Having shone some light on a dark chapter in its past, the state’s largest electrical utility now faces a huge rebuilding challenge.

Jim Haines Jr., the new chief executive officer of Westar Energy Inc., emphasized Thursday that his company has changed for the better.

Given the information released the same day as part of a 367-page report on various company dealings and the financial antics of former Westar CEO David Wittig, it would seem that the company had nowhere to go but up.

The abuses of Wittig and his top deputy, Douglas Lake, are especially egregious because of the number of working class Kansans who were affected by their hijinks. Westar is the state’s largest electric utility, serving 653,000 customers. While Wittig was using a company airplane to ferry back and forth to Florida and high-dollar sporting events and spending $6.6 million to refurbish his Topeka office, electrical customers across the state were paying his tab.

The depth of his excess is stunning to most Kansans: A multimillion-dollar renovation to Wittig’s home, a 25,000-square foot executive office suite, gold-plated buckles on the seatbelts in the company airplane. It’s a sickening recital, made even more so by the fact that while Wittig was living large, the fortunes of Westar were crumbling.

According to the report, commissioned by current Westar officials, Wittig misused power, as well as money, intimidating employees and pushing out board members who questioned his actions. The board members who remained on board and presided over this dark period of Westar history aren’t without blame. Unfortunately, men who were respected in business and academic endeavors are tied to the Westar mess through their board membership. The possible damage to their reputations provides a vivid lesson for members of other corporate boards who might be tempted to “go along” with the creative business practices of an ambitious CEO.

The Wittig portrayed in the investigative report, of course, was way more than ambitious. David Springe, head of the state’s utility consumer protection agency, summed it up pretty well. “This is clearly about a plan for individual wealth, not the benefit of the shareholders and ratepayers,” he said. “This was about David Wittig making money and gaining control of the company.”

That control has now been wrested away from Wittig, but it will take some time for Westar to regain its reputation and the confidence of its shareholders and customers. The board of directors passed a package of resolutions, based on the internal investigation, in an effort to recoup some of the misspent money from former executives and to prevent any similar occurrences in the future. It also seems likely that Westar will be under the close scrutiny of state regulators for the foreseeable future.

Westar customers and shareholders deserve to be angry. The abuses outlined in the Westar investigation are both blatant and outrageous. That they were allowed to occur is almost unbelievable.

During a news conference Thursday, CEO Haines said, “There is no reason to believe, in my opinion, that we have more serious problems that still need to be investigated.”

The “problems” don’t get much more serious than what Westar has experienced. Haines had better hope all the problems have been uncovered and can now be left behind so Westar can start restoring its reputation as well as its financial footing.