Hearings on the proposed merger between Great Plains Energy and Aquila continue this week in Jefferson City.

The hearings before the Missouri Public Service Commission began April 21. Meetings are scheduled each business day through May 7 but are expected to wrap up before then.

Great Plains, the company that owns Kansas City Power & Light, announced plans to purchase Aquila’s Missouri electric operations in February 2007.

“We are very much looking forward to the opportunity to talk about what we see as the benefits of a strong regional utility,” said Matt Tidwell, director of public affairs with KCP&L.

The massive merger case — Great Plains offered $1.7 billion for Aquila — has been through a series of regulatory reviews. These hearings could be the last step.

After hearings wrap up, the companies have until June 2 to file post-hearing briefings. The case will then go before the commission to approve or reject the merger proposal.

Mr. Tidwell said decisions typically take a few weeks.

If the deal is approved, the companies could be fully merged within a few weeks because of the amount of preparation that has already been done, he said.

An administrative law judge sped up the process last week when he ruled that information about the construction of Great Plains’ Iatan II power plant was not relevant to the case. The Office of the Public Counsel had sought to include the information in the hearings because it affects the company’s financial situation, but the judge ruled it irrelevant, Mr. Tidwell said.

“That ruling shaved quite a bit of time off,” he said.

Business editor Susan Mires can be reached at susanm@npgco.com.