Meridian Energy Limited Annual Shareholder Meeting

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2018 ANNUAL SHAREHOLDER MEETING - CHAIR’S ADDRESS

SLIDE THREE: Chair’s Address
___________________________

I will now move to my Chairman’s address.
Last year our Annual Shareholder Meeting was held less than twenty-
four hours after the announcement of the new Coalition Government.
Since that time there have been a number of significant, mainly positive,
changes to our operating environment due to Meridian being a one
hundred percent renewable energy company.

SLIDE FOUR: Coalition Government
_________________________________
The Coalition Government is pursuing a busy and ambitious
sustainability agenda, including looking to ensure New Zealand delivers
a low emissions economy as the planet grapples with the challenges
caused by climate change.

The country’s largely renewable electricity system will be a key part of a
low emissions future as electrification offers the opportunity to remove
up to thirty-two million tonnes of carbon caused by the use of fossil fuels
in the road transport sector, by the manufacturing, construction and
commercial industries, for domestic heating and by the electricity
generation industry itself.

We welcome the Zero Carbon Bill introduced by the Government,
including the establishment of a Climate Commission and, as at one July
this year, Meridian is a net zero carbon organisation, across our
operations.

Meridian intends to play a significant role towards New Zealand
becoming zero carbon, by helping our customers and partners to make
this transformation possible.

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SLIDE FIVE: Electricity Price Review
_________________________________
The Government is also considering the fiscal and social wellbeing of
New Zealanders, which in our industry is evidenced by the current
Electricity Price Review.

Meridian mainly supports the Issues Paper that the Panel released in
September.

The Paper confirmed that the New Zealand electricity market is one of
the best performing markets in the world and achieves top rankings for
security, sustainability and energy equity.

As an industry, we are currently ranked eighth overall in the world by the
World Energy Council, the only country outside of Europe to feature in
the top ten.

The Productivity Commission also released a report this year about how
New Zealand could transition to a low-emissions economy.

It too determined that the New Zealand electricity market is delivering
and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

The Electricity Price Review Issues paper also noted that the sector is
not making excessive profits.

It did however find some areas for possible policy improvements,
including the impact of prompt payment discounts and support for
financially vulnerable and non-switching customers.

Meridian believes these issues can be addressed by some simple
solutions that improve equity but still maintain New Zealand’s
competitive electricity market.
In his Chief Executive’s address, Neal will speak to these matters in
further detail.

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SLIDE SIX: Australia
__________________
In Australia, electricity price transparency and affordability are also being
heavily scrutinised, with reviews by both the Federal and State
governments.
The ACCC, Australia’s competition regulator, has proposed a number of
changes to improve energy affordability in a market where average
residential electricity prices are now forty per cent higher than here in
New Zealand.
Policy attempts to transition Australia to a more decarbonised energy
system are falling victim of the ongoing political instability in that country.
As a small renewable generator and retailer in Australia, the market and
political disruptions may offer opportunities; however, I emphasise that
we remain very focused on managing any risks that may be involved.

SLIDE SEVEN: Shareholder Highlights
________________________________
I will turn now to the shareholder highlights for the year.
Although it is a well-worn cliché, but one that is perhaps appropriate at
this venue, the twenty eighteen financial year was a game of two halves.
Due to significant hydrology challenges, EBITDAF in the first half of
twenty eighteen was seven percent down on the prior year; however, for
the full year, we turned that around and delivered a result that was
higher than the previous year by one-point four percent.
Obviously, the weather gods treated us kindly in the second half of the
year but it is also a tribute to our staff and their capability to manage our
water resources; indeed, this is the second year in a row that Mike Roan
and his trading team have managed the combined vagaries of the
weather, demand and water availability to optimise our results.
Total dividends paid to shareholders during the twenty eighteen financial
year were also one point nine per cent higher than the previous year.
Combined with the seven per cent increase in the share price, the total
shareholder return for the year to thirty June twenty-eighteen was
fourteen percent.

