(MSC News)--Energy provider Evergy, which covers much of the local area, has been approved to increase its rates by $128 million.

The Kansas Corporation Commission, Thursday morning, approved a unanimous settlement agreement to allow Evergy to make the increase to allow the company, a release from KCC says, "to recover investments made to replace aging equipment and increase the resiliency and reliability of the power grid."

The new rates will take effect with the October billing cycle, with the release saying residential customers with average monthly usage will see an approximate monthly increase of $8.47.

Evergy had originally, in January, applied for an increase of $194.6 million; but, the release says, following "extensive negotiations," the KCC, based on an independent review of evidence in the record, "found that the agreed upon rates will provide Evergy with sufficient revenues to meet its financial obligations yet will keep rates as low as possible while maintaining reliable service for its customers."