As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on
                                 April 18, 2001

                                File No. 70-9867

                                  UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

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                      PRE-EFFECTIVE AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO THE
                             APPLICATION ON FORM U-1
                                    UNDER THE
                   PUBLIC UTILITY HOLDING COMPANY ACT OF 1935

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                             WESTERN RESOURCES, INC.
                             818 South Kansas Avenue
                              Topeka, Kansas 66612
           ----------------------------------------------------------
                  (Name of companies filing this statement and
                     address of principal executive offices)


                             WESTERN RESOURCES, INC.
           ----------------------------------------------------------
                     (Name of top registered holding company
                     parent of each applicant or declarant)


                               Richard D. Terrill
                  Executive Vice President and General Counsel
                             Western Resources, Inc.
                             818 South Kansas Avenue
                              Topeka, Kansas 66612
           ----------------------------------------------------------
                     (Name and address of agent for service)


                  The Commission is requested to mail copies of
                   all orders, notices and communications to:

                         William S. Lamb LeBoeuf, Lamb,
                             Greene & MacRae, L.L.P.
                              125 West 55th Street
                          New York, New York 10019-4513







                                TABLE OF CONTENTS

                                                                            Page

ITEM 1.      DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED TRANSACTIONS.............................1
         A.  Description of the Parties and Facilities........................1
             1.  Western Resources, Inc.  ....................................1
             2.  Westar Generating, Inc.......................................2
             3.  The Empire District Electric Company.........................2
         B.  State Line Generation Station....................................2
         C.  Description of Applicant's Requests..............................3

ITEM 2.      FEES, COMMISSIONS AND EXPENSES...................................4

ITEM 3.      APPLICABLE STATUTORY PROVISIONS..................................4
         A.  Approval of the Proposed Transactions............................4
             1.  Section 10(b)(1).............................................4
                 a. Interlocking Relationships................................4
                 b. Concentration of Control..................................4
             2.  Section 10(b)(2).............................................5
             3.  Section 10(b)(3).............................................6
             4.  Section 10(c)(1).............................................6
             5.  Section 10(c)(2).............................................6
             6.  Section 10(f)................................................8
         B.  Exemption Under Section 3(a).....................................8

ITEM 4.      REGULATORY APPROVALS.............................................8

ITEM 5.      PROCEDURE........................................................8

ITEM 6.      EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS................................9

ITEM 7.      INFORMATION AS TO ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS.........................10








     Western Resources, Inc. hereby submits Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 to and
restates in its entirety  the  application  in File 70-9867 (the  "Application")
under Sections 9(a)(2) and 10 of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935,
as amended (the "Act"),  to acquire an interest in a public  utility  company as
described in the Application.

ITEM 1.  DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED TRANSACTIONS

     A.   Description of the Parties and Facilities

          1.   Western Resources, Inc.

     Western Resources,  Inc. ("WRI" or "Applicant") is a public utility holding
company  exempt from all  provisions  of the Act except  Section  9(a)(2)  under
Section 3(a) pursuant to Rule 2 of the Act. WRI,  through its KPL1 division,  is
engaged in the  production,  purchase,  transmission,  distribution  and sale of
electric energy in the State of Kansas.  WRI's assets include  security  company
holdings through its ownership of Protection One, Inc. ("Protection One"), which
has more than 1.3  million  security  customers  in North  America.  Its utility
operations,  conducted through KPL and WRI's subsidiary, Kansas Gas and Electric
Company ("KGE"),  provide electric service to approximately 636,000 customers in
432  communities  in the State of Kansas.  KGE owns a 47% interest in Wolf Creek
Nuclear Operating  Corporation2 which operates the Wolf Creek Generating Station
on behalf of its owners.  Through  its  ownership  interest  in ONEOK  Inc.,  an
Oklahoma  corporation,  WRI has an approximately  45% economic  interest3 in the
eighth largest natural gas distribution company in the nation, serving more than
1.4 million  customers.  For the year ended  December  31,  2000,  WRI  reported
consolidated  revenues of approximately  $2,368,476,000 and consolidated utility
revenues of $1,829,132,000. WRI's net income and utility net income reported for
the same  period  was  $136,481,000,  and WRI'S  utility  operating  income  was
$262,435,000.  Consolidated  assets and  consolidated  utility  assets of WRI at
December 31, 2000 were $7,767,208,000 and $4,632,479,000 respectively.