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Meridian has now delivered double digit returns to its shareholders in
each of the five years since the Company was listed, thereby
handsomely eclipsing the returns available from interest bearing
securities.
Although we are still two years away from the conclusion of the original
five-year capital management programme that commenced in twenty
fifteen, the Board has decided to extend the current capital management
programme by a further two years with the intention of increasing the
original return of capital to shareholders by a further two hundred and
fifty million dollars from a total of six hundred and twenty-five million
dollars to eight hundred and seventy five million dollars.
As was the case with the first five-year tranche of the capital
management programme, the Board reserves the right to cancel or
suspend the new two year tranche of the capital management
programme in light of possible future impacts on the financial position of
the Company and alternative uses of capital.

SLIDE EIGHT: Our People
_______________________
Twenty eighteen was also a game of two halves in terms of our
executive leadership.
Mark Binns officially retired as Chief Executive on the thirty-first of
December twenty seventeen and Neal Barclay took over from Mark the
following day.
I paid tribute to Mark’s contribution to the Company at last year’s Annual
Meeting, so I won’t repeat myself today; however suffice it to say Mark
did an outstanding job in leading Meridian through its Initial Public
Offering and thereafter and in my view Meridian shareholders owe him a
significant debt of gratitude.
The Board appointed Neal as Chief Executive without following so-called
best practice by conducting both an internal and external search for
Mark’s replacement.
The Board and Mark had worked hard to create a succession plan for
Neal by exposing him to all facets of the business through his former
roles as Chief Financial Officer, General Manager – Markets &

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Production and General Manager – Retail, the three most senior roles in
the Company, excluding the position of Chief Executive.
After interviewing Neal, the Board concluded it would not be appropriate
to go to market due to the uncertainty that would be created by delaying
an appointment, the costs that would be incurred and frankly the lack
integrity involved when a decision to appoint Neal had already effectively
been made.
The Board remains delighted with the way Neal’s appointment was
received, both internally and externally, and after nine months as Chief
Executive he has continued Mark’s excellent work, albeit, as one would
expect, with his own style and emphasis.
More recently, the Board unfortunately lost its longest serving Director,
Steve Reindler, because Z Energy, of which he is also a Board member,
acquired a majority interest in Flick Electric.
As Flick is a competitor of Meridian, Steve, having quite rightly been
excluded from the deliberations surrounding the transaction at Z, found
himself with a conflict of interest, which was not able to be managed
without him resigning one of his two directorships.
Steve elected to stand down from Meridian because his tenure on the
Board was likely coming to an end in twenty nineteen in any event.
Steve’s passion for our organisation, in particular around safety, our
assets and sustainability, including chairing the Safety and Sustainability
Committee, will be greatly missed.
On behalf of the Board and Management of the Company, I want to
publicly thank Steve for his very significant contribution to Meridian, not
least because it was he who first suggested that Mark Binns be invited to
be our Chief Executive.
Thank you, Steve.
At yesterday’s Board meeting, the Directors agreed to consider the
process regarding Steve’s vacancy.
The Board evaluation undertaken by an independent third party during
the year, which included the development of a revised Director
competency matrix, will be used to underpin this process.

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At the start of the meeting, I introduced you to Meg Matthews, who is
Meridian’s Institute of Directors Future Director.
This is a programme designed to provide aspiring Directors with
experience and exposure to some of the most significant Board rooms in
the country.
Normally the term is for a year but, by mutual agreement, we extended
Meg’s tenure to eighteen months.
Meg hails from Ngāi Tahu, our iwi partner, and has found her time
attending Meridian Board and Committee meetings of significant benefit.
She chaired one meeting of the Remuneration & Human Resources
Committee, which has given Meg the confidence to take on two chair
roles in other organisations.
Meg has been a delight to work with but sadly her time with Meridian
finishes today and we wish her all the very best for the future.
Director, Mary Devine, has been instrumental in mentoring Meg and I
sincerely thank her for that.
Yesterday the Board resolved to endeavour to appoint another aspiring
Director as Meg’s successor because the Board believes it is important
that Meridian plays a role in developing the depth and breadth of the
Director talent pool in New Zealand.
To conclude, I would like to thank the members of Meridian’s Board,
Management, employees, customers, Iwi, business partners and our
communities for their continued support.

