Introduction:
Westar Energy, Inc., an electric utility company, generates, transmits, and distributes electricity in Kansas. The company has 6,267 megawatts of electric generation capacity that produces electricity through various fuel types, including coal, uranium, natural gas, diesel, wind, and landfill gas. It also owns approximately 6,400 miles of transmission lines, 24,000 miles of overhead distribution lines, and 4,900 miles of underground distribution lines. It retails electricity to residential, commercial, and industrial customers, as well as for lighting public streets and highways; and is involved in electricity wholesale to electric cooperatives, municipalities, other electric utilities, and regional transmission organizations. The company provides its services in central and northeastern Kansas, including the cities of Topeka, Lawrence, Manhattan, Salina, and Hutchinson, as well as in south-central and southeastern Kansas, including the city of Wichita. It serves approximately 700,000 customers. Westar Energy, Inc. was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Topeka, Kansas.