KANSAS CITY, Mo. , April 2, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Aquila, Inc. (NYSE:ILA) today announced it has completed the last of four utility property sales initially announced in September 2005. This transaction, which closed on April 1, 2007, generated total proceeds to Aquila of approximately $292 million. Under related agreements, Aquila sold its Kansas electric properties to Mid-Kansas Electric Company, LLC (MKEC) for a base purchase price of $235.3 million and its 8 percent leasehold and other interests in the Jeffrey Energy Center (JEC) to Westar Energy, Inc. (Westar) for a base purchase price of $17.9 million. The total proceeds received include these base purchase prices and additional funds related to working capital and other adjustments, and are subject to a "true-up" within 90 days. Under a separate power purchase agreement, Westar will sell the energy related to the 8 percent interest in JEC to MKEC. The base purchase prices for the four utility property sales totaled approximately $895 million. The other three transactions closed in 2006.
The Kansas electric properties serve 68,972 customers in 32 counties in the central part of the state. The sale includes 6,351 miles of transmission and distribution lines as well as 567 megawatts of power generation.
MKEC is a coalition of six rural electric cooperatives that organized to acquire Aquila's Kansas electric network. MKEC's members serve 34 central and western Kansas counties. These cooperatives also own Sunflower Electric Power Corporation, a generation and transmission service provider, as well as other businesses that provide a wide range of services including water supplies, satellite TV, commercial electric services and propane delivery services.
Based in Kansas City, Mo., Aquila operates electric power generation and electric and natural gas transmission and distribution utilities serving approximately 900,000 customers in communities in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. More information is available at www.aquila.com.
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