And of course, sincere thanks to you, our shareholders for continuing to
invest in Meridian.

I now invite Neal Barclay to address you for the first time as Chief
Executive.

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2018 ANNUAL SHAREHOLDER MEETING – CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S
ADDRESS

SLIDE NINE: Chief Executive’s Review
___________________________________

Thank you, Chris.
Kia ora koutou.

Ladies and gentlemen. It is my pleasure to talk to you about Meridian
and what we believe has been a strong result for the year.
Meridian’s continued success is very much down to a team effort, so I’d
like to start by thanking the Board for being highly engaged and
supportive of management and for giving me the Chief Executive job.
And I’d like to acknowledge the entire Meridian crew for their ongoing
commitment. We are very fortunate to have a very smart and highly
dedicated team.
The Exec members who lead our team are here and I’d like to introduce
them to you.
Mike Roan, GM of Wholesale
Ed McManus, CEO of Meridian Energy Australia
Guy Waipara, GM of Generation and Natural Resources
Julian Smith, Chief Customer Officer
And Jason Stein, has already been introduced by Chris.

Missing today are Paul Chambers our CFO who is at an investor
conference in Singapore hopefully building demand for Meridian shares
and Jacqui Cleland our GM of HR who is enjoying a well-earned break
at the moment.
I will now do a brief recap of the past year.

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SLIDE 10: SUSTAINABILITY LEADERSHIP
________________________________________
Meridian continues to lead the market as an authentically sustainable
business.

We’ve been committed to producing clean energy for a long time now,
about 17 years in fact, and that’s something that we’re very proud of. So,
it is great to see the growing momentum behind New Zealand’s climate
action and decarbonisation aspirations. As a country we must
demonstrate global leadership by stepping up to this challenge and
frankly all other challenges pale in comparison.

Beyond clean energy, we are putting effort into ensuring we lead by
example, managing our own environmental footprint and that of our
customers. Some of the more high-profile initiatives we have underway
include:

• The conversion of more than 50 per cent of our passenger fleet to
pure electric vehicles. We will increase this to 90 per cent by 2020.
The financial case for the conversion stacks up as I’m sure it will
for many businesses. And it’s important businesses do take the
lead as that will create a second-hand market making EVs more
assessable to ordinary Kiwis.
• We are actively looking for a replacement for the Genesis swaption
agreement that runs up to December 2022. The swaption
agreement is backed by coal generation and we are seeking a
cleaner solution for the future. In doing that we are mindful that
the choices we make need to actively contribute toward our
national goals of decarbonizing the economy and maintaining a
reliable electricity system.
• We’ve driven our direct carbon emissions per person down by 17
per cent in the last five years, but we need to do more. So as of 1
July, we are net zero carbon across all scope 1 and 2 emissions.
And shortly we are commencing a native tree planting programme
mostly on our own land, to grow our own credits and to ensure we
become net zero carbon for all emissions, including scope 3, by
2025.

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• Over the ditch we have galvanised Meridian’s green credentials
and we are the only energy company in Australia that offsets all
carbon emissions, so we’re well ahead of the wider market.

As a result, Meridian has maintained our inclusion on the Dow Jones
Sustainability Index – we remain one of only three companies in New
Zealand to do so. It is important to us to maintain third party
endorsement of our credentials.

SLIDE 11: OUR PEOPLE
_______________________
As I mentioned earlier our success as a business is a direct result of the
quality of our Team, so we will continue with our unrelenting commitment
to the safety and wellbeing of our people. I’m very pleased to confirm
that last year we had no serious harm injuries, but the thing I’m most
proud of is that, through our annual staff engagement survey, we know
that 97 per cent of our people strongly believe this organisation and their
managers care about their safety and wellbeing.

