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Meridian Energy Limited 2021 Full Year Financial Results

Full Year Results24 August 2021MELUtilities

Release






M e r i d i a n E n e r g y L i m i t e d ( A R B N 1 5 1 8 0 0 3 9 6 ) A c o m p a n y i n c o r p o r a t e d i n N e w Z e a l a n d

L e v e l 2 , 5 5 L a d y E l i z a b e t h L a n e , P O B o x 1 0 8 4 0 , W e l l i n g t o n 6 1 4 3


m e r i d i a n e n e r g y . c o . n z

Stock Exchange Listings NZX (MEL) ASX (MEZ)

Meridian delivers sound results, underlying drivers of

business value remain strong


25 August 2021

Meridian has reported underlying net profit after tax

1

for the Group of $232m, down $84m or 27% on the

prior year. EBITDAF

2

for the year was $729m, down $124m or 15% on the prior year. With the benefit of

$248 million of positive non-cash movements in the value of hedge instruments, Meridian Energy has

reported $428 million of net profit after tax for the year ended 30 June 2021.

The previous two years saw record results powered by strong generation and growing retail sales

volumes. This year the company maintained that strong retail sales growth with New Zealand volumes up

14% on the prior year. Challenging drought conditions prevailed through much of the second six months

of the year and as a result New Zealand hydro generation was down 12% on the previous year. Notably

the inflows into Meridian’s hydro catchments from November 2020 to April 2021 were the third lowest

on record during that period.

Chief Executive Neal Barclay says, “We certainly experienced some challenges in FY21. Drought

conditions during the second half of the financial year dampened our cash earnings by reducing

generation and increasing hedge costs but that is just part and parcel of being a hydro generation

company in New Zealand. Also, the price we negotiated with the owners of Tiwai Point Aluminum

Smelter to extend operations to 2024 reduced during the second half of the year. Whilst both events

were significant and impacted financial performance, the underlying drivers of future business value

remained strong, in particular growth in customer sales and our commitment to build the Harapaki wind

farm.”

The ordinary dividend remains stable with the Board declaring a final ordinary dividend of 11.20 cents per

share, unchanged from the previous year. This brings the total ordinary dividends declared in FY21 to

16.90 cents per share, also unchanged from last financial year. This year, Meridian announced the

introduction of a Dividend Reinvestment Plan, that will apply from this year’s final ordinary dividend. The

Board has resolved to apply a 2.0% discount to this dividend under the DRP.


1

Net profit before tax adjusted for the effects of changes in fair value of hedges and other non-cash items. Underlying net profit after tax

is a non-GAAP financial measure. Because they are not defined by GAAP or IFRS, Meridian’s calculation of such 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. A reconciliation of underlying net profit after tax is included on page 3.

2

EBITDAF is a non-GAAP financial measure but is commonly used within the electricity industry as a measure of performance as it shows

the level of earnings before impact of gearing levels and non-cash charges such as depreciation and amortization. Market analysts use the

measure as an input into company valuation and valuation metrics used to assess relative value and performance of companies across the

sector.


m e r i d i a n e n e r g y . c o . n z

PG 2



Customers

Meridian has continued to focus on customers first. “It was pleasing to see that our commitment to

excellent customer service is being recognised. In New Zealand, Powershop won the Canstar and

Consumer New Zealand awards for customer satisfaction and trust, and over in Australia Powershop was

recognised once again by Canstar Blue, Finder and Roy Morgan for customer satisfaction,” Barclay says.


Alert Level 4

Meridian’s staff are again proving resilient and flexible to the greater COVID-19 restrictions New Zealand

is now experiencing. “We are thankful to our staff for their hugely positive response to the lockdown,

particularly those helping customers who may be facing greater hardship from the current restrictions.

Early indications suggest system demand has again reduced with Alert Level 4, although not to the same

extent that was seen in 2020,” adds Barclay.


NZAS exit

Meridian announced in January 2021, that it had reached an agreement with its largest customer, Rio

Tinto, who operate the Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter in Southland, to support the smelter to remain

operational for a further four years. Some terms are more favourable to the smelter owner in exchange

for creating time for the Southland economy and the electricity sector to transition to life without the

smelter in an orderly fashion. Meridian is gaining good traction on South Island load alternatives such as

the Southern Green Hydrogen project, for when the smelter exits at the end of 2024.

“We are working on a number of opportunities that have the potential to not only enhance the value of

our business, but also create lasting long-term value for New Zealand,” adds Barclay.


Climate action

“As a 100% renewable electricity generator who is committed to protecting our environment, we’re

supportive of the Climate Change Commission’s final advice to Government. If adopted, these measures

can help enable Aotearoa to change course with sufficient pace and scale to set us on a path to achieve

our climate commitments. More than $7 billion of new renewable generation must be built to enable

New Zealand to achieve its climate goals and at Meridian we are committed to delivering our share of

that build programme. The $395 million Harapaki wind farm that our Board approved in February this

year is a tangible step on this path.

