ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND                SUPPLEMENTARY DATA TABLE OF CONTENTS   PAGE Report of Independent Public Accountants . . . . . 46 Financial Statements: Westar Energy, Inc. and Subsidiaries:   Consolidated Balance Sheets,      December 31, 2002 and 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss)      for the years ended December 31, 2002,      2001 and 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive       Income (Loss) for the years ended       December 31, 2002, 2001 and 2000 . . . . . . . 49 Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows      for the years ended December 31, 2002,      2001 and 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’      Equity for the years ended      December 31, 2002, 2001 and 2000 . . . . . . . 51 Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements . . . . 52 SCHEDULES OMITTED The following schedules are omitted because of the absence of the conditions under which they are required or the information is included in our consolidated financial statements and schedules presented:      I, III, IV, and V.		INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of Westar Energy, Inc. Topeka, Kansas We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Westar Energy, Inc. and subsidiaries (the Company) as of December 31, 2002 and 2001, and the related consolidated statements of income (loss), comprehensive income (loss), shareholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2002. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the financial statements based on our audits. We conducted our audits in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion. In our opinion, such consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2002 and 2001, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2002, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. As discussed in Note 23 to the financial statements, on January 1, 2002, the Company adopted Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 142, Accounting for Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets and Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 144, Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long- Lived Assets. As discussed in Note 2 to the financial statements, on January 1, 2001 the Company adopted Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No.133, Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities, as amended. As discussed in Note 2 to the financial statements, on January 1, 2000, the Company adopted Staff Accounting Bulletin 101, Revenue Recognition. DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP Kansas City, Missouri April 11, 2003