Evergy, Inc. (EVRG): Análisis PESTLE [Actualizado en Ene-2025]

En el panorama dinámico de la transformación energética, Evergy, Inc. (EVRG) se encuentra en una intersección crítica de innovación, regulación y sostenibilidad. Este análisis integral de la mano presenta los desafíos y oportunidades multifacéticas que enfrentan este gigante de servicios públicos del Medio Oeste, explorando cómo los factores políticos, económicos, sociológicos, tecnológicos, legales y ambientales están remodelando su trayectoria estratégica. Desde las inversiones de energía renovable hasta la modernización de la red, Evergy navega por un complejo ecosistema de expectativas en evolución, interrupciones tecnológicas y paisajes regulatorios que definirán su éxito y resistencia futura en el sector energético que cambia rápidamente.

Evergy, Inc. (EVRG) - Análisis de mortero: factores políticos

Las regulaciones estatales de Kansas y Missouri impactan las operaciones de servicios públicos

Evergy opera bajo marcos regulatorios en dos estados principales con requisitos legislativos específicos:

Estado	Comisión reguladora	Presupuesto anual de revisión regulatoria
Kansas	Comisión de Kansas Corporation	$ 1.2 millones
Misuri	Comisión de Servicio Público de Missouri	$ 1.5 millones

Discusiones federales de política energética

Las discusiones actuales de la política energética federal implican consideraciones significativas de inversión de energía renovable:

• Valor de crédito fiscal de producción (PTC): $ 25/MWh para proyectos de energía eólica
• Tasa de crédito fiscal de inversión (ITC): 30% para infraestructura de energía solar
• Incentivos federales de energía limpia potenciales: estimado de $ 369 mil millones a través de la Ley de Reducción de Inflación

Apoyo político para transiciones de energía limpia

Estándares de cartera de energía renovable En los estados objetivo:

Estado	Objetivo de energía renovable	Fecha límite de cumplimiento
Kansas	20% para 2020	2020
Misuri	15% para 2021	2021

Incertidumbre de la regulación ambiental

Cambios regulatorios potenciales que afectan las operaciones de Evergy:

• EPA carbon emissions reduction targets: 40-52% by 2030
• Costo de cumplimiento estimado: $ 450- $ 750 millones
• Mecanismos potenciales de precios de carbono en consideración

Evergy, Inc. (EVRG) - Análisis de mortero: factores económicos

Fluctuando la demanda de energía debido a las condiciones económicas en la región del medio oeste

En 2023, Evergy reportó ventas eléctricas totales de 56,376 horas de gigawatt en sus territorios de servicio en Kansas y Missouri. Los indicadores económicos regionales muestran patrones de consumo de energía variados.

Indicador económico	Valor 2023	Cambio año tras año
Consumo de energía industrial del Medio Oeste	23,456 GWH	+2.3%
Demanda de energía residencial	18,945 gwh	+1.7%
Uso de energía del sector comercial	14,975 gwh	+1.5%

Inversión de infraestructura influenciada por la recuperación económica y la financiación federal

Evergy asignado $ 1.2 mil millones Para inversiones de infraestructura en 2023, con porciones significativas respaldadas por programas federales de financiación de infraestructura.

Categoría de inversión	2023 inversión	Contribución de financiación federal
Modernización de la cuadrícula	$ 456 millones	$ 127 millones
Infraestructura de energía renovable	$ 378 millones	$ 89 millones
Actualizaciones de la línea de transmisión	$ 366 millones	$ 102 millones

Estructuras de tarifa de electricidad afectadas por la inflación y los costos operativos

Tasas de electricidad promedio para clientes de Evergy en 2023:

• Residencial: 12.45 centavos por kWh
• Comercial: 10.23 centavos por kWh
• Industrial: 7.89 centavos por kWh

Impacto de la inflación en los costos operativos aumentó las tasas de electricidad por 3.7% en comparación con el año anterior.

Incentivos económicos potenciales para el desarrollo de energía renovable

Incentivo de energía renovable	Valor 2023	Impacto proyectado
Crédito fiscal de producción federal	$ 26 por MWH	Apoya la expansión de la energía eólica
Crédito fiscal de inversión	30% de los costos del proyecto	Fomenta la infraestructura solar
Créditos de energía renovable a nivel estatal	$ 15 por MWH	Mejora la viabilidad del proyecto renovable

La cartera de energía renovable de Evergy llegó 3,456 MW en 2023, representando el 42% de la capacidad de generación total.

Evergy, Inc. (EVRG) - Análisis de mortero: factores sociales

Creciente demanda de consumidores de soluciones de energía limpia y sostenible

Según la Administración de Información de Energía de EE. UU., El consumo de energía renovable en Kansas aumentó a 24.8% en 2022, y la energía eólica representa el 41.4% de la generación de electricidad en el estado.

Tipo de energía renovable	Porcentaje de generación	Tasa de crecimiento (2021-2022)
Energía eólica	41.4%	3.2%
Energía solar	2.1%	12.5%

Cambios demográficos en Kansas y Missouri que afectan los patrones de consumo de energía

A partir de 2022, la población de Kansas: 2,937,880; Población de Missouri: 6,154,913. Edad media en Kansas: 36.8 años; Missouri: 38.6 años.

Segmento demográfico	Porcentaje de Kansas	Porcentaje de Missouri
Población urbana	74.3%	70.1%
Población menor de 25	31.2%	29.8%

El aumento de la conciencia pública sobre el cambio climático impacta las estrategias de la empresa de servicios públicos

Evergy comprometió las iniciativas de reducción de carbono de $ 1.6 mil millones para 2030, apuntando al 70% de la reducción de emisiones de carbono desde los niveles de 2005.

Métrica de reducción de carbono	Línea de base de 2005	Objetivo 2030
Emisiones de carbono (millones de toneladas métricas)	22.3	6.7
Inversión en energía limpia	$ 0.5 mil millones	$ 1.6 mil millones

Expectativas de la comunidad para la responsabilidad social corporativa y la administración ambiental

Evergy invirtió $ 25.4 millones en programas comunitarios e iniciativas ambientales en 2022.

Categoría de RSE	Monto de la inversión	Enfoque del programa
Iniciativas ambientales	$ 15.6 millones	Desarrollo de energía renovable
Programas comunitarios	$ 9.8 millones	Educación y apoyo local

Evergy, Inc. (EVRG) - Análisis de mortero: factores tecnológicos

Modernización de la red avanzada e inversiones de tecnología de cuadrícula inteligente

Evergy ha comprometido las iniciativas de modernización de la red de $ 1.2 mil millones a través de 2025. Las inversiones de tecnología de la red inteligente de la compañía incluyen el despliegue de 1.3 millones de dispositivos de infraestructura de medición avanzada (AMI) en sus territorios de servicio.

Categoría de inversión tecnológica	Monto de la inversión	Línea de tiempo de implementación
Medidores inteligentes	$ 380 millones	2022-2025
Sistemas de automatización de cuadrícula	$ 450 millones	2023-2026
Infraestructura de comunicación	$ 170 millones	2022-2024

Integración de fuentes de energía renovable

Evergy ha atacado 50% de generación de energía renovable para 2030. La cartera renovable actual incluye 2.300 MW de capacidad de generación eólica y 300 MW de capacidad de generación solar.

Fuente de energía renovable	Capacidad actual	Expansión planificada
Energía eólica	2.300 MW	+500 MW para 2026
Energía solar	300 MW	+250 MW para 2025

Despliegue de almacenamiento de energía y tecnologías de batería

Evergy ha invertido $ 120 millones en proyectos de almacenamiento de baterías, con una capacidad actual de almacenamiento de baterías operativas de 100 MW. La expansión de almacenamiento de batería planificada incluye 200 MW adicionales para 2027.

Transformación digital y eficiencia operativa impulsada por IA

Las inversiones tecnológicas para la transformación digital totalizaron $ 95 millones en 2023, centrándose en:

• Sistemas de mantenimiento predictivo con IA
• Algoritmos de optimización de la red de aprendizaje automático
• Tecnologías de mejora de ciberseguridad

Área de transformación digital	Inversión	Ganancia de eficiencia esperada
Mantenimiento predictivo	$ 35 millones	Reducción del 15% en los costos de mantenimiento
Optimización de la cuadrícula ai	$ 40 millones	Mejora del 8% en la confiabilidad de la red
Ciberseguridad	$ 20 millones	Capacidades mejoradas de detección de amenazas

Evergy, Inc. (EVRG) - Análisis de mortero: factores legales

Cumplimiento de las regulaciones de servicios públicos estatales y federales

Evergy, Inc. opera bajo múltiples marcos regulatorios estatales en Kansas y Missouri. La Compañía está sujeta a la supervisión de la Comisión de la Corporación de Kansas y la Comisión de Servicio Público de Missouri.

Cuerpo regulador	Jurisdicción	Requisitos reglamentarios clave
Comisión de Kansas Corporation	Territorio de servicio de Kansas	Revisiones de casos de tasas, inversiones de infraestructura
Comisión de Servicio Público de Missouri	Territorio de servicio de Missouri	Normas de confiabilidad de la cuadrícula, protección del consumidor

Requisitos legales continuos para las normas de protección del medio ambiente y emisiones

Evergy cumple con la Ley de Aire Limpio y la Ley de Agua Limpia, con objetivos específicos de reducción de emisiones.

Regulación ambiental	Métrico de cumplimiento	Estado actual
Estándares de emisiones de la EPA	Reducción de CO2	Objetivo de reducción del 50% para 2030
Plan de energía limpia	Emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero	Monitoreo de cumplimiento continuo

Aprobaciones regulatorias para proyectos de infraestructura y energía renovable

Evergy ha asegurado múltiples aprobaciones regulatorias para expansiones de energía renovable.

Tipo de proyecto	Estado de aprobación regulatoria	Capacidad
Proyecto de energía eólica	Aprobado	200 MW
Infraestructura solar	Revisión pendiente	150 MW

Desafíos legales potenciales relacionados con la transición de energía y las estructuras de tarifas

Los desafíos legales actuales implican el diseño de tasas e integración de energía renovable.

• Caso de tasa pendiente en Kansas: solicitud de ajuste de ingresos de $ 62.4 millones
• Litigio relacionado con las inversiones de modernización de la red
• Actas regulatorias continuas para la recuperación de costos de energía renovable

Evergy, Inc. (EVRG) - Análisis de mortero: factores ambientales

Compromiso de reducir las emisiones de carbono y la huella de gases de efecto invernadero

Evergy, Inc. se ha comprometido a reducir las emisiones de carbono 80% A partir de los niveles de referencia de 2005 para 2050. A partir de 2024, las emisiones de dióxido de carbono de la compañía fueron de 20,5 millones de toneladas métricas.

Métrico de emisión	Valor 2024	Objetivo de reducción
Emisiones de dióxido de carbono	20.5 millones de toneladas métricas	Reducción del 80% para 2050
Emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero	22.1 millones de toneladas métricas CO2E	Neto cero por 2045

Inversiones en generación de energía renovable y tecnología limpia

Evergy ha invertido $ 1.2 mil millones en infraestructura de energía renovable a partir de 2024.

Fuente de energía renovable	Capacidad instalada (MW)	Porcentaje de generación total
Energía eólica	3,200 MW	35%
Energía solar	450 MW	5%
Capacidad renovable total	3.650 MW	40%

Estrategias de adaptación para los impactos del cambio climático en la infraestructura energética

Evergy ha asignado $ 350 millones Para proyectos de adaptación de resiliencia climática y adaptación de infraestructura en 2024.

• Inversiones de modernización de cuadrícula: $ 175 millones
• Inundación y protección del clima extremo: $ 85 millones
• Implementación de tecnología de cuadrícula inteligente: $ 90 millones

Objetivos de sostenibilidad ambiental y objetivos de energía renovable corporativa

Evergy tiene como objetivo lograr 50% de generación de energía renovable para 2030.

Meta de sostenibilidad	Año objetivo	Progreso actual
Generación de energía renovable	2030	40%
Emisiones netas de carbono cero	2045	En curso
Mejoras de eficiencia energética	2030	Reducción del 20% lograda

Evergy, Inc. (EVRG) - PESTLE Analysis: Social factors

Public demand for clean energy and environmental stewardship is increasing, pressuring the generation mix

You are seeing a clear, sustained social demand for a cleaner energy mix, and this is putting Evergy, Inc. under significant public and regulatory scrutiny. The company has made progress, with carbon emissions reduced by 53 percent from 2005 levels as of 2023, and roughly half of the power provided to customers today coming from carbon-free sources, including nuclear and renewables. That's a strong starting point.

But here's the quick math: Evergy's latest 2025 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) shows a pivot that directly conflicts with this public demand. The plan reduces the projected renewable energy additions to 3 GW in 2025, down from 3.5 GW in the 2022 IRP, while increasing new methane gas generation additions to more than 4.4 GW over the long term. This shift has already generated pushback from customers and environmental groups, who question the necessity and the increased costs that ratepayers will defintely face. The social license to operate hinges on balancing reliability with an aggressive clean energy transition, and this new generation mix creates a major tension point.

• Current Carbon-Free Share: ~50% of generation.
• Owned Wind Capacity: >4,500 MW.
• 2025 IRP Planned Gas Additions: >4.4 GW.

Focus on energy equity and affordability for low-income customers is a growing regulatory and social concern

Energy equity, which extends beyond just affordability to include access and participation, is no longer a niche issue; it is a central regulatory and social concern in the utility sector. For Evergy, this means managing the cost of the grid transition without disproportionately burdening low-income customers. The company recognizes this, which is why its Corporate Social Impact program secured more than $52 million in utility payment assistance and worked with over 35,000 customers face-to-face in 2022 to connect them with support.

However, the challenge is structural. Advocacy groups are pushing for the company to address the broader definition of an overburdened customer-which includes factors like race, age, and health-not just income. The social expectation is for utility programs to move past simple bill assistance toward comprehensive energy efficiency and weatherization measures that permanently reduce the energy burden for these vulnerable populations. This is a critical risk area, as cost increases tied to new generation projects will inevitably amplify the affordability debate.

Energy Equity Metric	Most Recent Data (2022)	Social/Regulatory Implication
Utility Payment Assistance Secured	>$52 million	Mitigates immediate financial hardship for vulnerable customers.
Customers Assisted (Face-to-Face)	>35,000	Shows direct engagement but highlights the scale of the energy burden issue.
Program Focus	Weatherization, Multi-family upgrades, LIEAP.	Needs to expand beyond income-only criteria to address broader energy equity factors.

Customer expectations for digital self-service and real-time outage communication are rising sharply

The ubiquity of instant digital services has fundamentally changed what customers expect from their utility. They want real-time data and self-service options, and they want them now. Evergy has a strong foundation for this, having achieved 100% smart meter penetration across its electric customer base by the end of 2023. This infrastructure is the backbone for advanced digital services.

The company has responded by pushing digital engagement hard. For instance, a recent digital education initiative for a Time-of-Use (TOU) rate transition resulted in 98 percent customer awareness of the new rate options, which is a huge win for digital adoption. Customers are also actively encouraged to use the mobile app for reporting and tracking outages and signing up for text or email alerts, a service highlighted in 2025 preparedness communications. This digital fluency is a major opportunity for Evergy to improve customer satisfaction and reduce call center load, but it also means any failure in the digital channel, particularly during a major outage, will be amplified.

Workforce demographics show a need for skilled labor to manage advanced grid technology

The energy transition is fundamentally a labor transition. As Evergy invests heavily in smart grid technologies to support its renewable portfolio and improve reliability, the demand for a new class of highly skilled technical workers is intensifying. The company's capital investment plan, raised to $17.5 billion for 2025E-2029E, includes significant spending on grid modernization, which requires a specialized workforce.

The broader energy industry is facing a major talent crunch, with some analyses projecting a lack of up to 40,000 competent workers by 2025 globally. Specifically, construction jobs, which are vital for building out clean energy infrastructure, accounted for 45% of the clean energy workforce (over 1.6 million jobs) in the U.S. in 2024, underscoring the competition for skilled trades. Evergy must actively manage the retirement wave of long-tenured employees and compete aggressively for new talent in areas like cybersecurity, data analytics, and advanced grid operations, or risk delays in its infrastructure programs.

Evergy, Inc. (EVRG) - PESTLE Analysis: Technological factors

Deployment of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) is crucial for grid efficiency and data collection

The technological foundation for Evergy, Inc.'s modernization strategy is already largely in place. You should know that the company has essentially completed its Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), or smart meters, deployment. This isn't a future project; it's a realized asset. As of the end of 2025, the Percent of Total Electric Customers with Smart Meters is reported at 100%.

This full deployment, covering Evergy's 1.7 million customers across Kansas and Missouri, shifts the focus from installation cost to data utilization. The immediate opportunity is using this two-way communication to manage peak demand and customer behavior. For example, the successful transition of residential customers in Missouri to various time-of-use (TOU) rate options by the end of 2023 was only possible because the smart meter infrastructure was ready to provide the necessary granular data. This is defintely a high-value asset, allowing for better load forecasting and faster outage detection.

Integration of intermittent renewable sources requires sophisticated battery storage and transmission upgrades

The push for cleaner energy is a massive technological driver, but intermittent sources like wind and solar create a complex stability challenge for the grid. The technology solution is two-fold: new generation and energy storage. Evergy's 2025 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) is targeting the addition of 624 MW of new solar resources by 2025.

To manage that new, variable power, sophisticated battery storage is mandatory. The company models utility-scale battery storage resources in 150 MW blocks for capacity expansion planning. While utility-scale projects are ramping up, Evergy is actively testing distributed energy resource (DER) management through its Home Battery Storage Pilot program, which provides participants with a FREE 16 kWh home battery system valued at $18,000. This pilot is critical for learning how to orchestrate thousands of small storage units to support the main grid.

Cybersecurity investment is mandatory to protect critical infrastructure from increasingly complex threats

Honestly, a smart grid is a target-rich environment for malicious actors. The increased connectivity from AMI and grid automation means the attack surface has grown exponentially. Evergy's cybersecurity and Information Technology (IT) risk mitigation program is a continuous, non-negotiable expense, grounded in compliance with the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework.

The capital outlay for this protection is substantial and is captured within the broader IT and General Facilities budget. Here's the quick math on the technological CapEx for 2025:

2025 Capital Expenditure Category	2025E CapEx (Millions USD)	Strategic Purpose
Total Capital Expenditure	$2,541	Overall Infrastructure Modernization
Distribution (Grid Hardening/Automation)	$926	Reliability and Resiliency
New Generation (e.g., Solar, Gas)	$501	Resource Adequacy and Decarbonization
General Facilities, IT, and Other (incl. Cybersecurity)	$204	System Security and Operational Efficiency

Grid hardening technologies reduce outage duration and improve reliability

The largest single technological investment outside of new generation is focused squarely on making the physical grid more resilient against extreme weather and operational faults. Evergy is dedicating a significant portion of its total spending to grid modernization, with more than 45% of the 2025 capital spend going directly to these projects.

This is where the rubber meets the road for reliability. The goal is to deploy technologies that automatically detect and isolate faults, which is a major step up from manual inspection.

• Replace aged infrastructure: Upgrading power poles, overhead lines, and underground cables.
• Distribution Automation: Deploying new sensors and software (like the completed Advanced Distribution Management System) to better identify and isolate outages.
• Targeted Hardening: Investing in asset hardening and undergrounding critical assets to improve resiliency.

With a planned $926 million in Distribution CapEx for 2025, this investment is a clear action to improve reliability metrics like System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) and System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI).

Evergy, Inc. (EVRG) - PESTLE Analysis: Legal factors

Compliance with federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations on air and water emissions requires significant investment.

The legal pressure from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a permanent cost of doing business, especially for a utility with a substantial coal-fired generation fleet. While Evergy, Inc. has made strides-reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 57% and sulfur dioxide (SO2) by 98% compared to 2005 levels-the ongoing compliance burden is high.

The company's five-year capital expenditure (CAPEX) plan is heavily weighted toward generation resource transition and grid modernization, which directly addresses future environmental mandates. For the 2025 fiscal year, Evergy's total projected annual capital expenditures stand at approximately $2,336.6 million. A portion of this is for managing existing environmental liabilities, such as the proper closure of coal ash storage sites, which falls under the federal Coal Combustion Residuals (CCR) rule.

You can't afford to be defintely sloppy with these rules; a previous settlement with the EPA over CCR non-compliance at the retired Tecumseh Energy Center resulted in a civil penalty of $120,000 and required costly actions like installing additional groundwater monitoring wells. That's a clear signal that the regulatory body is watching closely.

Ongoing rate case filings in both Kansas and Missouri are the primary legal battlegrounds for revenue recovery.

Rate cases are the legal mechanism for a regulated utility to recover its capital investments and operating costs, plus a fair return for shareholders. This process is the single most critical legal and financial event each year, and the outcomes in 2025 have been mixed but constructive.

In Kansas, the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) case for Evergy Kansas Central was a major focus. Evergy initially requested a rate increase of $196.4 million (8.62% of retail revenues) in January 2025, largely to recover nearly $1 billion in infrastructure investment. However, the legal and regulatory process led to a proposed settlement in July 2025 for a lower increase of $128 million, which is a reduction of $68 million from the original ask. This is the reality of regulatory negotiation.

The Missouri Public Service Commission (MPSC) case for Evergy Missouri West also concluded, with new rates effective January 1, 2025. The company had sought an increase of over $104 million, but the MPSC ultimately approved a net increase to retail revenues of approximately $55 million. The difference between the requested and approved amounts shows the regulatory commissions are actively managing ratepayer impact.

Jurisdiction	Filing Entity	Original 2025 Revenue Request (Approx.)	Approved/Settled 2025 Revenue Increase (Approx.)
Kansas	Evergy Kansas Central	$196.4 million	$128 million (Settlement)
Missouri	Evergy Missouri West	Over $104 million	Approximately $55 million (Approved)

Litigation risk related to extreme weather events and grid resilience is a growing liability.

The legal exposure from service interruptions during extreme weather is a rising concern, especially as climate events become more frequent and severe. Customers and state regulators are increasingly scrutinizing utility performance during cold snaps and major storms, leading to higher litigation and regulatory risk.

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) 2025-2026 Winter Reliability Assessment flagged the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), which includes Evergy's service area, for elevated risk of outages during extreme cold due to demand growth outpacing new supplies. This assessment provides a legal basis for regulators to demand more investment in resilience.

Evergy addresses this by prioritizing grid modernization and resilience in its capital plan, specifically to withstand extreme weather. Failure to invest prudently here can lead to lawsuits and regulatory penalties that dwarf the cost of the preventative infrastructure.

Adherence to North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) standards is non-negotiable for system security.

Compliance with NERC standards is mandatory for maintaining the security and reliability of the bulk power system. Non-compliance is met with significant financial penalties from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and NERC.

The legal requirement for operational security is a major driver of capital spending. Evergy's 2025 estimated capital expenditure for Transmission is $547 million, a large part of which is dedicated to meeting these reliability and security mandates. This investment is non-negotiable.

A concrete example of the cost of failure is the 2024 penalty of $122,000 Evergy faced for non-compliance with NERC's FAC-008-3 R6 standards, which relate to facility ratings. This shows that even minor deviations from technical standards carry a direct financial cost, plus the indirect cost of remediation and increased audit scrutiny.

The key NERC-driven legal compliance areas include:

• Maintaining mandatory system security for the bulk power system.
• Ensuring facility ratings (FAC) are accurate and compliant.
• Investing in transmission infrastructure to improve reliability.

Evergy, Inc. (EVRG) - PESTLE Analysis: Environmental factors

The environmental factor is a defining strategic pressure for Evergy, Inc., driving a massive capital expenditure program but also creating significant tension between decarbonization goals and near-term grid reliability.

You need to understand that Evergy's stated commitment to a clean energy transition is being complicated by the immediate, surging demand for power from large industrial customers and data centers. This conflict is forcing the company to delay coal plant retirements and invest heavily in natural gas, which is a clear, near-term environmental risk to their long-term climate targets.

Evergy aims for a significant reduction in carbon emissions, targeting a 70% reduction by 2030 from 2005 levels.

Evergy's primary environmental commitment is achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2045, but the critical near-term milestone is a 70% reduction in owned generation carbon dioxide ($\text{CO}_2$) emissions by 2030, relative to 2005 levels. The company has already made substantial progress, reaching an approximate 50% reduction in carbon emissions relative to the 2005 baseline by the end of 2024.

To be fair, the company's 2005 baseline for total owned generation $\text{CO}_2$ emissions was 48,455,198 metric tons (MT), which was reduced to 20,644,649 MT in 2024. Hitting the 70% target by 2030 means cutting another roughly 12 million MT in the next six years, and that's a tough lift given the recent shift in their resource plan.

Here's the quick math: If Evergy can secure an allowed ROE near the 9.5%-10.0% range in its next rate cases, that makes funding the necessary CapEx much easier. If they get pushed down to 9.0% or lower, the investment thesis gets tougher, and that's your key risk.

The company is actively retiring older, less efficient coal-fired generation units.

While the long-term plan involves retiring coal units, the 2025 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) updates show a strategic delay in the retirement of key coal-fired plants, totaling 914 MW of capacity, to maintain grid reliability and meet rising customer demand. This is a major pivot from previous plans.

For example, the retirement of the 480 MW Lawrence Energy Center coal plant has been delayed from 2028 to the end of 2032. Similarly, a 375 MW retirement for the Evergy Metro subsidiary has been pushed back from 2032 to 2033. The strategy now includes converting some coal units to natural gas, like the planned transition of Lawrence 5 to natural gas operation beginning in 2029. This avoids immediate coal retirement but introduces long-term reliance on another fossil fuel.

The table below summarizes the key changes in the coal retirement schedule announced in the 2025 IRP update:

Coal Unit/Subsidiary	Capacity (MW)	Previous Retirement Date	New Retirement Date (2025 IRP)
Lawrence Energy Center (Evergy Kansas Central)	480 MW	2028	2032
Evergy Metro Retirement	375 MW	2032	2033
Evergy Missouri West Retirement	59 MW	2031	2032

Increased investment in wind and solar generation capacity forms the core of the clean energy transition.

Evergy has a massive \$17.5 billion capital investment plan spanning 2025 to 2029. Of this, a substantial \$6.17 billion is allocated to renewable energy projects alone, which includes grid modernization necessary for integrating intermittent sources. The near-term plan involves developing 800 MW of renewable capacity.

Still, the transition is not purely renewable. The 2025 IRP update also includes plans for over 4.4 GW of new methane gas facilities, including two new combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plants near Viola and Hutchinson, Kansas. This dual-track approach-renewables plus gas-is a pragmatic, but controversial, response to reliability concerns and the need for dispatchable generation (power that can be turned on quickly). In fact, the planned renewable additions fell to 3 GW in the 2025 update, while gas additions soared.

Key CapEx for the transition in 2025 and beyond:

• Total CapEx (2025E): \$2.541 billion
• 5-Year Renewable Allocation (2025-2029): \$6.17 billion
• Planned New Gas Capacity (2025 IRP): Over 4.4 GW

Managing coal ash and other waste products from legacy plants remains a long-term environmental liability.

The handling of Coal Combustion Residuals (CCRs), or coal ash, from legacy power plants continues to be a material long-term liability for Evergy. The company is subject to federal regulations under the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) CCR program, which mandates closure of certain disposal units and requires corrective action for groundwater contamination.

Evergy has recorded Asset Retirement Obligations (AROs) on its balance sheet to account for the estimated cost of closing ash disposal units. However, the August 2025 10-Q filing notes that the cost to comply with the EPA's expanded CCR regulations, particularly those focused on legacy surface impoundments, could be material, and the company is unable to accurately assess the full financial impact yet. This means the recorded AROs may be insufficient if more stringent remediation is required.

Next step: Finance: Model the sensitivity of Evergy's projected 2026 earnings per share (EPS) to a 50 basis point change in the allowed ROE by the end of the month.