“Aotearoa’s imperative to decarbonise the economy along with the expiry of our contract to supply the

aluminium smelter at Tiwai Point in late 2024 have reset the playing field for Meridian and the electricity

sector as a whole. We believe by staying true to our sustainability values and by continuing to strengthen

our brands, our people and our renewable asset base, Meridian can deliver on our customer and

renewables generation growth strategies and continue to provide value for all our stakeholders,” says

Barclay.


m e r i d i a n e n e r g y . c o . n z

PG 3





ENDS

Neal Barclay

Chief Executive

Meridian Energy Limited


For investor relations queries, please contact:

Owen Hackston

Investor Relations Manager

021 246 4772

For media queries, please contact:

Polly Atkins

External Communications Manager

021 174 1715


Income statement

Financial year ended 30 June

2021

2020

$M

New Zealand energy margin

994

1,122

Australia energy margin

97

122

Other revenue

29

27

Energy transmission expense

(87)

(123)

Electricity metering expense

(39)

(36)

Employee and other operating expenses

(265)

(259)

EBITDAF

729

853

Depreciation and amortisation

(303)

(312)

Impairment of assets

6

(58)

Gain/(loss) on sale of assets

(1)

-

Net change in fair value of electricity and other hedges

169

(113)

Net finance costs

(84)

(84)

Net change in fair value of treasury instruments

79

(48)

Net profit before tax

595

238

Income tax expense

(167)

(63)

Net profit after tax

428

175

UNPAT

Financial year ended 30 June

2021

2020

$M

Net profit after tax

428

175

Underlying adjustments

Hedging instruments

Net change in fair value of electricity and other hedges

(169)

113

Net change in fair value of treasury instruments

(79)

48

Premiums paid on electricity options net of interest

(20)

(20)

Assets

(Gain)/loss on sale of assets

1

-

Impairment of assets

(6)

58

Total adjustments before tax

(273)

199

Taxation

Tax effect of above adjustments

77

(58)

Underlying net profit after tax

232

316

---

Generating change:
Changing generation

Meridian

Energy

Limited.

Integrated

Report 2021.

Changeneedsenergy.

66Meeting changing needs of our customers
67Healthy customer growth

69Flux growth underpins our success

69Work on Harapaki wind farm begins

69Pipeline of generation options

71Distributed energy

71Shining examples of solar

72Equipping our people for changes ahead

75Future of work

76More work needed to increase safety

78Supporting the work of others

78Stronger sense of belonging

81Keeping our technology systems safe

82

Rewarding energy

84

Our approach to remunerating our people

95

Further disclosures

112

Generating returns

114Financial statements

161Financial auditor’s report

165Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards

assurance report

167GRI Content Index

173Directory

Menu

02

Introduction

11Change needs energy

12A material difference

15Our process

16Reducing our material topics

21We are one of New Zealand’s largest organisations

22What drives us

28

Directors’ statement

32Our commitment to effective governance

36

Chair and CEO’s report

38Pushing forward with change

48Market leadership

49Taking care of our own backyard

51Working with our suppliers

53Contribution to public policy

53Energy wellbeing

56Putting customers first

56Green financing

58

Building sustainable relationships

59NZAS extended exit agreement

60Challenging hydrology

62Relationships with local communities and iwi

63Impact on water

64Impact on biodiversity

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

1

This needs
to change

Extreme weather events are one of the effects of climate change that directly affect Meridian.

Our commitment to decarbonisation is about limiting the changes New Zealand faces.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

INTRODUCTION

This needs
to change

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

INTRODUCTION

3

4
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

INTRODUCTION

This will
change

Our contract with New Zealand’s Aluminium Smelter (NZAS) runs until

the end of 2024. We are looking at new ways to maximise the use of

Aotearoa’s renewable energy advantage to make the most of this power.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

INTRODUCTION

5

This is
changing

Our partnerships focus on how we can help people and our planet.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

INTRODUCTION

6

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021
INTRODUCTION

7

This isn’t changing
fast enough

Australia’s dependence on fossil fuels is holding back the adoption of renewables. This year we grew our customer base,

but low wholesale prices and the uncertain policy environment are potentially stifling incentives to innovate.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

INTRODUCTION

8

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021
INTRODUCTION

9

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021
INTRODUCTION

10

Change
needs

energy

Big challenges and opportunities are here right

now – and more are on their way. We are excited

and committed to shaping the journey to a net

zero world. As Aotearoa’s largest renewable

electricity generator and a sustainability pioneer in

Australia, Meridian has the scale and the resources

to help secure a clean energy future, where all

New Zealanders thrive. Generating affordable,

clean, renewable power is key to a more equitable

and sustainable future and our goal is to make the

renewable energy we generate as accessible as

possible to households, businesses and industries.

The immediate challenges of a dry year, decisions

around Tīwai Point, a downward-sliding trading

situation in Australia and regulator rulings have

been complemented by the commencement of

our Harapaki wind farm, a positive trading year in

New Zealand, growth in our Australian customer

base and a financial result that reflects the hard

work and commitment of our team.

Meridian is set on shaping a clean energy future

that our customers, communities and country can

be proud of. It’s about working together for the

long term, caring about the big things and the small

things; it’s in the actions we take today and how we

plan for and invest in our future.

Clean energy for a fairer and healthier world.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

INTRODUCTION

11

We rely on the effective management of a wide range of resources, including our physical
assets, our technology platforms, our financial capital, our people and their knowledge,

our many relationships and the natural resources we use to generate electricity and value.

We are committed to providing transparent, evidence-based information

in a way that is simple to digest and is consistent with best practice.

A material

difference

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

INTRODUCTION

12

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021
INTRODUCTION

13

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021
INTRODUCTION

14

Our process
This year we conducted a materiality assessment with key stakeholders through

an independent consultant. This included reviewing the Global Reporting Initiative

topics and material topics regularly reported on by electricity generators and

retailers in New Zealand and Australia.

We asked our stakeholders to identify Meridian’s most material topics and what we

should be reporting on and addressing. We applied the outputs from this process

to help develop a stakeholder strategy and inform the material topics for this annual

report. As in previous years, we also examined Board papers, assessed our risk

register and reviewed issues that had received media coverage.

