Prairie Wind Transmission, ITC Great Plains Reach Agreement on Construction of Extra-High Capacity Transmission Lines

TOPEKA, KS, Jun 01 (MARKET WIRE) --
Prairie Wind Transmission, LLC today announced an agreement with ITC
Great Plains, LLC, Sunflower Electric Power Corporation and Mid-Kansas
Electric Company regarding the segments of a proposed 765-kilovolt (kV)
transmission project each company will construct in Kansas. The
effectiveness of the agreement is contingent on approval by the Kansas
Corporation Commission (KCC). The agreed to project will span from the
Wichita area into western Kansas and will be the first extra-high voltage
transmission lines west of the Mississippi River.

Under the agreement, Prairie Wind Transmission will be responsible for
constructing a new 765/345-kV substation near Wichita, KS; a new
765/345-kV substation northeast of Medicine Lodge, KS, near the new Flat
Ridge Wind Farm jointly owned by Westar Energy and BP Alternative; and a
765-kV transmission line to connect the two new substations. Prairie Wind
also will be responsible for constructing a 765-kV line south to the
Oklahoma border.

ITC Great Plains will be responsible for constructing a 345/138-kV
substation next to Prairie Wind's new substation near Medicine Lodge; a
new 765/345-kV substation in Comanche County, KS; a new 765/345-kV
substation near Spearville, KS; a new 765-kV line from the Medicine Lodge
substation to the Comanche County substation; and a new 765-kV line from
the Comanche County substation to the new Spearville substation.

The project is consistent with plans to enhance access to lower-cost
electric power markets, improve efficiency of the electric grid, improve
reliability, and enable development of renewable energy.

"We want to thank Governor Parkinson for his support and encouragement in
settlement negotiations. The KCC staff and the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission mediator Rick Miles also provided important assistance in
achieving this settlement. This is a key step in the development of the
interstate transmission highway in the Southwest Power Pool region," said
Kelly Harrison, president, Prairie Wind Transmission and vice president,
transmission operations and environmental services, Westar Energy. "The
completion of this project will provide enormous benefits to Kansas and
the region including additional jobs, enabling the development of
renewable wind energy, avoiding some generation costs and improving the
efficiency of transmitting electricity."

Prairie Wind Transmission and ITC Great Plains previously had submitted
separate proposals to build 765-kV transmission lines from the Wichita
area to western Kansas.

Before the project can move forward, Prairie Wind must receive all
necessary regulatory and Southwest Power Pool (SPP) approvals, including
regional funding. Upon receiving regulatory and SPP approval, Prairie Wind
Transmission will proceed with a line siting application at the KCC. The
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) unanimously approved Prairie
Wind Transmission's request for key rate components for the project in
December 2008.

Prairie Wind Transmission is a joint venture between Westar Energy, Inc.
(NYSE: WR) and Electric Transmission America (ETA).

Electric Transmission America is a joint venture between subsidiaries of
American Electric Power and MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company to build
and own electric transmission assets. The joint venture is a 50-50
partnership to identify and invest in high-voltage transmission projects
(345-kilovolt or higher) located in North America outside of the Electric
Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). The two companies have an existing
joint venture agreement to build transmission in ERCOT. ETA's current
joint venture projects include Prairie Wind Transmission in Kansas and
Tallgrass Transmission in Oklahoma.

For more information about Prairie Wind Transmission, please visit the Web
site at http://www.prairiewindtransmission.com/.

Westar Energy, Inc. (NYSE: WR) is the largest electric utility in Kansas,
providing electric service to about 679,000 customers in the state. Westar
Energy has about 6,800 megawatts of electric generation capacity and
operates and coordinates approximately 35,000 miles of electric
distribution and transmission lines. For more information about Westar
Energy, visit http://www.WestarEnergy.com.

Electric Transmission America is a joint venture between subsidiaries of
American Electric Power and MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company to build
and own electric transmission assets. The joint venture is a 50-50
partnership to identify and invest in high-voltage transmission projects
(345-kilovolt or higher) located in North America outside of the Electric
Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). The two companies have an existing
joint venture agreement to build transmission in ERCOT. ETA's current
joint venture projects include Prairie Wind Transmission in Kansas and
Tallgrass Transmission in Oklahoma. AEP, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio,
is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering
electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. MidAmerican
Energy Holdings Company (www.midamerican.com), based in Des Moines, Iowa,
is a global provider of energy services to more than 6.9 million
customers worldwide. AEP (www.aep.com) has extensive experience building
extra-high-voltage 765-kV transmission lines and owns the nation's
largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network
that includes 2,100 miles of 765-kV transmission lines, more than all
other U.S. transmission systems combined. MidAmerican is among the
largest transmission owners in the country. For more information visit
http://www.electrictransmissionamerica.com/.

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