Also, we continue to build our diverse and inclusive culture. We’re doing
a lot here but a few tangible outcomes that demonstrate progress
include:
- being recognised as a Silver Finalist at the YWCA Equal Pay
Awards. We have effectively achieved pay parity.
- We have become an accredited Rainbow Tick organisation.
- And we have also extended our paid-parental leave entitlements to
align with the Governments new policy.
Ultimately, it is important that everyone at Meridian can confidently bring
their whole selves to work. It allows us to be much more successful and
authentic and permeates how we operate through our customer facing
brands.

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SLIDE 12: FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
_________________________________
As Chris said, we’ve had another pleasing financial result this year. It is
the context of this result that we are most pleased with.
Our ability to generate electricity in New Zealand was limited during the
year by two significant dry periods where our hydro catchments did not
get much rainfall. As a result, our overall generation volumes were the
lowest since 2013. Despite this we delivered a 1.4 per cent increase in
EBITDAF.
There are many factors that went into the result but certainly an
important enabler of this has been the maturing of electricity hedge
markets in New Zealand. As a 100 per cent renewable and mostly hydro
generator, we sometimes must buy energy from our competitors to be
able to meet our customer commitments. And liquid hedge markets
allow us to do that efficiently.
Also, and not to be underplayed our strategy to diversify our business
with a focus on retail and overseas growth is delivering.

SLIDE 13: OUR CUSTOMERS
_________________________
Customers expect choice and great service and providing our customers
with an exceptional experience will continue to be our focus.
During the last year our Powershop and Meridian brands together grew
customer connections by 14,000 in New Zealand which was the
strongest growth in customer connections in the New Zealand electricity
sector. An important factor in our success has been our ability to reduce
Meridian’s customer churn which is currently the lowest amongst the
large electricity retailers.

We are proud that we have reduced our customer disconnection rate by
80 per cent in the last five years, whilst at the same time reducing our
bad debt losses dramatically. As an industry it is incumbent on us to be
on our game when we are dealing with our most vulnerable customers.

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You would have hopefully seen that recently we decided to replace
prompt-payment discounts with a guaranteed discount that isn’t tied to
the due date of a person’s bill. Every customer still gets the same
savings, but what is fairer is that those who may miss their bill – for
whatever reason – aren’t unreasonably punished by losing their
discount. We believe that the practice of clawing back prompt payment
discounts is fundamentally unfair because the penalty to the customer
far exceeds the cost of chasing the debt. The cost of this decision to
Meridian is $5 million per year – but we believe we can absorb this and
create a leadership position and further grow loyalty amongst our
customer base, which is also ultimately in the best interests of
shareholders.

To continue to stay ahead of the pack, over the next three years, we are
transitioning Meridian’s 225,000 customers to the Flux Federation
software platform. Our Powershop brands in New Zealand, Australia and
the UK are already using this platform, so we are confident, based on
their feedback, that it will improve the experiences we offer our
customers and help us lower our overall cost to serve.

Powershop New Zealand has expanded its product mix this year, with
the launch of three innovative products and a strong focus on customer
loyalty. They also won the 2018 Consumer New Zealand People’s
Choice Award for electricity retailer.
And in Australia, Powershop was once again recognised as Australia’s
greenest power company by Greenpeace. They have delivered a gas
retailing proposition to customers in Victoria, a white label business
targeting solar customers and a number of other industry leading
innovations, including a virtual power plant and demand response
programmes.

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SLIDE 14: NZAS
______________
We also strengthened our relationship with our largest customer, New
Zealand Aluminium Smelters, by supporting them with an additional
50MW base load energy solution that has enabled increased production
at the smelter.
The fact that NZAS are choosing to invest in increasing production at
Tiwai is obviously a good sign for the longevity of the smelter, good for
the Southland Region and good for the environment because NZAS
leverage New Zealand’s largely renewable electricity system to make
some of the greenest aluminium in the world.


