Company Website: http://www.empiredistrict.com
JOPLIN, Mo. -- (Business Wire)

(NYSE:EDE) – Mr. Greg Knapp, vice president - finance and chief financial officer, will retire July 31, 2011.

Mr. Knapp was elected vice president – finance and chief financial officer in 2002. He was previously general manager of finance for the Company. During an 18-month separation in employment, he held the position of controller for the Missouri Department of Transportation. Prior to that, Mr. Knapp had twenty-two years of service with the Company, beginning as the director of auditing in 1978 and in1983 was named controller and assistant treasurer.

Mr. Knapp received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Missouri Southern State University. He also holds a Master of Business Administration from Missouri State University.

Throughout his career, Mr. Knapp has taken an active role in the community, serving on several committees at the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce and as a member of the City of Joplin Board of Adjustment. Mr. Knapp has served as a member and president of the Joplin R-VIII Board of Education and is the past president and a current member of the Joplin Schools Foundation. Mr. Knapp is a

member of the local chapter of the Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Joplin Rotary Club. He is also a graduate of Leadership Missouri.

Based in Joplin, Missouri, The Empire District Electric Company (NYSE: EDE) is an investor-owned, regulated utility providing electricity, natural gas (through its wholly owned subsidiary The Empire District Gas Company), and water service, with approximately 211,000 customers in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. A subsidiary of the company provides fiber optic services. For more information regarding Empire, visit www.empiredistrict.com.

Contacts:

The Empire District Electric Company
Media Communications:
Amy Bass, 417-625-5114
Director of Corporate Communications
abass@empiredistrict.com

Source: The Empire District Electric Company