     WRI's  other  subsidiaries  include:  Westar  Generating,  Inc.,  which  is
described  in greater  detail  below;  The Wing Group,  Limited  Co., a Delaware
corporation  and wholly owned  subsidiary of Westar  Industries,  Inc.  ("Westar
Industries"),  which holds an interest in Wing Turkey,  Inc.;  Western Resources
(Bermuda)  Limited,  a Bermuda limited  liability  company,  indirectly  holding
interests in four power plants in China; Wing Turkey, Inc., a Delaware holding

--------
1    "KPL" is the trade name for WRI's electric business.

2    Wolf Creek  Nuclear  Operating  Corporation  relies on a  no-action  letter
     issued by the Commission's Staff in 1995 for the proposition that it is not
     a utility  company.  See Wolf Creek Operating  Corp.,  SEC No-Action Letter
     (June 26, 1995).

3    Comprised  solely of up to 9.9% of the voting stock and shares of nonvoting
     convertible  preferred stock of ONEOK. WRI has relied on a no-action letter
     issued by the Commission's  Staff in 1997 for the proposition that ONEOK is
     not a subsidiary  of WRI and that WRI does not control  ONEOK.  See Western
     Resources, Inc., SEC No-Action Letter (Nov. 24, 1997).





                                        1






company,  owning a power  project in Turkey;  and  Westar  Industries,  a Kansas
corporation  and wholly owned  subsidiary of WRI, a holding  company for certain
non-regulated business subsidiaries of WRI including,  among others,  Protection
One, a Delaware  holding  company for monitored  security alarm  businesses,  of
which   approximately  85%  is  held  by  Westar   Industries,   Protection  One
International, Inc. and Protection One (UK) plc, wholly owned subsidiaries which
offer home  security  services  in the United  Kingdom  and  continental  Europe
respectively,  and Westar Communications,  Inc., a Kansas corporation and wholly
owned subsidiary of Westar Industries, providing paging services.

          2.   Westar Generating, Inc.

     Westar Generating, Inc. ("Westar Generating"), a wholly owned subsidiary of
WRI, is a Kansas  corporation that will hold an undivided 40% ownership interest
in a 2X1 F class combined cycle generation  facility that is under  construction
at The Empire District Electric Company State Line station near Joplin, Missouri
- the facility is the subject of this Application.  Westar Generating holds this
interest  directly in the real  property and assets that make up the  generating
station.  The Empire District Electric Company, an unaffiliated  company,  holds
the  remaining  undivided  60%  ownership  interest  and  operates  the facility
pursuant to the Agreement for the Construction, Ownership and Operation of State
Line Combined Cycle Generating  Facility  ("Operating  Agreement").  See Exhibit
B-1.  Westar  Generating  and  Empire  (collectively  the  "Owners")  hold their
interests as tenants in common.

          3.   The Empire District Electric Company

     The Empire District  Electric  Company's  ("Empire") Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 1999 states that Empire,  a Kansas  corporation  organized in
1909,  is an  operating  public  utility  engaged in the  generation,  purchase,
transmission, distribution and sale of electricity in parts of Missouri, Kansas,
Oklahoma and Arkansas. The territory served by the Company's electric operations
embraces an area of about 10,000 square miles with a population of over 330,000.
The service territory is located  principally in Southwestern  Missouri and also
includes  smaller  areas  in  Southeastern  Kansas,  Northeastern  Oklahoma  and
Northwestern Arkansas.

