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KANSAS CITY, MO, May 12, 1999 – Merchant Energy Partners (MEP), a subsidiary of Aquila Energy, is seeking regulatory approvals to build a 600 megawatt gas-fired merchant power plant in Cass County, Mo. that will sell power into the central U.S. wholesale markets. Once approved, construction is expected to begin in the year 2000, with simple-cycle operation starting June 2001 and combined-cycle operation starting in January 2002.

The plant is proposed to occupy 25 acres on a 67-acre site near Pleasant Hill, Mo. The plant will be fueled by natural gas and will consist of two combustion turbines, two heat recovery steam boilers, and a steam turbine. Water and air emissions are expected to be among the lowest in the industry. The designer and builder of the plant is Black & Veatch, a Kansas City-based firm that is a world leader in power plant design and construction.

"The plant will be one of the most modern in the country, will bring new jobs and revenues to the local community, and will be surrounded by wide greenways, making it a positive addition to the area," said V.J. Horgan, President of MEP.

"Economic growth in the Midwest, including Missouri, has resulted in a need for more power supplies, which this plant will help satisfy," she added.

MEP owns interests in 17 independent power plants in the U.S. and abroad and is participating in the building and operation of three others. Also, MEP recently won a four-year, competitively-bid contract to supply power to Missouri Public Service, a division of UtiliCorp United which serves more than 180,000 customers in western Missouri.

Aquila Energy, one of the nation’s largest wholesalers of natural gas and electricity, is a subsidiary of UtiliCorp United. Based in Kansas City, UtiliCorp is an international energy company with more than 4 million customers across the United States and in Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia. At March 31, 1999, UtiliCorp had total assets of $6.4 billion and 12-month annual sales of $13.5 billion.