SLIDE 15: RETAIL ELECTRICITY PRICES
____________________________________
As Chris noted, the Government is conducting an Electricity Price
Review.
We are mostly supportive of the Review Panel’s findings to date, but it is
fair to say there are some aspects of the Panel’s findings that we are
less than luke warm about.
The Review’s issues paper discusses options to support customers who
choose not to switch electricity retailer regularly. The inference is that
customers who don’t switch are not getting the best deal. We don’t
necessarily agree with the Review Panel’s conclusion in this regard.
Over the past year, we know that 55 per cent of New Zealanders actively
considered switching their retailer and a fifth of those who considered it,
did switch. We think this shows that people largely understand the
choices on offer and make their decision accordingly.

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The Review has also identified that there are a large number of New
Zealand households in energy hardship. I believe that Meridian has
stepped up to the plate in many ways to support customers who struggle
to afford their power. We’ve put a lot of emphasis on developing our
customer hardship programme, and as a result we have some of the
lowest disconnection rates in the industry. I also referred earlier to what
we have done to stop clawing back prompt payment discounts, which we
know disproportionately impact the most vulnerable customers. But it is
also important to acknowledge the reasons some customers struggle to
pay their power bills are complex and cannot be fixed by electricity
retailers alone.
We get a strong sense from the Review Panel that they are seeking to
consult heavily on their Issues paper and we are engaging in that
process.



SLIDE 16: DEMAND OUTLOOK FOR THE SECTOR IN NZ
__________________________________________________
We did note modest demand growth in the last year of around 0.8 per
cent. It looks likely that continued positive macro factors are driving this
despite overall warmer than average temperatures. We are not
expecting to see any dramatic change from current demand trends in the
medium term, say through to middle of the next decade. That said, it is
likely one or two large scale new renewable generation projects will
need to be built within the next four or five years, to meet this demand
growth.

From 2025 onward, the picture looks very interesting. Much of New
Zealand’s existing remaining coal and gas generation is old and may
need to be replaced. And if we are to achieve zero carbon by 2050 then
renewable electricity must play a huge role in that. So, it is fair to say
most views of electricity demand growth over the long term are
becoming far more bullish. We continue to invest in a development
pipeline that will enable Meridian to take advantage of the growth as it
occurs. The key to success is negotiating flexible resource consent

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conditions that enable a greater window of time before having to commit
to build new generation and to allow for technology improvements.
To achieve Zero Carbon by 2050, New Zealand is likely to need
between one and three mid-sized wind farms to be built every year from
the back end of next decade and that is going to change the nature of
our landscape. We need to start having conversations on how we
achieve this, and what the trade‐offs might be.
Renewable developers like Meridian are very focussed on building
respectful and enduring relationships with communities to ensure they
also benefit from having a power station in their area, but a more
balanced RMA Framework, supportive of renewable electricity projects,
is also needed.


SLIDE 17: OFFSHORE
___________________
The political volatility in Australia that Chris referred to has gone hand in
hand with volatile prices in the electricity market. Average energy prices
have risen by 59 per cent over the last two years and managing retail
margins in that kind of environment can be challenging. Accordingly, for
the last 18 months we stopped growing the customer base for
Powershop Australia. We did this until we could procure more cost-
effective supply to support future retail growth. We have now done that
through the acquisition of the Greenstate hydro assets and by signing
two long term Power Purchase Agreements from new renewable
generation projects.

Whilst Australia remains a tough landscape for operations, we are
confident we can manage the risks and we are pushing for renewed
growth in our Powershop brand. We have a strong green position and a
genuinely differentiated product in Powershop and to me, success looks
like a business several times larger than it is today.

In the UK we have licenced the Poweshop brand and the Flux platform
to our partner Npower. They commercially launched the business in

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January this year and are making steady progress. As at the end of
September they have 46,000 customers on the books. It is early days
but given the size of the UK market the upside potential could be very
significant.


SLIDE 18: CONCLUDING COMMENTS
________________________________
The outlook for the FY19 year is good so far. We don’t provide a
financial forecast to the market because the weather in this country is so
very fickle and we rely on that weather. What I can tell you is our
catchments have slightly less water in them than average for this time of
year, and that’s the same across the rest of the country. This below
average storage is one of the reasons wholesale electricity prices are
high. It’s worth nothing that we are moving into a time of seasonal
rainfall and snow melt, so conditions are likely to improve and certainly
we have started the year in far better shape than at the same time in
2017.