     B.   State Line Generation Station

     Pursuant to the Operating  Agreement,  Empire is constructing a 2X1 F class
combined cycle generating  facility on the Missouri side of the  Kansas-Missouri
state line just west of Joplin, MO ("State Line"). This site also houses another
generating  facility,  Unit 1, in which WRI and its  subsidiaries do not have an
interest.  State Line is not currently operative, and is being upgraded from its
original  configuration of a single Westinghouse  501-F.C.  turbine installed in
1997 to a Westinghouse  501-F.D1.  Empire is adding another  501-F.D2,  two heat
recovery  steam  generators,  a steam turbine,  a cooling tower,  and associated
equipment to create the 2X1 F facility.  The new combined  cycle  facility  will
have a nominal  rating of 500 MW. State Line began  operations  in June 1997 and
was removed from service on September 11, 2000 to facilitate the conversion.


                                        2






     Westar Generating will acquire its interest in State Line in two phases. In
the first phase,  which has already occurred,  Westar Generating  acquired a 40%
interest in the portion of State Line's  assets under  construction.  The second
phase, Westar  Generating's  acquisition of a 40% interest in the portion of the
State Line assets that existed  prior to the start of  construction,  will occur
sometime prior to State Line's resumption of commercial operation. The Operating
Agreement prohibited Westar Generating's  acquisition of its 40% interest in the
assets  that  existed  prior  to the  start  of  construction  until  all  state
regulatory  approvals  had been  obtained and  "exhaust  from the Existing CT is
utilized in its associated  heat recovery steam  generators."4  See Exhibit B-1.
These  prerequisites have been met - the regulatory  approvals were obtained and
exhaust from the Existing CT was utilized in the associated  heat recovery steam
generators  during testing.  Now that these  contractual  requirements have been
fulfilled,  Westar  Generating  will acquire its 40%  interest in the  immediate
future and before State Line resumes commercial operation.

     The Owners began testing the new  configuration in March 2001 and depending
upon the success of the trials,  anticipate  resuming  commercial  operation  as
early as May 15, 2001.  Westar  Generating  also owns a 34% share in non-utility
facilities such as offices, maintenance buildings and fire protection equipment.

     Westar  Generating's  cost  associated with acquiring its interest in State
Line, including its 34% interest in non-utility facilities, will be equal to its
share of the costs of constructing State Line. These costs will be approximately
$104,292,841.

     WRI entered  into the  Operating  Agreement  on July 26, 1999 as a means of
acquiring a generation  source to meet the generation needs of KPL, the division
of WRI  operating  as a  public  utility.  State  Line  will  provide  reliable,
inexpensive  power to WRI. WRI and Westar  Generating  have entered into a power
purchase  agreement  under  which  Westar  Generating  will sell its  entire 40%
entitlement to the output of State Line to WRI under a cost-based tariff ("Power
Purchase Agreement") which has been submitted for approval to the Federal Energy
Regulatory  Commission  ("FERC").  In turn, WRI will sell State Line's output to
KPL's retail and other customers.  WRI will also purchase power generated during
testing of State Line.  See Exhibit D-1. WRI will receive State Line's output at
the high voltage side of State Line's step-up transformer and, via a thirty-mile
200 MW point-to-point firm ten-year contract path with the Southwest Power Pool,
transmit it to WRI's electric grid.

     C.   Description of Applicant's Requests

     WRI is seeking  authority to retain its 40% indirect interest in State Line
when the plant resumes commercial operation. Because State Line is not presently
operating commercially,

--------
4    EDE Regulatory  Approvals,  Certificate of Convenience and Existing CT have
     the same meaning as in the Operating Agreement.


                                        3






Westar Generating is not an "electric  utility" as defined by Section 2(a)(3) of
the Act.5 However, upon State Line's resumption of commercial operations, Westar
Generating will become an electric utility.  WRI will qualify as an affiliate of
Westar  Generating under the Act, and WRI is already an affiliate,  as that term
is defined in the Act6,  of KGE and ONEOK.  Retaining  the  securities of Westar
Generating is equivalent to acquiring the security of a public  utility  company
and requires prior Commission authorization under Sections 9(a)(2) and 10.

ITEM 2.  FEES, COMMISSIONS AND EXPENSES

     WRI estimates that, in connection with the proposed transactions, they will
pay fees, commissions and expenses of:

         Legal Fees...................................................$25,000

         Miscellaneous................................................$10,000

                           Total......................................$35,000

ITEM 3.  APPLICABLE STATUTORY PROVISIONS

     Sections 9(a)(2) and 10 of the Act are directly or indirectly applicable to
the authority requested in this Application.

