The CEO of the company planning to acquire Topeka-based Westar Energy says the merged entity will have an office in Topeka.

Terry Bassham, CEO of Kansas City Power and Light, said “Never say never, but I don’t have a reason we wouldn’t always have an office” in Topeka.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports (http://j.mp/2fWUeuZ) Bassham and Westar CEO Mark Ruelle spoke at the Kansas Expocentre’s Maner Conference Center on Friday in the statewide stop aimed at updating leaders on the proposed merger.

Friday’s gathering came ahead of Monday’s planned public hearing by the Kansas Corporation Commission, which has to approve the sale.

Westar, KCPL and its parent company, Great Plains Energy, filed a joint application last July with the KCC seeking approval for GPE to acquire Westar for $12.2 billion.

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Information from: The Topeka (Kan.) Capital-Journal, http://www.cjonline.com.