---
title: "Evergy reports November 5 before Missouri hearings on its 710-megawatt gas plant"
description: "Evergy reports Q3 on November 5, three weeks before Missouri hearings on its 710-megawatt gas plant. Data centers are supposed to pay for the buildout through an extra charge; Kansas counties are still writing the rules, and the street is split."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Power"
published: 2026-10-25T19:01:20.436Z
modified: 2026-10-25T19:01:20.436Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/evergy-reports-november-5-before-missouri-hearings-on-its-710-megawatt-gas-plant
language: en
keywords: "Earnings, Utilities, Data Centers, Regulation, Natural Gas"
---

# Evergy reports November 5 before Missouri hearings on its 710-megawatt gas plant

> Evergy reports Q3 on November 5, three weeks before Missouri hearings on its 710-megawatt gas plant. Data centers are supposed to pay for the buildout through an extra charge; Kansas counties are still writing the rules, and the street is split.

[Evergy](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/evergy) reports third-quarter results before the market opens on November 5, and three weeks later the real test begins: Missouri's Public Service Commission opens [local hearings on the utility's request to build a 710-megawatt gas plant and a 109-megawatt battery](https://www.einpresswire.com/article/951060970/psc-sets-local-public-hearing-schedule-in-evergy-ccn-request-pr-27-27) [7]. The $19.2 billion utility serving 1.7 million Kansas and Missouri customers has made [the data-center boom](https://theinference.org/article/utilities-asked-regulators-for-a-record-23-1-billion-in-rate-hikes-this-year-to-fund-the-ai-power-buildout) its growth story [7]. Both states are now deciding whether the neighbors pay for it or get paid. [7]

On August 31, Evergy asked the Missouri PSC for permission to build the Buchanan Bluffs Energy Center Unit 2, a 710-megawatt combined-cycle gas plant in Buchanan County, plus the Foxtrot battery storage project in Jasper County [1]. Hearings start November 16 in St [1]. Joseph, with two virtual sessions the next day, under docket EA-2026-0343 [1]. Comments may be time-limited, and the record is public. [1]

## The surcharge is the whole case

Evergy's own man made the bull argument in Wichita. Zach Gladhill, the utility's vice president of strategy and long-term planning, told Sedgwick County planners that data centers buying Evergy power pay an extra charge that pushes rates down for everyone else. The county's planning subcommittee [declined to require projects to bring their own energy](https://www.ksn.com/news/sedgwick-officials-weigh-data-center-regulations/) and returns on November 12. [2]

In De Soto, Kansas, the load is already queued: Beale Infrastructure's four-building campus is expected on Evergy's Large Load Tariff at over 75 megawatts, with total capacity and water use undisclosed [3]. Rival [Digital Realty](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/digital-realty) is buying goodwill, [committing $20 million for up to $1,000 a year in tax and utility credits per household](https://www2.ljworld.com/news/general-news/2026/oct/19/data-center-company-plans-up-to-1000-a-year-in-tax-utility-credits-for-de-soto-households/) for a decade, while the city waits on a Black & Veatch noise study due March 2027 [3]. A neighbor petition already opposes both projects. [3]

## Two camps, one stock, one week

October 19: [Jefferies](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/jefferies) cut Evergy to $93 from $103 and [Barclays](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/barclays) to $86 from $92 [4][5][6]. October 22: HSBC initiated Buy at $92, TD Cowen at $95, BMO raised to $89, BTIG trimmed to $94 [4][5][6]. The mean target of $89.77 sits 5.7% above the $84.95 close, a stock up 17% this year. [4][5][6]

*Chart: **Two new Buy initiations sit at the top of the target list, above the stock** Bar chart of Wall Street price targets for Evergy: TD Cowen 95, BTIG 94, Jefferies 93, HSBC 92, BMO 89, Barclays 86, with reference line at the 84.95 close.*

*Price targets in US dollars, October 2026, from MT Newswires via MarketScreener; reference line marks the $84.95 close on October 22, 2026. New initiations highlighted in gold. [4][5][6]*

## Who carries the debt if the load waits

Evergy funds the buildout first: [$600 million of 6.40% junior subordinated notes due 2057](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/hsbc-initiates-evergy-at-buy-with-92-price-target-ce785cded88ef322) went out in August, ahead of any approved plant. [5]

The quarter itself was clean. Evergy beat in Q2 at $0.88 adjusted EPS on $1.50 billion of revenue and reaffirmed full-year guidance of $4.14 to $4.34. [5][6] If the surcharge holds and the PSC clears Buchanan Bluffs, the load-growth math works. If counties keep writing rules into 2027, Evergy owns the gas plant, the battery and the debt while the megawatts wait [1][7]. The November 5 call and the November 16 hearing are the dates that price it. [1][7]

*Chart: **Revenue has crept up for four straight quarters while net income grew year over year** Line chart of Evergy quarterly revenue and net income, Q3 2024 to Q2 2026*

*Revenue in US$ billions and net income in US$ billions (scaled tenfold for readability) by calendar quarter, from Evergy's SEC filings. [8]*

## Takeaway

Evergy's Q3 print on November 5 matters less than the Missouri hearings three weeks later: the 710-megawatt Buchanan Bluffs plant and the surcharge that makes data centers pay for it both go on trial, and the county rules still unwritten decide whether the megawatts arrive.

## Sources

1. [EIN Presswire, PSC Sets Local Public Hearing Schedule in Evergy CCN Request (Missouri PSC release PR-27-27), 20 October 2026](https://www.einpresswire.com/article/951060970/psc-sets-local-public-hearing-schedule-in-evergy-ccn-request-pr-27-27)
2. [KSN, Sedgwick County officials weigh data center regulations, 23 October 2026](https://www.ksn.com/news/sedgwick-officials-weigh-data-center-regulations/)
3. [Lawrence Journal-World, Data center company plans up to $1,000 a year in tax, utility credits for De Soto households, 19 October 2026](https://www2.ljworld.com/news/general-news/2026/oct/19/data-center-company-plans-up-to-1000-a-year-in-tax-utility-credits-for-de-soto-households/)
4. [MarketScreener via MT Newswires, HSBC Initiates Evergy at Buy With $92 Price Target, 22 October 2026](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/hsbc-initiates-evergy-at-buy-with-92-price-target-ce785cded88ef322)
5. [MarketScreener via MT Newswires, Barclays Adjusts Price Target on Evergy to $86 From $92, 19 October 2026](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/barclays-adjusts-price-target-on-evergy-to-86-from-92-ce785cdbd889f024)
6. [Ad-hoc-news, BMO cuts target for Evergy stock to USD 85.00 from USD 89.00, 18 October 2026](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/nebenwerte/bmo-cuts-target-for-evergy-stock-to-usd-85-00-from-usd-89-00/70349421)
7. [StockTitan/Business Wire, Evergy Schedules Conference Call to Discuss 3rd Quarter Results, 15 October 2026](https://www.stocktitan.net/news/EVRG/evergy-schedules-conference-call-to-discuss-3rd-quarter-9mqpgagyl27x.html)
8. [Evergy, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 25 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001711269)


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Evergy reports November 5 before Missouri hearings on its 710-megawatt gas plant — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/evergy-reports-november-5-before-missouri-hearings-on-its-710-megawatt-gas-plant