--------
5    Several  Commission  no-action letters describe  circumstances in which the
     Commission has  effectively  concluded  that  generation  facilities  under
     construction  or conducting  tests prior to commercial  operation  were not
     electric utilities.  See e.g. ISO & PX Restructuring  Trusts, SEC No-Action
     Letter, July 25, 1997 (facilities under construction); Midland Cogeneration
     Venture  Limited,  SEC  No-Action  Letter,  December  19, 1989  (facilities
     generating power for sale during testing).

6    Section  2(a)(11)(B) of the Act states that affiliates include "any company
     five per centum or more of whose  outstanding  voting securities are owned,
     controlled,  or held with power to vote,  directly or  indirectly,  by such
     specified company."


                                        4






     A.   Approval of the Proposed Transactions

     Section 9(a)(2) makes it unlawful, without approval of the Commission under
Section  10,  "for any person . . . to  acquire,  directly  or  indirectly,  any
security of any public utility company,  if such person is an affiliate . . . of
such  company and of any other  public  utility or holding  company,  or will by
virtue of such acquisition become such an affiliate." The proposed  transactions
comply with all of the applicable provisions of Section 10.

          1.   Section 10(b)(1)

     Section  10(b)(1)  directs the  Commission to approve an  acquisition  that
meets the  requirements  of subsection (f) unless it finds that the  acquisition
will "tend towards  interlocking  relations or the  concentration  of control of
public utility  companies,  of a kind or to an extent  detrimental to the public
interest or the interest of investors or consumers."

               a.   Interlocking Relationships

     State  Line is  essentially  a new  facility  owned by  Empire  and  Westar
Generating.  Retention of Westar Generating's  interest after State Line resumes
commercial  operations  will  not  create  any  interlocking  relations  between
previously  unaffiliated  utilities.  Rather Western  Generating and Empire hold
their  respective  interests as tenants in common and are dividing  State Line's
output and  construction  costs.  This type of arrangement is not harmful to the
Act's protected interests.

               b.   Concentration of Control

     Section 10(b)(1)  requires the Commission,  before blocking an acquisition,
to find that  control  is "of a kind or to an extent  detrimental  to the public
interest or the  interest of  investors  or  consumers."  The framers of the Act
sought  through  Section  10(b)(1)  to avoid  "an  excess of  concentration  and
bigness"  while  preserving  the  "opportunities  for  economies  of scale,  the
elimination of duplicative facilities and activities,  the sharing of production
capacity and reserves  and  generally  more  efficient  operations"  afforded by
certain combinations. American Electric Power Co., Inc., Holding Co. Act Release
No. 20633 (July 21, 1978). In applying Section 10(b)(1) to utility acquisitions,
the Commission must determine  whether the acquisition  will create "the type of
structures and combinations at which the Act was specifically directed." Vermont
Yankee  Nuclear Corp.,  Holding Co. Act Release No. 15958 (Feb. 6, 1968).  State
Line will provide a reliable  source of power for KPL's utility  businesses  and
does not involve a combination of previous separate utilities. Thus, rather than
create  prohibited  corporate  structures,  State Line will serve KPL's  utility
customers by providing reliable inexpensive power.

     In addition,  other  regulatory  agencies will review the  concentration of
control and any  potential  anticompetitive  effects.  In  Northeast  Utilities,
Holding Co. Act Release No. 25221 (Dec. 21, 1990),  the  Commission  stated that
"antitrust  ramifications  of an acquisition  must be considered in light of the
fact that public  utilities are regulated  monopolies and that federal and state
administrative  agencies regulate the rates charged consumers." The staff of the
Missouri


                                        5






Public Service Commission ("Missouri  Commission") has determined that the State
Line project is necessary or convenient for the public service, and the Missouri
Commission  granted Westar Generating a certificate of convenience and necessity
to "construct,  install, own, operate, control, manage and maintain" State Line.
See  Exhibits  D-3 and D-4.  The State  Corporation  Commission  of the State of
Kansas ("Kansas Commission") also has jurisdiction over the operation of WRI and
its utility  businesses but did not have jurisdiction over construction of State
Line or Westar Generating's  acquisition of a 40% interest.  However, the Kansas
Commission  will review the costs of State Line  proposed to be charged to KPL's
retail  electric  customers.  Thus, the proposed  transactions do not create the
kind of structures that the Act's framers were attempting to avoid.

