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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES

EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021

or

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES

EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from to

(a Missouri corporation)

1200 Main Street

Kansas City, Missouri 64105

(816) 556-2200

(a Kansas corporation)

818 South Kansas Avenue

Topeka, Kansas 66612

(785) 575-6300

(a Missouri corporation)

1200 Main Street

Kansas City, Missouri 64105

(816) 556-2200

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: Evergy Kansas Central, Inc. Common Stock $0.01 par value and Evergy Metro, Inc. Common Stock without par value.

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of Evergy, Inc. (based on the closing price of its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange on June 30, 2021) was approximately $13,704,717,320. All of the common equity of Evergy Kansas Central, Inc. and Evergy Metro, Inc. is held by Evergy, Inc.

On February 18, 2022, Evergy, Inc. had 229,311,689 shares of common stock outstanding.

On February 18, 2022, Evergy Kansas Central, Inc. and Evergy Metro, Inc. each had one share of common stock outstanding and held by Evergy, Inc.

Documents Incorporated by Reference

Portions of the 2022 annual meeting proxy statement of Evergy, Inc. to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission are incorporated by reference in Part III of this report.

This combined annual report on Form 10-K is provided by the following registrants: Evergy, Inc. (Evergy), Evergy Kansas Central, Inc. (Evergy Kansas Central) and Evergy Metro, Inc. (Evergy Metro) (collectively, the Evergy Companies). Information relating to any individual registrant is filed by such registrant solely on its own behalf. Each registrant makes no representation as to information relating exclusively to the other registrants.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS REGARDING CERTAIN FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

Statements made in this document that are not based on historical facts are forward-looking, may involve risks and uncertainties, and are intended to be as of the date when made. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to Evergy's strategic plan, including, without limitation, those related to earnings per share, dividend, operating and maintenance expense and capital investment goals; the outcome of legislative efforts and regulatory and legal proceedings; future energy demand; future power prices; plans with respect to existing and potential future generation resources; the availability and cost of generation resources and energy storage; target emissions reductions; and other matters relating to expected financial performance or affecting future operations. Forward-looking statements are often accompanied by forward-looking words such as "anticipates," "believes," "expects," "estimates," "forecasts," "should," "could," "may," "seeks," "intends," "proposed," "projects," "planned," "target," "outlook," "remain confident," "goal," "will" or other words of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information.

In connection with the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the Evergy Companies are providing a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking information. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to: economic and weather conditions and any impact on sales, prices and costs; changes in business strategy or operations; the impact of federal, state and local political, legislative, judicial and regulatory actions or developments, including deregulation, re-regulation, securitization and restructuring of the electric utility industry; decisions of regulators regarding, among other things, customer rates and the prudency of operational decisions such as capital expenditures and asset retirements; changes in applicable laws, regulations, rules, principles or practices, or the interpretations thereof, governing tax, accounting and environmental matters, including air and water quality and waste management and disposal; the impact of climate change, including increased frequency and severity of significant weather events and the extent to which counterparties are willing to do business with, finance the operations of or purchase energy from the Evergy Companies due to the fact that the Evergy Companies operate coal-fired generation; prices and availability of electricity in wholesale markets; market perception of the energy industry and the Evergy Companies; the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on, among other things, sales, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and cash flows, and also on operational issues, such as supply chain issues and the availability and ability of the Evergy Companies' employees and suppliers to perform the functions that are necessary to operate the Evergy Companies; changes in the energy trading markets in which the Evergy Companies participate, including retroactive repricing of transactions by regional transmission organizations (RTO) and independent system operators; financial market conditions and performance, including changes in interest rates and credit spreads and in availability and cost of capital and the effects on derivatives and hedges, nuclear decommissioning trust and pension plan assets and costs; impairments of long-lived assets or goodwill; credit ratings; inflation rates; the transition to a replacement for the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) benchmark interest rate; effectiveness of risk management policies and procedures and the ability of counterparties to satisfy their contractual commitments; impact of physical and cybersecurity breaches, criminal activity, terrorist attacks and other disruptions to the Evergy Companies' facilities or information technology infrastructure or the facilities and infrastructure of third-party service providers on which the Evergy Companies rely; ability to carry out marketing and sales plans; cost, availability, quality and timely provision of equipment, supplies, labor and fuel; ability to achieve generation goals and the occurrence and duration of planned and unplanned generation outages; delays and cost increases of generation, transmission, distribution or other projects; the Evergy Companies' ability to manage their transmission and distribution development plans and transmission joint ventures; the inherent risks associated with the ownership and operation of a nuclear facility, including environmental, health, safety, regulatory and financial risks; workforce risks, including those related to the Evergy Companies' ability to attract and retain qualified personnel, maintain satisfactory relationships with their labor unions and manage costs of, or changes in, retirement, health care and other benefits; disruption, costs and uncertainties caused by or related to the actions of individuals or entities, such as activist shareholders or special interest groups, that seek to influence Evergy's strategic plan, financial results or operations; the possibility that strategic initiatives, including mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, and long-term financial plans, may not create the value that they are expected to achieve in a timely manner or at all; difficulties in maintaining relationships with customers, employees, regulators or suppliers; and other risks and uncertainties.

This list of factors is not all-inclusive because it is not possible to predict all factors. You should also carefully consider the information contained in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Additional risks and uncertainties are discussed in Part I, Item 1A - Risk Factors in this annual report on Form 10-K, and from time to time in current reports on Form 8-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed by the Evergy

Companies with the SEC. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of the particular statement. The Evergy Companies undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

AVAILABLE INFORMATION

The SEC maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at sec.gov. Additionally, information about the Evergy Companies, including their combined annual reports on Form 10-K, combined quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed with the SEC, is also available through the Evergy Companies' website, http://investors.evergy.com. Such reports are accessible at no charge and are made available as soon as reasonably practical after such material is filed with or furnished to the SEC.

Investors should note that the Evergy Companies announce material financial information in SEC filings, press releases and public conference calls. In accordance with SEC guidelines, the Evergy Companies also use the Investor Relations section of their website, http://investors.evergy.com, to communicate with investors. It is possible that the financial and other information posted there could be deemed to be material information. The information on the Evergy Companies' website is not part of this document.

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

The following is a glossary of frequently used abbreviations or acronyms that are found throughout this report.

PART I