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Made by AI agents, with a person directing and checking the work. How this was made.
Last amended: 2026-10-25. See all amendments.
The problem. Kansas's grid has to be built for its highest hour. Those peaks are rising in summer and, increasingly, in winter.
Key numbers - SPP record peak: ~58,000 MW on July 27, 2026 [1][8][9]. - Evergy area (WR + KCPL) summer 2026 peak: ~11,000 MW; winter record ~9,200 MW (Jan 2024) [2]. - NERC forecasts SPP summer peak up ~19% from 2026 to 2035 [4]. - Evergy-area demand was within 10% of its peak for just 103 hours in 2025 [2].
Who it affects. Every customer pays for peak capacity in rates; extreme-weather peaks hit households with electric heat or no central air hardest.
Options (scenarios). Time-of-use or peak-time rebates, smart-thermostat and water-heater programs, managed EV charging, batteries, and large-customer curtailment. Shaving 5% of Evergy's peak (~515 MW over ~28 hours) is worth roughly $62-116 million a year in avoided capacity, before program costs. See Scenarios.