     Finally,  the rates under which State Line  provides its output to KPL will
be fully  reviewed by FERC pursuant to Section 205 of the Federal Power Act. See
Exhibit D-1.

     Accordingly,  because State Line is located just across the Missouri border
and because other  regulatory  agencies have evaluated and approved the proposed
transactions,  the Commission should find that the proposed  transactions do not
create the type of concentration of control prohibited by Section 10(b)(1).

          2.   Section 10(b)(2)

     Section  10(b)(2)   requires  the  Commission  to  determine   whether  the
consideration to be paid in connection with the proposed transactions, including
all fees, commissions and other remuneration, is reasonable and whether it bears
a fair relation to, investment in and earning capacity of the underlying utility
assets.

     Westar  Generating's  share  of State  Line's  construction  costs  will be
approximately  $104,292,841.   These  costs  are  the  product  of  arm's-length
negotiations  between  Empire and/or Westar  Generating  and service  providers.
These  negotiations  were preceded by due diligence,  analysis and evaluation of
the assets,  liabilities and business  prospects of State Line. As recognized by
the Commission in Northeast  Utilities,  Holding Co. Act Release No. 25221 (Dec.
21,  1990)  citing Ohio Power Co., 44 SEC 340,  346  (1970),  prices  arrived at
through  arm's-length  negotiations  are particularly  persuasive  evidence that
Section 10(b)(2) is satisfied.

     As set forth in Item 2 of this Application, WRI expects to incur a combined
total of approximately $35,000 in fees,  commissions and expenses.  WRI believes
that the estimated  fees and expenses in this matter bear a fair relation to the
value of the transactions and the strategic benefits to be achieved, and further
that the fees and expenses are fair and reasonable in light of the complexity of
the  transactions.  See Northeast  Utilities,  Holding Co. Act Release No. 25548
(June 3, 1992),  modified on other  grounds,  Holding Co. Act Release No.  25550
(June 4, 1992)  (noting that fees and expenses  must bear a fair relation to the
value  of the  company  to be  acquired  and  the  benefits  to be  achieved  in
connection with the acquisition).  Based on construction  costs of $104,292,841,
the total estimated fees and expenses represent  approximately .03% of the value
of the consideration.  This percentage of fees and expenses is less than that of
other transactions  approved by the Commission.  See Entergy Corp.,  Holding Co.
Act Release No. 25952 (Dec. 17,


                                        6






1993)  (fees and  expenses  represented  approximately  1.7% of the value of the
consideration  paid to the  shareholders  of Gulf States  Utilities);  Northeast
Utilities, Holding Co. Act Release No. 25548 (June 3, 1992) (approximately 2% of
the value of the assets to be acquired).

          3.   Section 10(b)(3)

     Section 10(b)(3)  requires the Commission to determine whether the proposed
transactions  will unduly  complicate  the capital  structure  of WRI or will be
detrimental  to the public  interest,  the interest of investors or consumers or
the proper  functioning of the WRI system.  The  construction  of State Line was
financed through existing  financing sources and did not involve issuance of new
securities.  In addition,  the acquisition of State Line will not be detrimental
to the interest of consumers or the  functioning of the WRI system because state
and federal  regulators have jurisdiction over many aspects of the sale of State
Line's  output.  The rate WRI pays for State Line's output is fixed by the Power
Purchase  Agreement,  which is  reviewed  by FERC,  and the rates  KPL's  retail
consumers pay are governed by the Kansas Commission.

