WESTAR ENERGY, INC. (NYSE:WR) Files An 8-K Temporary Suspension of Trading Under Registrant’s Employee Benefit Plans

Item5.04.

On March29, 2017, Westar Energy, Inc. (the Company) received a
notice from the administrator of the Westar Energy, Inc.
Employees 401(k) Savings Plan (the Plan). The notice stated that
the Westar Energy Stock Fund (the Westar Stock Fund) in the Plan
will be entering a blackout period due to the pending merger (the
Merger) of the Company with a subsidiary of Great Plains Energy
Incorporated. The notice stated that, several days prior to
closing of the Merger, (a)the Westar Stock Fund will close to new
investments and (b)there will be a limited blackout period during
which transactions in the Westar Stock Fund will not be
permitted. The blackout period is expected to commence several
days prior to the closing of the Merger, and could last up to 14
days. The Company is unable to determine the closing date of the
Merger and it is therefore unable to determine the exact dates
for the blackout period.

In accordance with Section306 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
and Rule 104 of Regulation BTR, on April4, 2017, the Company sent
a notice to its directors and executive officers notifying them
of the blackout period in the Westar Stock Fund and certain
trading prohibitions that they will be subject to during the
blackout period.

During the blackout period and for a period of two years after
the ending date of the blackout period, holders of the Companys
common stock and other interested parties may obtain, without
charge, the actual beginning and ending dates of the blackout
period by sending a written request to Westar Energy, Inc.,
Attention: Human Resources, 818 South Kansas Avenue, Topeka,
Kansas 66612 or by calling (785)575-6300.

A copy of the notice that was sent by the Company to its
directors and executive officers is attached hereto as Exhibit
99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.

About WESTAR ENERGY, INC. (NYSE:WR)

Westar Energy, Inc. (Westar Energy) is an electric utility in Kansas. The Company provides electric generation, transmission and distribution services to approximately 700,000 customers in Kansas. The Company provides these services in central and northeastern Kansas, including the cities of Topeka, Lawrence, Manhattan, Salina and Hutchinson. Kansas Gas and Electric Company (KGE), Westar Energy’s subsidiary, provides the services in south-central and southeastern Kansas, including the city of Wichita. Both Westar Energy and KGE conduct business using the name Westar Energy. It supplies electric energy at retail to customers in Kansas. It also supplies electric energy at wholesale to municipalities and electric cooperatives in Kansas, and has contracts for the sale or purchase of wholesale electricity with other utilities. The Company classifies it customers as residential, commercial and industrial. It has approximately 6,270 megawatts (MW) of generating capacity in service.

WESTAR ENERGY, INC. (NYSE:WR) Recent Trading Information

WESTAR ENERGY, INC. (NYSE:WR) closed its last trading session down -0.13 at 54.60 with 744,249 shares trading hands.