The Kansas Corporation Commission has approved a plan that would allow Westar Energy to receive about $3.5 million dollars in revenue for making emissions improvements at the La Cygne power plant in eastern Kansas.
Westar also agreed not to ask for a rate increase until March.
About two-thirds of the company's customers are expected to see an increase of about 16 cents on their bills, but they will not pay more until October of 2015.
Westar Energy and Kansas City Power & Light own the plant together. They need to make upgrades to comply with federal emissions rules for coal-fired plants.
Kansas City Power & Light will file its rate case in January and work on the basis of estimated costs until then. If the plant's operational costs do not match their estimate, the company will either collect more from customers or issue a refund.
In 2011, the Kansas Corporation Commission ruled that the utilities could recover a combined $1.2 billion dollars over multiple years to cover the cost of the plant's upgrades. This permission does not include the costs of running the plant.
