The Kansas Corporation Commission has warned it might be inclined to stop the merger of Great Plains Energy Inc. and Westar Energy Inc. unless more details are provided.
The warning came in a Tuesday meeting of the KCC as it explored the $12.2 billion sale of Topeka-based Westar Energy to Great Plains Energy, according to the Kansas City Star.
“We’re still evaluating the order, we want to be very thoughtful about how we read it and make sure that we’re understanding it clearly,” said Chuck Caisley, a spokesman for Missouri-based Great Plains Energy and Westar. “We’re still committed to closing this transaction in the spring of 2017, and nothing in the commission’s order changes that timeline.”
The Commission said the joint application by the two companies provided “insufficient detail” and did not meet the merger standards set by the KCC.
“The insufficient detail and lack of support for the Joint Application have caused Staff (and other intervening parties to this docket) to use valuable investigatory time seeking information, data, and other support in an attempt to get Joint Applicants’ request to a place where it merely meets the threshold requirements for consideration,” KCC staff concluded