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KCP&L, We Energies take top honors in Chartwell’s 2006 marketing and customer service awards

KCP&L, We Energies take top honors in Chartwell’s 2006 marketing and customer service awards

CHICAGO – Oct. 5, 2006 – Two Midwestern utilities were crowned today as the 2006 winners of Chartwell’s annual Best Practices Awards in Customer Service and Marketing during the industry research firm’s annual EMACS Conference, held this year at the Schaumburg (IL) Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center.

Kansas City Power & Light Co., Kansas City, Mo., won in the marketing category, while Milwaukee - based We Energies was named tops in customer service by a panel of Chartwell research analysts who cover customer relations in the utility industry.

KCP&L was presented with the Best Practices Award for Utility Marketing for its innovative “ThermoCalc Integrated Media Campaign.” The campaign was conducted during the hot summer months of 2006 to steer customers to the KCP&L Web site, where online interactive tools are available to educate customers in energy usage and conservation.

We Energies was honored with the Best Practices Award for Customer Service for its “We Care Call Program,” an effort in which We Energies employees personally follow up with customers who experience power outages. The mission for We Energies employees is to ensure the affected customers receive updated information and timely power restoration.

“These utilities were able to quantify positive results with these award-winning programs,” said Chartwell vice president Dennis Smith, who presented the awards during the EMACS 2006 awards luncheon. “By showing personal attention to customers who have the unfortunate experience of a power outage, We Energies was able to move its customer satisfaction scores in the right direction. Kansas City Power & Light, through an innovative and eye-catching mixed-media promotional campaign, saw huge increases in the number of customers using its online energy efficiency application.”

“Chartwell commends these utilities for their successful efforts in addressing the issues that all energy delivery utilities face today – achieving customer satisfaction and promoting responsible energy usage,” Smith said.

“Building partnerships with customers to help them use energy more efficiently and manage energy costs is paramount at KCP&L. We are proud that our efforts in delivering value to our customers through our ThermoCalc program far exceeded expectations,” said John Marshall, senior vice president delivery KCP&L. “Recognition for communicating our efficiency programs to customers is especially rewarding.”

Charley Cole, senior vice president of customer operations for We Energies, said: “I am very proud of the dedication and commitment that our employees have demonstrated to make the ‘We Care Call’ program successful for our customers and We Energies. It will continue to be a key to our success as we strive to achieve excellence in customer satisfaction.”

The Chartwell Best Practices Awards are presented by Chartwell in several categories throughout the year. Utilities that enter projects or programs for consideration must submit an entry form and any supporting materials. The entries are judged by Chartwell researchers who report on the area under consideration. The Chartwell Best Practices Awards for Marketing and Customer Service are awarded in the fall each year at the Energy Marketing and Customer Service Conference and Expo (EMACS). There were 28 overall entries from leading North American utilities for consideration in 2006 – 13 in marketing and 15 in customer service. Past winners include Duke Energy, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Otter Tail Power and BC Hydro.

About We Energies

We Energies serves more than 1.1 million electric customers in Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and more than one million natural gas customers in Wisconsin. We Energies is the trade name of Wisconsin Electric Power Company and Wisconsin Gas LLC, the principal subsidiaries of Wisconsin Energy Corporation (NYSE: WEC). Visit the We Energies Web site at www.we-energies.com  Learn more about Wisconsin Energy Corporation by visiting www.wisconsinenergy.com.

About Kansas City Power & Light

Headquartered in Kansas City, MO., KCP&L (www.kcpl.com) is a regulated provider of electricity in the Midwest. KCP&L is a wholly - owned subsidiary of Great Plains Energy Incorporated (NYSE: GXP), the holding company for KCP&L and Strategic Energy, L.L.C., a competitive electricity supplier.

About Chartwell