In FY18 we identified the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

that we believe are most relevant to our business. Our commitment to making a

renewable difference for the future led us to focus on two SDGs – SDG7 Affordable

and Clean Energy and SDG13 Climate Action – as these apply to areas where we

believe we can make the biggest difference.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

INTRODUCTION

15

INTRODUCTION

This year we reduced our
material topics to 12 from

16 based on the materiality

assessment completed with

our stakeholders. In this

report, we focus on:

Reducing our material topics

1. Pipeline of generation options

2. Electricity pricing

3. Sustainability leadership

4. Action on climate change

5. Support for vulnerable customers

6. Distributed energy resources

7. Good governance, ethical

behaviour and reporting

8. Impact on water

9. Contribution to public policy

10. Financial impacts of climate change

11. Cybersecurity

12. Impact on biodiversity

Our key stakeholders are those

who can have a significant

impact on our business, or

on whom we can have a

significant potential impact

through our activities.

• Investors

• The Crown

• Ngāi Tahu and other iwi

• Shareholders

• Customers

• New Zealand public

(and their elected officials)

• Regulators

• The electricity sector

• Asset communities

• Local government

• Employees

• Suppliers

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

INTRODUCTION

16

INTRODUCTION
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

INTRODUCTION

17

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021
INTRODUCTION

18

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021
INTRODUCTION

In FY20 we were assessed for and included in the Asia Pacific

Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), which adopts a robust and

structured Environmental, Social, and Governance framework

to assess performance. We also were assessed in FY20 under the

Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a global environmental disclosure

system, and were proud to receive an increased rating of A-

for climate change in FY20. We submitted again in FY21 for

inclusion in the Asia Pacific DJSI and to be assessed under the

CDP framework.

We’ve entered our third year of completing a voluntary Climate

Change Disclosure report, in accordance with the recommendations

of the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

Our annual Climate Risk Disclosure report has again been

prepared in accordance with the recommendations of the TCFD.

This report describes the financial impacts of climate-related risks

and opportunities – including how these are governed, how risks

are managed, any impacts or influences of these on our strategy and

what associated metrics and targets we set for ourselves. Our FY21

Climate Change Disclosure is available at www.meridianenergy.co.nz/

who-we-are/sustainability/climate-disclosures.

We also prepare our annual report to meet integrated reporting

standards to ensure we communicate concisely how our strategy,

governance and performance, in the context of our external

environment, seek to cause balanced, sustainable value creation.

Authenticity in reporting

19

This is our business
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

INTRODUCTION

20

This is our business
We are one of New Zealand’s

largest organisations

$5b

NET ASSETS

Up

FY21 REVENUE

$4b

Up

$13b

TOTAL MARKET CAPITALISATION

Up

FY21 EBITDAF*

$729m

Down

100%

RENEWABLE ENERGY GENERATOR

– FROM WIND, WATER AND SUN

NZ

MAJORITY OWNED BY

THE NZ GOVERNMENT

10%

LEGISLATED MAXIMUM

NON-CROWN OWNERSHIP

LISTED ON

BOTH THENZX + ASX

* EBITDAF is a non-GAAP financial measure of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation, changes in fair value of hedges, impairment and gains or losses on sales of assets.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

INTRODUCTION

21

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Our purpose:

Cleaner energy

for a fairer and

healthier world.

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What drives us

Our purpose of clean energy for a fairer

and healthier world is at the centre of

everything we do. To deliver on our

purpose we have focused on areas

in which we can make a meaningful

difference, and that also align with

our values and goals of climate action,

putting our customers first, and being

a great place to work and our role as

a responsible generator. We strive to

achieve these goals by ‘being gutsy’,

‘being in the waka’ and ‘being a good

human’ to ensure that we are able

to deliver positive outcomes for

New Zealand and our shareholders.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

INTRODUCTION

22

7
AU

1 office

88 employees

(17 at our power stations)

Customer connections (incl gas)

1 Excludes Tīwai Point aluminium smelter

FLUX

Remote-first

workforce spread

across 3 countries.

131 employees

NZ

Retailing as:

Meridian Energy

Powershop

5 offices

869 employees

(94 at our power stations)

CUSTOMERS

Customer connections

346K185K

~15% national retail volume

1

GENERATION

52

Retailing as:

Powershop, and providing energy services to Kogan Energy

Licensing the Flux platform

~30% national electricity generation

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

INTRODUCTION

23

Key changes this year
Environment

• Climate Change Commission report

released, sets policy direction for

decarbonisation of the economy

• Launched Process Heat Electrification

Programme to electrify process heat

• Launched AC EV charging network

• 60,000 stems planted to date

under Forever Forests programme

Performance

• Group retail electricity sales volumes

for FY21 were 14% higher than last year

• 7% growth in New Zealand customer numbers

• Powershop passed 100,000 customers

• 4% growth in Australian electricity

customer numbers

• 500,000 customers migrated to Flux

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

INTRODUCTION

24

Looking ahead
• Arrangements with NZAS finalised

• Harapaki wind farm consented,

construction commenced

• New demand opportunities identified

Community & people

• Issued first Modern Slavery Statement

• Reaffirmed our commitment

to support KidsCan

• 92% positive staff safety, health

and wellbeing sentiment

• Launched a Future of Work initiative

to help future-proof our workforce

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

INTRODUCTION

25

Sizing up our risks
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

INTRODUCTION

26

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021
INTRODUCTION

The Board sets Meridian’s overall

appetite for risk and its approach

to risk management. A summary of

Meridian’s key risks can be found in the

FY21 Corporate Governance Statement,

available at www.meridianenergy.

co.nz/assets/Investors/Governance/

Meridian-Energy-Corporate-

Governance-Statement.pdf.

The risks identified are:

• demand risks

• market supply

• adverse hydrological conditions

• catastrophic event

• critical equipment or

technology failure

• health and safety

• regulatory risk of access to water

• legislative and regulatory risk

• competitor behaviour

• information technology security

• substantial changes in the costs of

different generation technologies

• transmission pricing methodology

• COVID-19.

The three risks identified

as priorities are:

• demand risks – there is a risk that

new electricity demand will not

emerge to offset the reduction

in electricity use caused by the

expiry of our contract with NZAS

and potential closure of Tiwai

Point aluminium smelter in

December 2024. The key mitigation

here is Meridian’s project to find

new sources of demand, which

includes projects such as process

heat electrification, data centres

and green hydrogen production.