If I look out beyond the next few years I’d make the following comments:

In terms of stability, our core New Zealand market is mature, and does
deliver sustainable, efficient and reliable outcomes for New Zealand.
The Meridian generation assets form the backbone of the industry and
as a result Meridian is inherently a very strong business. And I believe
we are managing the operational risk of variable hydro inflows better
than we have ever done.
We continue to invest in our retail business in New Zealand. Whilst
competition is fierce, we have two exceptional brands and I see the
potential for further profitable growth and more efficient operations.
We will also continue to diversify our earnings through strengthening our
position in Australia and the UK and by expanding our Flux platform
offer.

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So, the fundamentals for our business remain very sound and a much
stronger national focus on climate action can only be good for the
electricity sector and for Meridian. We have the expertise and balance
sheet capacity to participate in the growth in renewable electricity that
must occur if our country is to achieve zero carbon by 2050.

Thankyou.

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Meridian Energy Limited 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting
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ORDER OF BUSINESS



 
CHAIR’S ADDRESS


 
CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW


 
QUESTIONS


 
RESOLUTIONS

Meridian Energy Limited 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting
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Meridian Energy Limited 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting
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Government is looking to ensure New
Zealand delivers a low emissions economy


 
Electrification offers the opportunity to
remove up to 32 million tonnes of carbon
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5%
17%
20%
49%
6%
3%
NZ 2016 SECTOR EMISSIONS
Electricity Road transport Stationary energy* Agricultural Industrial processes
Waste
*manufacturing (including milk processing), construction and commercial sectors and domestic heating
32 million tonnes
Source: Ministry for the Environment

Meridian Energy Limited 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting
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New Zealand electricity market is one of
the best performing in the world


 
Reinforced by the World Energy Council
and New Zealand Productivity Commission
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Source: World Energy Council

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State and Federal Government reviews
of electricity price transparency and affordability


 
Australia is struggling to transition to a
decarbonised energy system due to political instability
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RESIDENTIAL PRICE COMPARISON

AUSTRALIA
NEW
ZEALAND
Average 2018 prices, Nominal, Including GST
40.76
NZD c/kWh
29.03
NZD c/kWh

2008-2018 Average annual increase, Real, Including GST
5.1% per
annum
1.4% per
annum
Source: ACCC, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Meridian

Meridian Energy Limited 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting
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FY18 EBITDAF
1
1.4% higher than FY17


 
Dividends paid during FY18 1.9% higher
than FY17


 
Total shareholder return in FY18 of 14%


 
Capital management programme
extended to 2022
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Source: Meridian
19%
33%
31%
17%
14%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
%
Financial Year ended 30 June
TOTAL SHAREHOLDER RETURN
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
1
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and
changes in fair value of hedges and other significant items

Meridian Energy Limited 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting
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Neal Barclay, new Chief Executive since
1 January 2018


 
Resignation of Stephen Reindler,
Director since 2008


 
Institute of Directors Future Director
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Meridian Energy Limited 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting
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Renewable generation supports our
authentic sustainability leadership


 
90% electric Meridian passenger fleet
by 2020


 
Seeking hydro insurance products from
cleaner forms of fuel


 
Net carbon zero across our operations


 
Standout green credentials in Australia
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L
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Unrelenting commitment to the safety
and wellbeing of our people


 
Committed to achieving gender pay
parity, currently 98%


 
Rainbow Tick accreditation supports our
diversity and inclusion


 
Voluntary increase in paid parental
leave to 22 weeks
O
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P
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Two significant dry periods during FY18


 
Lowest generation volumes since 2013


 
Improved electricity hedge markets


 
Delivering on our strategy of growing in
retail and overseas
F
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500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
01-Jul 01-Sep 01-Nov 01-Jan 01-Mar 01-May
GWh
MERIDIAN'S WAITAKI STORAGE
FY2018
Average
Source: Meridian

