Topeka ? Westar Energy Inc. officials today received a sympathetic ear from the House Utilities Committee over the company’s recent run-in with the Environmental Protection Agency.

“I don’t know why they are picking on Westar,” Utilities Chairman Carl Holmes, R-Liberal, said.

Westar customers aren’t responsible for cost of upgrades, official says (1-28-04) EPA notifies Westar of permit violations (1-27-04) More stories on Westar

The EPA notified Westar last week that the company had failed to obtain required permits during the 1990s before making changes at the Jeffrey Energy Center, the company’s largest electric generating plant.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Westar said it could be forced to upgrade pollution-control equipment, and would possibly pass that cost along to its 654,000 customers, which include Lawrence residents.

Holmes said any settlement between Westar and EPA over the issue “is going to increase electric rates.” Consumer advocates have vowed to fight any rate increase over the pollution dispute.

David Neufeld, executive director of the Jeffrey Energy Center outside St. Marys, said the changes made to the plant that are being questioned by the EPA have actually made the coal-fired facility run more efficiently.

Asked how the dispute with the EPA would turn out, Neufeld said, “I don’t know the answer to that.”

He said 65 percent of the plants in the country have either been notified or are under investigation by the EPA for possible violations of the federal Clean Air Act.

For any updates on this story, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Journal-World.