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                            SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION
 
                  Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of 
                      the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
 
    Filed by the Registrant / /
    Filed by a Party other than the Registrant /X/
 
    Check the appropriate box:
    / /  Preliminary Proxy Statement
    / /  Definitive Proxy Statement
    /X/  Definitive Additional Materials
    / /  Soliciting  Material  Pursuant  to Rule 14a-11(c) or
         or Rule 14a-12
 
                            WESTERN RESOURCES, INC.
- - ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
                (Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter) 
 
                            WESTERN RESOURCES, INC.
- - ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
                   (Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement) 
 
Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):
 
/ /  $125 per Exchange Act Rules 0-11(c)(1)(ii), 14a-6(I)(1), or 14a-6(I)(2)
/ /  $500 per  each party  to  the controversy  pursuant  to Exchange  Act
     Rule 14a-6(I)(3)
/ /  Fee computed  on   table  below   per  Exchange   Act  Rules  14a-6(I)(4) 
     and 0-11

     1) Title of each class of securities to which transaction applies: 
- - ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
     2) Aggregate number of securities to which transaction applies: 
- - ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
     3) Per unit  price  or  other  underlying  value  of  transaction
            computed pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 0-11:*
- - ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
     4) Proposed maximum aggregate value of transaction:
- - -----------------------------------------------------------------
Set forth the amount on which the filing fee is calculated and state how it
was determined.
 
/ /  Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act
Rule 0-11(a)(2)  and identify the  filing for which the  offsetting fee was
paid previously. Identify the previous filing by registration statement
number, or
the Form or Schedule and the date of its filing.

     1) Amount Previously Paid:
        ------------------------------------------------------------ 
     2) Form, Schedule or Registration Statement No.:
        ------------------------------------------------------------ 
     3) Filing Party:
        ------------------------------------------------------------ 
     4) Date Filed:
        ------------------------------------------------------------ 
 
/x/  Filing fee paid with preliminary filing.


The following press release and employee update were issued on or about June
17, 1998:

Media Contacts:                              Media Contacts:     
Michel' J. Philipp (785) 575-1927            Phyllis Desbien (816) 556-2903

Investor Contact:                            Investor Contact:
Bruce Burns (785) 575-8227                   David Myers (816) 556-2312

                               JOINT NEWS RELEASE

                            WESTERN RESOURCES, KCPL 
                  FILE APPLICATIONS FOR APPROVAL OF MERGER

     TOPEKA, Kansas, and KANSAS CITY, Missouri, June 17, 1998 -- Western
Resources (NYSE:WR) and Kansas City Power & Light Company (NYSE:KLT) today
jointly filed amended applications with the Kansas Corporation Commission
(KCC) and the Missouri Public Service Commission (MPSC) asking for approval of
their restructured merger agreement.
     The merger will create a company with more than one million electric
customers in Kansas and Missouri, $8.2 billion in assets and more than 8,000
megawatts of electric generation resources.
     The boards of directors of Western Resources and KCPL approved the
restructured merger of the two companies in March. 
     In addition to the approval of the KCC and the MPSC, the merger is
conditioned upon the approvals of each company's shareowners, the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and other
governmental approvals. 
     Both companies will ask shareowners to approve the transaction July 30,
1998.
p. 2 - MERGER FILING     
     Western Resources (NYSE:WR) is a consumer services company with
interests in monitored security and energy. The company has total assets of
more than $7 billion, including security company holdings through ownership of
Protection One (NASDAQ:ALRM), which has more than 1 million security customers
in 48 states. Its utilities, KPL and KGE, provide electric service to
approximately 614,000 customers in Kansas. Through its ownership in ONEOK Inc.
(NYSE:OKE), a Tulsa-based natural gas company, Western Resources has a 45
percent interest in the eighth largest natural gas distribution company in the
nation, serving more than 1 million customers. Through its other subsidiaries,
Westar Capital and The Wing Group, the company participates in energy-related
investments in the continental United States and offshore. 

     For more information about Western Resources and its operating
companies, visit us on the Internet at http://www.wstnres.com.

     Kansas City Power & Light Company (NYSE:KLT) provides electric power to
a growing and diversified service territory encompassing metropolitan Kansas
City, parts of eastern Kansas and western Missouri. KCPL is a low-cost
producer and leader in fuel procurement and plant technology. KLT Inc., a
wholly owned subsidiary of KCPL, pursues opportunities in nonregulated,
primarily energy-related ventures.

     For more information about KCPL, visit http://www.kcpl.com.