Meridian Energy Limited 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting
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Customer connections grew by 14,000
during FY18


 
Disconnection rate has reduced by 80%
in the last five years


 
Meridian is replacing prompt payment
discounts with a guaranteed discount not tied to a due date


 
Transitioning Meridian customers onto
our Flux Federation software platform
O
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C
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277
276
275
277
291
250
260
270
280 290 300
Jun-14 Jun-15 Jun-16 Jun-17 Jun-18
ICP (000)
NEW ZEALAND CUSTOMER NUMBERS
Source: Meridian

Meridian Energy Limited 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting
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Meridian is supporting NZAS with an
additional 50MW energy solution


 
A good sign that NZAS are investing in
increased production at Tiwai Point
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U
M
I
N
U
M

S
M
E
L
T
E
R
S

Meridian Energy Limited 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting
15


 
Mostly supportive of the Electricity Price
Review Panel’s findings


 
55% of New Zealanders considered
switching electricity retailer in the last year


 
Energy hardship is a complex social
issue
R
E
T
A
I
L

E
L
E
C
T
R
I
C
I
T
Y

P
R
I
C
E
S

9
11
13
15 17
19
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
c/KWh
Financial Year ended 30 June
REAL RESIDENTIAL ELECTRICITY COST

Energy and other component
Lines component
+4%
since
2009
+28%
since
2009
Source: Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

Meridian Energy Limited 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting
16


 
Medium term demand growth looks to
be similar to current modest growth, however:


 
Current thermal generation is aging


 
Policy momentum for Net Zero Carbon
New Zealand by 2050


 
These factors are reflected in higher
longer term demand growth forecasts


 
A more balanced RMA framework is
needed
D
E
M
A
N
D

O
U
T
L
O
O
K

F
O
R

T
H
E

S
E
C
T
O
R

I
N

N
Z

30
40
50
60
70 80 90
1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 2030 2034 2038 2042 2046 2050
TWh
DEMAND FORECASTS
NZ Historical Demand Transpower MBIE - High MBIE - Low Productivity Comm. - High Productivity Comm. - Low Meridian - High Meridian - Low
Source: Meridian

Meridian Energy Limited 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting
17


 
Volatile Australian electricity market has
seen customer growth stop


 
New hydro assets and renewable offtake
agreements acquired


 
Retail gas launched in Victoria


 
Customer growth of 38% in the
Powershop UK customers since July 2018
O
F
F
S
H
O
R
E

Meridian’s new Australian hydro assets, from top, Hume, Burrinjuck, Keepit

Meridian Energy Limited 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting
18


 
Current storage is slightly below
average


 
Stronger national focus on climate
action will benefit the electricity sector and Meridian


 
Fundamentals of the business remain
strong
C
O
N
C
L
U
D
I
N
G

C
O
M
M
E
N
T
S

0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
1-Jan 1-Mar 1-May 1-Jul 1-Sep 1-Nov
GWh
MERIDIAN'S WAITAKI STORAGE
Average 1979-
2015
2016
2017
2018
Source: Meridian

Meridian Energy Limited 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting
19
Q
U
E
S
T
I
O
N
S

Meridian Energy Limited 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting
20
R
E
S
O
L
U
T
I
O
N
S

A
N
D

V
O
T
I
N
G

Meridian Energy Limited 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting
21
V
O
T
E

T
O
T
A
L
S

RE-ELECTION OF
MARK CAIRNS
RE-ELECTION OF
ANAKE GOODALL
RE-ELECTION OF
PETER WILSON
POSTAL AND ONLINE VOTES ALREADY CAST FOR 584,210,583 586,381,265 583,768,375 AGAINST 2,878,427 671,008 3,263,480 ABSTAIN 1,806,196 1,808,183 1,837,801 VOTES APPOINTED TO PROXIES NOT YET CAST
1

1,312,450,737 1,312,485,487 1,312,476,287
TOTAL

1,901,345,943 1,901,345,943 1,901,345,943
1
Votes held by the Chair, Directors and other proxies