          4.   Section 10(c)(1)

     Section 10(c)(1) provides that the Commission may not approve a transaction
that is "unlawful  under the  provisions of section 8 or is  detrimental  to the
carrying out of the provisions of section 11." Together these sections relate to
the corporate  simplification  standards of Section 11(b)(2), which require that
each  registered  holding  company take the  necessary  steps to ensure that the
corporate or continued  existence of any company in the  holding-company  system
does  not   unduly  or   unnecessarily   complicate   the   structure   of  such
holding-company  system.  Sections  8 and 11,  by  their  terms,  only  apply to
registered  holding  companies,  and WRI will be exempt from registration  under
Section 3(a), pursuant to Rule 2.

          5.   Section 10(c)(2)

     Section  10(c)(2)  requires that any acquisition not be approved unless the
Commission  finds that "such  acquisition  will  serve the  public  interest  by
tending  towards the  economical  and  efficient  development  of an  integrated
public-utility system."

     Section  2(a)(29)(A)  defines  an  "integrated  public  utility  system" as
applied to electric utility companies as a:

          system  consisting  of one or more units of  generating  plants and/or
          transmission  lines  and/or  distributing  facilities,  whose  utility
          assets,  whether owned by one or more electric utility companies,  are
          physically  interconnected or capable of physical  interconnection and
          which under normal conditions may be economically operated as a single
          area or  region  in one or more  States,  not so  large  as to  impair
          (considering the state of the art and the area or region affected) the
          advantages  of  localized  management,  efficient  operation,  and the
          effectiveness of regulation.


                                        7






     As discussed in Item 1, WRI and Westar Generating have entered into a power
purchase  agreement  under  which  Westar  Generating  will sell its  entire 40%
entitlement to the output of State Line under a cost-based  tariff which will be
approved by the FERC.  WRI will receive  State Line's output at the high voltage
side  of  State  Line's  step-up  transformer  and,  via a  thirty-mile  200  MW
point-to-point  firm  ten-year  contract  path with the  Southwest  Power  Pool,
transmit it to WRI's  electric grid. In prior  applications,  the Commission has
found a contract path  sufficient to interconnect  utilities.  See Unitil Corp.,
Holding Co. Act Release No. 25524 (April 24, 1992). WRI will dispatch State Line
using the same  mechanisms  and same  system  operator as it does to operate its
existing  generation  and  thereby  meets  the  Commission's   requirements  for
economical  operation.  See  Conectiv,  Inc.,  Holding Co. Act Release No. 26832
(Feb. 25, 1998).  WRI's utility businesses are located in Kansas, and State Line
is being built in neighboring Missouri.  Accordingly,  the proposed acquisitions
comply with the single area or region requirement of 10(c)(2).

     As previously described in Item 3A, the Missouri Commission approved Westar
Generating's  acquisition  of its 40% interest in State Line and granted  Westar
Generating a  certificate  of  convenience  and  necessity  for State Line.  See
Exhibits D-3 and D-4. After consummation of the proposed transactions,  WRI will
continue  to be  subject  to  regulation  by the  Kansas  Commission  and Westar
Generating will also be regulated by the Missouri Commission. The Commission has
previously found that state regulation is not impaired when a holding  company's
utility  subsidiaries  remain subject to the same state regulators as prior to a
transaction.  See Conectiv,  Inc.,  Holding Co. Act Release No. 26832 (Feb.  25,
1998).  Accordingly,  the proposed  transactions  do not impair  effective state
regulation.  Finally,  since  State Line is  located  just  across the  Missouri
border,  the proposed  transactions  will not impair the  effectiveness of local
management.

          6.   Section 10(f)

     Section  10(f)   prohibits  the  Commission  from  approving  the  proposed
transactions unless the Commission is satisfied that the they will be undertaken
in compliance  with  applicable  state laws. All the required  state  regulatory
approvals have been obtained as described in Item 4, and WRI shall  undertake to
complete the  transaction in a manner  consistent with the laws of the States of
Kansas and Missouri.

         B.       Exemption Under Section 3(a)

         WRI claims exemption,  under Section 3(a), pursuant to Rule 2, from all
provisions of the Act except Section  9(a)(2).  WRI will continue to be entitled
to this exemption after State Line commences commercial operation.