Meridian’s 2021 Climate Related

Disclosure (our TCFD report)

also captures the opportunity

for new electricity demand, the

electrification of industrial heat

and transport.

• market supply – there is a risk

of a disorderly transition to 100%

renewable electricity generation.

One key risk is the premature

retirement of thermal generation

prior to new renewable electricity

being in place – specifically the

risk of the early retirement of

gas generation given its role as

a transition fuel. Another key risk

is that market interventions

will affect the potential returns

from new renewable electricity

projects, which would likely

have a detrimental impact on

investment in new generation.

In addition, Meridian’s 2021 TCFD

report identifies the potential for

an increase in electricity spot price

volatility as a result of the increased

proportion of renewable generation.

• In response, Meridian has adapted

its underlying assumptions to

the market position, updating its

strategy. This flows through to the

preparation for and accelerated

delivery of new generation

and flexible demand response

investments, such as options like

hydrogen and the role it could play,

in a dry year scenario, operating

practices and how the company

engages with stakeholders and

the messages it shares.

• legislative and regulatory risk –

changes in public policy that

lead to changes in legislation or

regulation, including electricity

regulation (i.e. change to market

regulation and potentially market

structures resulting from ongoing

scrutiny and evolving attitudes to

regulation of wholesale market

trading or from initiatives such

as the NZ Battery project which

may result in the Crown having

a direct stake in pumped hydro

generation), changes in policies

to support renewable energy, and

new or amended environmental

regulations. Meridian engages

with Government and industry

regulators and is involved in

relevant regulatory processes.

Meridian actively supports work

on climate change, including the

Government’s sustainable 2030

future of New Zealand. As such,

we were the first New Zealand

listed company to meet TCFD

reporting requirements.

We have mitigation plans in place

for all these risks.

27

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021
DIREC TORS ’ STATEMENT

28

Directors’
statement

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

DIREC TORS ’ STATEMENT

29

About this report
This integrated report reviews our financial,

economic, social and environmental performance

for the year ended 30 June (FY21). It has been

prepared using the Value Reporting Foundation’s

integrated reporting framework.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

DIREC TORS ’ STATEMENT

30

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021
DIREC TORS ’ STATEMENT

The report covers the performance of all members of the Meridian Group,

including our Meridian Energy and Powershop brands in New Zealand and

Australia, Dam Safety Intelligence in New Zealand and Flux Federation (Flux),

our electricity retailing software business that operates in New Zealand,

Australia and the United Kingdom.

For the most part, the focus is on Group performance, although many of the

topics discussed centre primarily on the parent company because the other

businesses are smaller (less than 10% of Group revenue).

The report reflects the responsibility we feel throughout the Group for Meridian

to make best use of the natural forces at its disposal and to take care of its

customers, our people, our local communities, iwi and the environment.

We believe this approach strengthens Meridian’s ability to continue to

deliver both attractive shareholder returns and value to all our stakeholders.

About the Meridian Group

The Meridian Group is listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX) and

the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). It is one of New Zealand’s largest companies

on the NZX, with a total market capitalisation in excess of $13 billion, operating

revenue in FY21 of $4 billion, EBITDAF of $729 million and net assets of $5 billion.

Our workforce of around 1,088 people is directly employed by or contracted to us.

Third parties provide us with ICT, facilities’ management and meter-reading services.

We are majority owned by the New Zealand Government. Legislation specifically

precludes our having any other significant shareholders (i.e. more than a 10% holding).

31

How we prepared
this report

The Board has established processes to

ensure the quality and integrity of this

integrated report and has entrusted

Management with preparing and

presenting it accordingly.

To ensure all data is as accurate as

possible, the financial information

has been prepared in accordance

with appropriate financial reporting

standards (see page 119) and audited

by Mike Hoshek for Deloitte Limited

on behalf of the Auditor-General

(see the Independent Auditor’s

Report on page 161).

The non-financial information has

been prepared in accordance with

the GRI Standards: Core option

requirements of the Global Reporting

Initiative’s (GRI Standards) Sutainability

Reporting Standards. This sustainability

content has received a limited assurance

engagement from Deloitte Limited

(see the Independent Accountant’s

Assurance Report on page 165).

The Meridian Group Greenhouse

Gas Inventory Report FY21 is

summarised on pages 50 and 51

of this report. It has received a

reasonable assurance engagement

from Deloitte Limited.

Our commitment to

effective governance

Our Board closely monitors how

the company is managing long-term

drivers of value, such as retaining

access to water, building employee

engagement, investing in new assets,

enhancing environmental performance,

satisfying customers and building our

reputation and brand.

Strategy days and regular meetings

allow Board members to share their

thoughts and challenge Management

on the direction in which they wish

to take the business.

The Board also sets Meridian’s overall

appetite for risk and approach to risk

management. Our FY21 Corporate

Governance Statement summarises

our key risks. You can find a copy of this

Statement at www.meridianenergy.

co.nz/assets/Investors/Governance/

Meridian-Energy-Corporate-

Governance-Statement.pdf. We have

also included information on our risks

and how we manage them in this report.

Meridian complies with the NZX

Corporate Governance Code

recommendations in all material

respects (with the exception of

recommendation 3.6 – see

page 110 for more details).

Our Board structure

Meridian recruits Board members with

a range of skills and experience. There

are currently four female members

and four male members, bringing

gender balance to our Board as well as

contributing to the Board’s expertise.

While the company’s constitution

does not specifically require it,

Meridian’s Board has a collective

view that Ngāi Tahu, which has mana

whenua (authority over the land) over

the majority of the South Island where

most of Meridian’s assets are located,

is such an important stakeholder that

a position on the Board for someone

with connectivity to Ngāi Tahu should

always be considered. This role is

currently undertaken by Anake Goodall,

the former Chief Executive Officer of

Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu (Ngāi Tahu’s

governing body).

Biographies of our directors and

the Executive Team are available at

www.meridianenergy.co.nz/who-

we-are. All directors are independent

directors.

The role of committees

Committees support the Board by

providing detail on specific issues and

having subject matter experts provide

insights and advice. The Committees,

and the Board as a whole, cover the

spectrum of resources on which we

depend for our business success, feed

in to the company’s overall strategy

and direction and keep the Board well

informed of day-to-day operations.

The Board and Committees also

oversee progress on our SDGs. The

Safety and Sustainability Committee

has responsibility for our progress on

SDG7 Affordable and Clean Energy

and SDG13 Climate Action.

The Board as a whole oversees our

progress as a responsible generator,

particularly as it pertains to the

Waitaki reconsenting process. Our

People and Remuneration Committee

oversees Meridian’s maintenance

and development of being a great

place to work. Our Audit and Risk

Committee assists the Board in fulfilling

its responsibilities in matters related

to risk management and financial

accounting and reporting.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

DIREC TORS ’ STATEMENT

32

View director biographies at:
www.meridianenergy.co.nz/who-we-are/about-meridian/board-of-directors.

Our Board

Diversity of perspective is important.

Meridian recruits Board members with

a range of skills and experience.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

DIREC TORS ’ STATEMENT

33

Nagaja Sanatkumar Independent Director

Anake Goodall Independent Director

Julia Hoare Independent Director

Peter Wilson Deputy Chair

Mark Cairns Independent Director

Jan Dawson Independent Director

Michelle Henderson Independent Director

Mark Verbiest Chair

The role of
people and culture

Our people are critical to the successful

delivery of our strategic goals, policies

and processes.

The Board has approved a wide range

of policies that Management are

required to adhere to and incorporate

in the company’s operations, including

a Code of Conduct, the content of

which all employees agree to honour.

The Code provides guidance to staff

on the behaviours that are expected

and how to handle the issues and

challenges they may face. Our

approach to remunerating our

people is on page 84.

If you would like

further information

As a business with a significant retail

shareholder base, we want to be as

accessible and open as possible. If you

are a shareholder, please feel free to

ask questions, request information or

comment on this report via Meridian’s

website or by directly contacting

the Investor Relations Manager at

investors@meridianenergy.co.nz.

We hope you will be able to attend

the 2021 annual shareholder meeting

in person. The Board has a policy of

rotating the location of the meeting

between Auckland, Wellington and

Christchurch, and our 2021 meeting will

be held in Auckland. We will provide

you with more information closer to the

time in the Notice of Meeting. If you

can not attend, there will be a link to a

live webcast on the Meridian website.

ResourcesBoard oversight

Financial and manufactured capital

(our cash and assets)

Audit and Risk Committee

TechnologyFull Board

Human capital

— Our people and expertisePeople and Remuneration Committee

— Health and safetySafety and Sustainability Committee

Relationships and reputation


— Our people and expertisePeople and Remuneration Committee

— All other groupsSafety and Sustainability Committee and full Board

Natural resourcesSafety and Sustainability Committee

Significant risks around resources,

including risks due to climate change

Audit and Risk Committee

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

DIREC TORS ’ STATEMENT

34

Our Executive Team
Neal Barclay Chief Executive

Tania Palmer Chief People Officer

Mike Roan Chief Financial Officer

Lisa Hannifin Chief Customer Officer

Guy Waipara General Manager, Generation and Natural Resources

Jason Woolley General Counsel and Company Secretary

Claire Shaw General Manager, Corporate Affairs and Sustainabillity

Jason Stein Chief Executive, Meridian Energy Australia Pty Limited,

Powershop Australia Pty Limited

Nic Kennedy Chief Executive, Flux Federation Limited

Chris Ewers General Manager, Wholesale

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

DIREC TORS ’ STATEMENT

35

vt
Leadership

means speaking up when it counts

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

CHAIR AND CEO’S REPORT

36

CHAIR AND CEO’S REPORT

vt
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

CHAIR AND CEO’S REPORT

37

CHAIR AND CEO’S REPORT

Pushing forward with change
This has been perhaps the most challenging year

for Meridian since the company was listed. The

announcement very early in the year of the planned

closure of NZAS at Tīwai Point in Southland, the

prolonged drought through the second half of the

year and of course from COVID-19, all required close and

careful management. Despite the challenges we were

very pleased that our underlying business performance

remained strong. And the opportunities for the future

that are starting to take shape appear promising.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

CHAIR AND CEO’S REPORT

38

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021
CHAIR AND CEO’S REPORT

Ultimately, we believe our company is exceptionally well placed for the future,

as is the electricity sector as a whole. The expiry of the NZAS contract in

December 2024 and the Government’s commitment to combating climate

change have accelerated the opportunity to transition to a more sustainable

energy sector at a much faster rate than previously imagined possible. We

have an immense opportunity in front of us, and a tailwind of climate activism

and global investor support for companies like Meridian that are committed

to sustainability and climate action.

An exit becomes an opportunity

NZAS accounts for 13% of our country’s electricity demand and is a large

employer in Southland. So the quick exit of the smelter by August 2021,

originally proposed by the owners, would have been very disruptive for the

Southland community and the electricity sector. Consequently, we negotiated

a discounted price with the smelter’s owners in exchange for an extension to

our fixed-price contract to December 2024. The revised pricing reflects a ‘cents

in the dollar’ deal that was designed to buy time and does not represent pricing

that is sustainable for the long term. The contract extension was critical to soften

the blow on the Southland community and allow it time to transition away from

a major employer in the area. The additional time will also allow the electricity

sector to adapt to the loss in demand by enhancing the transmission network

in the lower South Island and working with alternative industries that value

renewable energy to establish new demand in the lower South Island.