Meridian Energy Limited 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting
22
Re-election of Mark Cairns

 
That Mark Cairns, who retires by
rotation and is eligible for re-election, be re-elected as a Director of the Company
R
E
S
O
L
U
T
I
O
N

1

Meridian Energy Limited 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting
23
Re-election of Anake Goodall

 
That Anake Goodall, who retires by
rotation and is eligible for re-election, be re-elected as a Director of the Company
R
E
S
O
L
U
T
I
O
N

2

Meridian Energy Limited 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting
24
Re-election of Peter Wilson

 
That Peter Wilson, who retires by
rotation and is eligible for re-election, be re-elected as a Director of the Company
R
E
S
O
L
U
T
I
O
N

3

Meridian Energy Limited 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting
25
C
L
O
S
I
N
G

Meridian Energy Limited 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting
25

Meridian Energy Limited 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting
26
D
I
S
C
L
A
I
M
E
R

THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION WAS PREPARED BY MERIDIAN ENERGY WITH DUE CARE AND ATTENTION. HOWEVER, THE INFORMATION IS SUPPLIED IN SUMMARY FORM AND IS THEREFORE NOT NECESSARILY COMPLETE, AND NO REPRESENTATION IS MADE AS TO THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS OR RELIABILITY OF THE INFORMATION. IN ADDITION, NEITHER THE COMPANY NOR ANY OF ITS DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, SHAREHOLDERS NOR ANY OTHER PERSON SHALL HAVE LIABILITY WHATSOEVER TO ANY PERSON FOR ANY LOSS (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ARISING FROM ANY FAULT OR NEGLIGENCE) ARISING FROM THIS PRESENTATION OR ANY INFORMATION SUPPLIED IN CONNECTION WITH IT. THIS PRESENTATION MAY CONTAIN FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND PROJECTIONS. THESE REFLECT MERIDIAN’S CURRENT EXPECTATIONS, BASED ON WHAT IT THINKS ARE REASONABLE ASSUMPTIONS. MERIDIAN GIVES NO WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION AS TO ITS FUTURE FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OR ANY FUTURE MATTER. EXCEPT AS REQUIRED BY LAW OR NZX OR ASX LISTING RULES, MERIDIAN IS NOT OBLIGED TO UPDATE THIS PRESENTATION AFTER ITS RELEASE, EVEN IF THINGS CHANGE MATERIALLY. THIS PRESENTATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE FINANCIAL ADVICE. FURTHER, THIS PRESENTATION IS NOT AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS AN OFFER TO SELL OR A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY MERIDIAN ENERGY SECURITIES AND MAY NOT BE RELIED UPON IN CONNECTION WITH ANY PURCHASE OF MERIDIAN ENERGY
SECURITIES. THIS PRESENTATION CONTAINS A NUMBER OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES, INCLUDING ENERGY MARGIN, EBITDAF, UNDERLYING NPAT AND GEARING. BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT DEFINED BY GAAP OR IFRS, MERIDIAN'S CALCULATION OF THESE MEASURES MAY DIFFER FROM SIMILARLY TITLED MEASURES PRESENTED BY OTHER COMPANIES AND THEY SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED IN ISOLATION FROM, OR CONSTRUED AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO, OTHER FINANCIAL MEASURES DETERMINED IN ACCORDANCE WITH GAAP. ALTHOUGH MERIDIAN BELIEVES THEY PROVIDE USEFUL INFORMATION IN MEASURING THE FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE AND CONDITION OF MERIDIAN'S BUSINESS, READERS ARE CAUTIONED NOT TO PLACE UNDUE RELIANCE ON THESE NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES. THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS PRESENTATION SHOULD BE CONSIDERED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE COMPANY’S FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, WHICH ARE INCLUDED IN MERIDIAN’S INTEGRATED REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2018 AND IS AVAILABLE AT: WWW.MERIDIANENERGY.CO.NZ/INVESTORS/ ALL CURRENCY AMOUNTS ARE IN NEW ZEALAND DOLLARS UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE.