WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - The Kansas Corporation Commission has granted Westar Energy’s request for an increase in residential and school transmission rates, while cutting rates for most business consumers.
 
The Wichita Eagle reports that the new rates will be temporary in the wake of a federal regulatory ruling that the company has been overearning on the transmission piece of its business. There will be bill refunds, but probably not for several months.
 
The new rates include a 31 percent increase in residential rates and a 29 percent increase in school rates.
 
Small businesses will receive a 21 percent cut in their transmission charge, which is about a $31 decrease per month for the average user. The largest industrial and commercial customers will get about a 4 percent decrease, and midsize businesses will pay about 1 percent more.