In essence, the expiry of the supply contract with NZAS in late 2024 has created

a ‘once in a generation’ opportunity to help grow Aotearoa and decarbonise our

economy. Meridian’s strategy to take advantage of the 5,000 GWh per annum

of energy that will become available when NZAS closes is multi-faceted and can

be summarised as follows:

• We have supported and appreciate Transpower’s agreement to speed up

the upgrade of the lower South Island grid to ensure any surplus energy in

the region can be exported to the rest of New Zealand. That work should

be complete by May 2022.

• We are exploring the feasibility of a grid-scale battery, located in the North

Island. The battery will provide reserve energy and therefore increase the

effective capacity of the Cook Strait cable and allow a greater flow of power

from the South Island to the North Island.

• We continue to grow our retail customer base to, in part, offset the loss

of our largest customer, NZAS.

• We have developed and launched a Process Heat Electrification Programme

to support industrial customers in converting their fossil-fuel-based processes

to electricity.

• We are exploring new demand opportunities that will grow economic value

and jobs for the country, including green data centres and the production

of green hydrogen for both export and domestic use.

We believe all these opportunities have the potential to not only enhance

the value of our business, but also create long-lasting value for New Zealand.

39

Focusing on our customers
Our focus on delivering great value

for our customers continued to pay off

in FY21, and at a headline level we saw

strong growth in our customer numbers

on both sides of the Tasman.

In New Zealand, our dual-brand strategy

and focus on customer satisfaction

continued to resonate, reaching a wide

group of New Zealanders by offering

products for different market segments

and making it easier to work with us.

Powershop led the industry in engaging

with customers, as was evidenced in

its winning the Canstar and Consumer

New Zealand awards for customer

satisfaction and trust.

In Australia we continued to set the

benchmark for a great customer

proposition. Powershop Australia was

once again recognised by Canstar

Blue, Finder and Roy Morgan for

customer satisfaction and market-

leading products and service.

We made very good progress on our

digitalisation journey and around 95% of

customers’ accounts were successfully

migrated to our Flux customer care

and billing platform. We believe Flux

provides a world-class, integrated

platform and it will enhance our ability

to delight our customers with best-

in-class products and services.

We remain very conscious of the need

to support those customers facing

hardship. During the lockdown in

2020 we increased our contribution

to KidsCan by $1 million as we were

concerned about its sources of funding

drying up. In FY21 we matched that

and are now working with KidsCan

to leverage our contribution through

its fundraising activities. We are very

proud of our relationship with KidsCan

as it does an amazing job in supporting

under-privileged children in our society.

We continued our support of the

EnergyMate programme (run by the

Electricity Retailers’ Association of

New Zealand) and were a big advocate

of the introduction by the Electricity

Authority of consumer care guidelines

to ensure the industry adopted a

consistent approach to supporting our

most vulnerable customers. We play

our part with customers who have

impaired credit situations and we

provide products such as Level Pay

and Shopper to help customers

manage their energy bills.

The very high wholesale prices

experienced during the year created

challenges for some customers,

particularly those who chose to take

exposure to spot market prices.

The high prices were driven by a

combination of low hydro inflows

and some, yet to be resolved, supply

constraints in the gas market that first

emerged during 2018. We believe our

Wholesale Team managed our hydro

storage exceptionally well as they

progressively layered in hedge positions

to allow us to conserve water while still

meeting customer needs. Most pundits

expect the gas deliverability issues to

take another year or two to resolve, so

relatively high wholesale prices could

be a feature of the market for some

time to come. Fortunately, the vertically

integrated business model Meridian

has adopted means we have been

able to shield most of our customers,

particularly retail customers, from

those high wholesale prices.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

CHAIR AND CEO’S REPORT

40

The regulatory environment
Early in the year the Electricity

Authority (EA) decided that an

Undesirable Trading Situation (UTS)

occurred during the large flood events

in the South Island in December

2019. While we did not necessarily

agree with the Authority’s finding,

we acknowledge its authority as an

independent regulator to make that

decision and we also acknowledge

that it did consult extensively with

the industry on the issue. We were

pleased that the Authority cleared

Meridian of the alleged breach of

High Standard of Trading Conduct

rules that were in place at the time.

The remedial action decided by

the EA was to reset wholesale prices

during December 2019. While the

implementation of that reset is yet to

take place, it will be completed by the

end of the 2021 calendar year and the

financial impact Meridian is likely to

be immaterial and within the amount

we provided for in last year’s financial

statements.

This year the EA also implemented

changes to the trading conduct rules

for generators offering into the

whole-sale spot market. The EA has

signalled increased monitoring of

offers and a desire to test the new

rules. More positively, the EA has

made good progress on the suite of

recommendations from the Electricity

Price Review that was concluded

in 2019. Progress has included

the development of a commercial

market-making framework for the

exchange-traded electricity futures

product in New Zealand.

For the next financial year, we

expect a continued focus on security

of electricity supply following the

forced outages on the evening of

9 August 2021. Reviews have been

initiated by the Minister of Energy

and Resources and the EA.

Difficult operating

conditions in Australia

While our retail sales volume

increased, wholesale prices in the

Australian market fell to unsustainably

low levels and this impacted the

performance of our generation assets.

Overall, the Meridian Energy Australia

Group result was down on the prior

year even though we had more hydro

generation available as the drought

conditions, that had been a feature

for the last few years, began to ease.

Recently, Australian wholesale prices

have lifted from the low levels during

the 2021 financial year.

The strategic rationale for investing

in renewable energy in Australia

is still sound, and given that only

around 30% of Australia’s electricity is

generated by renewable sources, the

potential for growth in renewables is

large as Australia looks to decarbonise

its economy. But the energy market

in Australia is highly politicised,

and government and regulatory

interventions at both State and

Federal levels are creating significant

uncertainty for our business.

