14 Facts About Meridian Energy

Meridian Energy Limited is a New Zealand electricity generator and retailer.

Meridian Energy generates the largest proportion of New Zealand's electricity, generating 35 percent of the country's electricity in the year ending December 2014, and is the fourth largest retailer, with 14 percent of market share in terms of customers as of December 2015.

Today, Meridian Energy operates seven hydroelectric power stations and one wind farm in the South Island of New Zealand, four wind farms in the North Island, and two wind farms in southern Australia – one in South Australia and one in Victoria.

Meridian Energy originated from the break-up of the Electricity Corporation of New Zealand in 1999 as a result of the reforms of the New Zealand Electricity Market.

Meridian Energy initially acquired the retail base of Northpower, Centralines, Scanpower, and Network Waitaki, and later acquired Orion's retail base from NGC.

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Meridian Energy owns and operates seven hydroelectric power stations in the South Island – six on the Waitaki River and at Manapouri.

In 2007, Meridian Energy announced that it had received CarboNZero certification from Landcare Research confirming that the generation and retailing of its electricity was carbon neutral.

In 2008, Meridian Energy issued and sold the first carbon credits issued and sold under the JI program of the Kyoto Protocol.

In 2015 Meridian Energy began converting its business fleet to electric vehicles in an effort to reduce carbon emissions.

Meridian Energy are National Partners of the Department of Conservation Kakapo Recovery Programme since 2016.

Meridian Energy staff are involved through providing electrical support and volunteers to the remote pest-free islands the kakapo are surviving on.

In 1990 Meridian Energy established Project River Recovery, recognising the impacts of hydroelectric development from the 1930s to the 1980s on the Waitaki's braided rivers and wetlands.

In 2013 Meridian Energy became the principle partner of the KidsCan Charity.

Additionally, Meridian Energy was found to have pushed up power prices in December 2019 by unnecessarily spilling water from its south island dams that could have been used for generation, according to a preliminary ruling from New Zealand's Electricity Authority.