                                        8






ITEM 4.  REGULATORY APPROVALS

     The Missouri  Commission has previously  approved  Empire's  transfer,  and
Westar  Generating's  acquisition  of, a 40%  interest  in  State  Line and also
granted  Westar  Generating  a  certificate  of  convenience  and  necessity  to
"construct,  install, own, operate, control, manage and maintain" the State Line
facility.  See  Exhibits  D-3 and  D-4.  The  Kansas  Commission  does  not have
jurisdiction  over the  transactions  proposed in this Application but does have
jurisdiction over the retail rates of KPL. The FERC,  pursuant to Section 205 of
the  Federal  Power Act has  jurisdiction  over the  rates of the sales  between
Westar  Generating and WRI, and Westar  Generating's  application to the FERC is
attached as Exhibit D-1.

ITEM 5.  PROCEDURE

     WRI requests that the Commission  issue and publish no later than March 23,
2001,  the  requisite  notice  under Rule 23 with  respect to the filing of this
Application,  such notice to specify a date not later than April 17, 2001 as the
date after which an order  granting and  permitting  this  Application to become
effective may be entered by the  Commission  and that the  Commission  enter not
later  than May 8,  2001 an  appropriate  order  granting  and  permitting  this
Application to become effective.

     No recommended  decision by a hearing officer or other responsible  officer
of the  Commission  is  necessary  or required in this  matter.  The Division of
Investment  Management of the  Commission  may assist in the  preparation of the
Commission's  decision in this  matter.  There should be no  thirty-day  waiting
period  between  the  issuance  and  effective  date of any order  issued by the
Commission in this matter, and WRI respectfully  requests that any such order be
made effective immediately upon the entry thereof.

ITEM 6.  EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

A.   Exhibits

          A-1  Articles of Incorporation of Westar  Generating,  Inc, as amended
               (Previously Filed)

          B-1  Agreement for the Construction,  Ownership and Operation of State
               Line Combined Cycle  Generating  Facility by and among The Empire
               District Electric Company, as an Owner, Westar Generating,  Inc.,
               as an Owner, and The Empire District Electric  Company,  as Agent
               dated July 26, 1999, as amended, (Previously Filed on Form SE)

          D-1  Application  before the Federal Energy Regulatory  Commission (To
               be Filed by Amendment)

          D-2  Order of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (To be Filed by
               Amendment)


                                        9






          D-3  Application to the Missouri Public Service Commission (Previously
               Filed)

          D-4  Order  of the  Missouri  Public  Service  Commission  (Previously
               Filed)

          F-1  Opinion of Counsel (To be filed by amendment)

          F-2  "Past Tense" Opinion of Counsel (To be filed by amendment)

          H-1  Form of Notice (Previously Filed)

          H-2  WRI's  2000  Annual  Report  (filed  on April 2,  2001  (File No.
               1-3523) and incorporated by reference herein).

B.   Financial Statements

          FS-1 Consolidated Balance Statement and Statement of Income of WRI for
               the year ended  December  31, 1999 (filed with Form 10-K on April
               2, 2001 (File No. 1-3523) and incorporated by reference herein).

          FS-2 WRI's  Consolidated  Statement of Income for the Preceding  Three
               years  (filed  with Form 10-K on April 2, 2001 (File No.  1-3523)
               and incorporated by reference herein).

ITEM 7.  INFORMATION AS TO ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS

     None of the  matters  that are the  subject of this  Application  involve a
"major  federal  action"  nor do they  "significantly  affect the quality of the
human  environment" as those terms are used in Section 102(2)(C) of the National
Environmental Policy Act. None of the proposed transactions that are the subject
of this  Application  will result in changes in the  operation  of WRI that will
have an impact on the environment.  WRI is not aware of any federal agency which
has prepared or is preparing an  environmental  impact statement with respect to
the transactions proposed herein.


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                                    SIGNATURE

     Pursuant to the  requirements  of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of
1935, the  undersigned  has duly caused this  application  and declaration to be
signed on their behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

                                       WESTERN RESOURCES, INC.


                                       By:  /s/ Richard D. Terrill
                                          ------------------------
                                       Name:  Richard D. Terrill
                                       Title:   Executive Vice President and
                                                General Counsel

April 18, 2001




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