Accordingly, towards year end we

announced we would be revisiting our

growth strategy and our ownership of

Meridian Energy Australia. This review

will consider a full range of options,

including accelerated growth as well

as partial or full divestment.

The ownership review is expected

to take a number of months and no

decision will be made on the future

direction of or options for Meridian

Energy Australia until the completion

of that process.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

CHAIR AND CEO’S REPORT

41

The road to decarbonisation
We are supportive of the direction

of travel in the Climate Change

Commission’s final advice to the

Government. If adopted, the measures

could help enable Aotearoa to change

course with sufficient pace and scale

to set us on a path to achieving our

climate commitments. We are also

supportive of the Government’s

recent announcements, such as the

introduction of a clean car standard

and the Clean Car Discount for electric

vehicles (EVs). Ideally we’d like to see a

fully developed and all-encompassing

Emissions Trading Scheme as the key

policy tool to support New Zealand’s

decarbonisation journey, but we also

acknowledge that additional policies

will be necessary to build momentum.

It goes without saying that the

effectiveness of policies like the EV

feebate scheme should be measured

and adjusted over time to ensure they

are achieving the outcomes envisioned.

Electrification is critical to the delivery

of a net-zero carbon economy in

New Zealand, so a massive amount

of electricity infrastructure will need

to be built in the next 30 years.

The good news is, the cost of new

renewable generation has come down

to a point where it is cheaper to build

and operate a new renewable generator

than operate an existing coal- or gas-

fired generator. And there is presently

more than $2 billion of announced

new renewable generation projects

in Aotearoa that should be producing

power well before the expected

significant growth in demand occurs.

The economics are driving us toward a

more renewable future, and we expect

the electricity grid in New Zealand to be

transporting more than 90% renewable

electricity on average by 2025.

The Harapaki wind farm is Meridian’s

contribution to the nation’s current

build programme, and we are working

hard to grow our pipeline of additional

renewable generation options. Harapaki

itself is a significant investment on a

New Zealand scale as it will produce

enough energy to power around

70,000 Kiwi homes. It is expected

to start producing that power from

as soon as 2023.

New Zealand’s existing hydro power

stations are the foundation for the

massive amount of new renewable

projects that will need to be built in

the next three decades. Flexible hydro

is the perfect complement to more

intermittent renewables like wind and

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

CHAIR AND CEO’S REPORT

42

solar. But across all New Zealand there
is limited hydro storage available, so

Aotearoa currently relies on coal- and

gas-fired generation to meet consumer

demand when rainfall into the hydro

lakes is below average.

Aotearoa currently generates around

80–85% of its electricity from renewable

sources, and as we move toward a

fully renewable future and we reduce

the amount of coal- and gas-fired

generation available, we will need

to find alternative ways to meet

New Zealand’s demand for electricity

when the hydro lakes run low.

The Government is pursuing the

NZ Battery project, which is testing

the feasibility of a massive pumped

hydro scheme in Central Otago as a

potential means of storing water for

hydro generation when we experience

a dry year. While the outcome of the

feasibility work is not yet known, other

innovative ideas that could also help

solve this problem are starting

to emerge.

The work that Meridian and Contact

are jointly leading on the opportunity

to establish a large-scale green

hydrogen production facility based in

Southland is a good example of these.

Hydrogen production can be a very

flexible process. If a hydrogen producer

is willing to reduce production and its

demand on the electricity system at

times when the hydro lakes are low,

it helps balance supply and demand

across the whole system without

introducing carbon emissions from

coal or gas.

We believe this type of demand

response is likely to be commercially

viable for flexible processes like

hydrogen production, and would

deliver a very cost-efficient outcome

for the electricity system as a whole

and ultimately the end consumers

of electricity.

On the demand side, our sense is that

New Zealand business is buying in to

the need to decarbonise and is getting

on with it. Meridian is a member of

the Climate Leaders Coalition, which

represents 105 large New Zealand

businesses that account for 38% of

New Zealand’s GDP and 59% of our

greenhouse gas emissions. The Coalition

members are, in total, planning to invest

more than $9.5 billion in initiatives to

reduce their emissions in the next

five years. Each of the members is

committed to playing its part in our

transition away from fossil fuels in a

way that is equitable and achievable.

At Meridian we are very aware of the

need to show leadership and we have

made a commitment to halve our gross

operational emissions by 2030. We have

made good progress in electrifying

our vehicle fleet and now all our light

passenger vehicles are electric. We have

a range of other initiatives in play and

are confident we can reach our 2030

goal. But we also have a strong part

to play in supporting our customers

to achieve their carbon-abatement

targets. Our Process Heat Electrification

Programme is aimed at supporting

industrial customers to decarbonise and

electrify their industrial plant. We can

offer customers a long-term commercial

package that supports their business

cases for change. The reality is that

these packages are enabled by the

renewable energy freed up with the

expected closure of NZAS.

If built, the green hydrogen opportunity

referred to above would be the largest

facility of its type in the world and

powered by genuine renewable energy

with a very high capacity factor. The

potential benefits to Aotearoa are

three-fold. Firstly, it will create export

dollars for our renewable energy and

high-value jobs in Southland. Secondly

it can be scaled to meet New Zealand’s

domestic demand for hydrogen or

ammonia as that demand grows. And

thirdly, as discussed it can provide a

demand response to the electricity

market that will help balance demand

and supply over the entire system.

The electrification of the transport

sector received a leg-up this year with

the introduction of EV feebates. These

should encourage more businesses

and individuals to go electric. This year

we started building our own public

charging network to support more EVs

on the road. Our intermediate aim is to

establish a network of 200 AC chargers

in the South Island and then extend

that reach to the North Island, while

also supporting business customers

requiring fleet charging solutions.

