Electricity customers in Kansas and Missouri could be the losers in battle over Evergy

Anyone who flips a light switch, or plugs in a toaster, or enjoys air conditioning — that is, all of us — must start paying close attention to the growing battle involving Evergy, the local power utility.

The price you pay for electricity is at stake. So are local jobs and ownership of a vital regional resource.

Evergy is a publicly traded, investor-owned power company, providing energy to roughly 1.6 million customers in eastern Kansas and western Missouri. About 5,000 people work for the company.

In October, the outside investment firm Elliott Management contacted Evergy to complain about the company’s business strategy. Elliot Management said Evergy should invest in newer energy technologies and pay for it in part by ending a stock buyback program.

Or, Elliot said, Evergy should offer itself for sale. Either way, Elliott Management said, Evergy needed to perform better for shareholders.

The suggestions were not idle recommendations. Elliott owns more than 11 million shares of Evergy, about 5% of the company. It’s run by billionaire Paul Singer, a hyper-aggressive businessman once called a “doomsday investor” by The New Yorker magazine.

Evergy said it studied Elliott’s recommendations and rejected them; Elliott says shareholders will suffer as a result. Expect louder voices and a deepening dispute in the days ahead.

Both sides will insist they’re protecting the interests of all stakeholders in the energy utility. Perhaps. But there are other motives: Elliott clearly aims to boost its own profits, while Evergy has reason to want to protect its current management.

Both approaches are defensible in a market economy. In this case, though, electricity customers and Evergy’s workforce could end up caught in the middle, which would be a disaster.

Ratepayers and workers must be considered the most important stakeholders in the dispute.

Any major change in ownership of Evergy will face regulatory review. The Kansas Corporation Commission and the Missouri Public Service Commission should make it clear to all parties that rate increases and significant layoffs will not be a part of any wholesale corporate changes at Evergy.

Investors and potential buyers should be on notice that Evergy’s value won’t be lifted on the backs of people who want to turn on the lights, or on companies that depend on electricity to operate.

Evergy’s profits should not depend on unnecessary layoffs, either.

Local and state officeholders should make these points publicly. Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly are aware of these concerns, and should say so. Other officials should do the same.

To be clear: Elected officials need not take one side over the other, at least not yet. Investors, advisers and analysts can and should examine ways that Evergy’s energy can be cheaper, cleaner and more dependable.

Evergy should not resist such an examination. Last week, the company committed to cleaner energy during the next decades. The motive for the announcement seems clear.

Electric rates in our region are high enough. Regulators should make it clear that higher rates and fewer workers should not be a part of the war over Evergy.