available at www.kcpl.com
Raytown Editor Mark Johnson can be reached at 358-6397 or mjohnson@npgco.com.
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“We are proud to welcome Aquila’s employees and customers to the KCP&L family,” Michael Chesser, chairman and CEO of Great Plains Energy, said in a prepared statement. “The integration of KCP&L and Aquila operations creates a solid platform of customer, community and shareholder value and is a critical part of our plan to provide clean, affordable and reliable energy to our region for generations to come.”
Former Aquila customers, including those in Raytown, should expect to see no disruption in service during the transition period.
Customers will also receive one more bill with the Aquila name and should pay it as they normally have, Katie McDonald, senior communications specialist for KCP&L, said.
“What we have to do is file for a name change,” she explained.
As far as any immediate rate increases, she said look for current rates to remain the same.
That isn’t expected to last, though, with the rapidly rising cost of energy.
McDonald said savings realized through the acquisition and consolidation of services should lessen the impact of future rate increases.
The total savings by 2013 is expected to reach close to $200 million, with that figure rising to $547 million by 2017, according to KCP&L officials.
One area where services will be consolidated is at the call center in Raytown, where many of the former Aquila employees will remain in place.
“We’ll also be moving our KCP&L call center employees to Raytown,” McDonald said.
She did note, though, that in order to make room for the additional employees, several departments currently at the Raytown location would be moved to other KCP&L facilities.
Beyond that, she said residents could look for the company to have strong presence in Raytown.
“We are excited about the opportunity to expand our community outreach effort,” she said.
Vicki Turnbow, president of the Raytown Area Chamber of Commerce, said Aquila set the bar high in that area.
“Aquila was one of the best community partners a chamber could have,” she said. “Hopefully, KCP&L will be just as good if not better.”
Contact information:
- To report emergencies or outages, call 888-LIGHT KC (544-4852)
- For service needs or billing questions, call 471-KCPL (544-4852)
- Additional assistance is available at www.kcpl.com
Raytown Editor Mark Johnson can be reached at 358-6397 or mjohnson@npgco.com.