JOPLIN, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The Empire District Electric Company (NYSE:EDE) announced today a filing with the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) of a Unanimous Settlement Agreement with respect to the joint application for approval of an Agreement and Plan of Merger filed on March 16, 2016. The Unanimous Settlement Agreement is subject to approval by the KCC.

As a condition of the Unanimous Settlement Agreement that was reached with the staff of the KCC, Empire’s pending rate case is to be withdrawn and current base rates are to remain in effect through January 1, 2019.

The agreement also provides that Empire may file a request to update the current Environmental Recovery Rider to include costs associated with the Riverton 12 Combined Cycle Project, which are expected to be approximately $1.2 million.

Regulatory approvals for the transaction have been secured at the Federal level as well as in Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. A decision from Kansas regulators is due no later than January 10, 2017, with an expected transaction close early in 2017.

Based in Joplin, Missouri, The Empire District Electric Company (NYSE: EDE) is an investor-owned, regulated utility providing electric, natural gas (through its wholly owned subsidiary The Empire District Gas Company), and water service, with approximately 218,000 customers in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. A subsidiary of the company provides fiber optic services. For more information regarding Empire, visit www.empiredistrict.com.

Certain matters discussed in this press release are “forward-looking statements” intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements address or may address future plans, objectives, expectations and events or conditions concerning various matters such as the pending acquisition of Empire by Liberty Utilities (Central) Co. (Liberty Central), a subsidiary of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (APUC) (the Merger) and rate and other regulatory matters. Actual results in each case could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements, by reason of the factors noted in the Company’s filings with the SEC, including the most recent Form 10-K and 10-Q.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161006006470/en/