Research done in New Zealand

and offshore shows that ultimately

ceasing import-intensive petrol and

diesel transport should result in higher

employment, earnings, productivity

and average wages. And as we electrify

more of our economy, we are likely

also to see lower wholesale electricity

and transmission costs, alongside

climate benefits as modern, lower-cost

renewable generation makes up more

of the supply mix. Decarbonisation

for Aotearoa is an opportunity we

must grasp.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

CHAIR AND CEO’S REPORT

43

Aotearoa’s natural resources
are our competitive advantage

Meridian welcomed the Government’s

plan to reform the Resource Management

Act 1991 to ensure that new renewable

projects of significance are supported

through a swifter consenting process.

This reform will be instrumental in

Aotearoa meeting its decarbonisation

goals. We support the Government’s

plan to provide better guidance on

balancing the national importance

of renewable projects with local

environmental impacts. We will play

our part in helping communities

understand why more clean energy

is good for New Zealand and ensure

communities realise the benefits

of having a renewable project in

their backyard.

We are also highly conscious of the

absolute need to take New Zealanders

with us on this journey. We are

committed to continuing our work

with communities and local bodies

to ensure our renewable projects

mitigate any environmental impacts

they cause and bring benefits to

local communities beyond just the

renewable energy they produce.

We specifically acknowledge iwi

rights under the Treaty of Waitangi

and the importance for us, as a large

user of natural resources, to partner

with iwi in finding ways to deliver

improved environmental, commercial

and cultural outcomes.

Our people have

done great work

We want to pay tribute to the hard

work and successes of all our people

this year. Our teams responded

positively and quickly to the demands

of working with COVID-19 restrictions,

and our business never missed a

beat. We would like to acknowledge

our teams based in Victoria who have

endured more than a year of COVID-19-

related restrictions – their commitment

and resilience have been amazing.

Also, many of our people are in

frontline roles either maintaining our

large generation fleet or servicing

our customers, and they have stepped

up and adapted seamlessly to new

ways of operating so that our service

levels remained strong.

Our team’s overall engagement

scores have remained high, and

we know we have a committed,

resilient team who are up for

seizing opportunities, looking after

our customers and doing right by

each other.

This year we appointed a Future of

Work lead to help us develop strategies

that will support our people to learn,

grow and adapt to new technology

and ever more agile ways of working,

as well as transition to other roles more

easily as circumstances change. Our

vision is to be an organisation that lives

and breathes learning and we have

committed to double our investment

in training and development by 2025.

We are executing our strategy through:

better learning technology; educating,

motivating and changing mindsets

about how people learn; equipping our

leaders to be learning champions; and

managing learning more holistically

(beyond eLearning and formal courses).

Disappointingly, our health and safety

statistics slipped, with an increase in

our reportable injuries, more injuries

overall and more time off work due

to injuries. While none of the injuries

suffered by our people was serious

or long lasting in nature, the Board

and Management are not accepting our

level of performance and we continue

to have an absolute focus on keeping

our people safe from harm.

Changes at Executive

and Board level

During the year we announced one

change to our Executive Team. Jason

Stein signalled his intention to step

away from the role of Chief Executive

of Meridian Energy Australia and

Powershop Australia in December

2021. Jason had done an exceptional

job of steering our Melbourne-based

team through a prolonged lockdown

and difficult trading conditions. We

thank Jason for his hard work and look

forward to working with him through

to the end of his time with us.

The Board too worked hard during

the year to oversee our strategy and

provide guidance in testing times.

Two members of our Board will be

retiring at our Annual Shareholder

Meeting (ASM) in October. Peter

Wilson, Deputy Chair, and Anake

Goodall, have both served on the

Board since 2011 and steered us

through becoming a listed company

on the NZX and several wind farm

developments. Peter and Anake

have been strong supporters of our

sustainability leadership position

and we thank them for their significant

contributions and guidance in the

past decade.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

CHAIR AND CEO’S REPORT

44

The Board will appoint Tania Simpson
as an independent director effective

from the date the Electricity Authority’s

approval is Gazetted. Tania will bring

extensive governance experience

in many industries, including Tainui

Group Holdings, Ngāi Tahu Tourism

and Auckland International Airport.

She will be standing for election at the

ASM in October along with Mark Cairns,

who will stand for re-election for a

further two-year term.

Financial results

The previous two years saw record

results powered by strong generation

and growing retail sales volumes. This

year we maintained that strong retail

sales growth with New Zealand volumes

up 14% on the prior year. Drought

conditions during the second half of

the financial year dampened our cash

earnings by reducing generation and

increasing hedge costs – that is just the

nature of our business and the variable

New Zealand weather. The price we

negotiated with the owners of Tiwai

Point Aluminum Smelter to extend

operations to 2024 reduced during the

second half of the year. Whilst both

events impacted financial performance,

the underlying drivers of future business

value remained strong, in particular

growth in customer sales and our

commitment to build the Harapaki

wind farm.

As discussed, we are actively

managing these issues and have a

range of mitigations in place to improve

Meridian’s position progressively as

we approach the end of the contract

with NZAS and potential closure date

in 2024. We are also reviewing our

strategy in Australia.

Noting that the last financial year

was a record year for earnings through

generation, Group EBITDAF decreased

by 15% to $729 million. Net profit

after tax was impacted by fair value

movements on its hedge instruments,

increasing 145% to $428 million.

Under-lying net profit after tax

decreased 27% to $232 million.

Our balance sheet is resilient. Last

year the smelter decision saw rating

agency Standard & Poor’s change

Meridian’s credit rating outlook from

stable to negative. However, on the

first day of the new 2022 financial

year, S&P Global Ratings reaffirmed

Meridian’s corporate credit rating as

BBB+/Stable/A-2.

The Board has declared a final

ordinary dividend of 11.20 cents per

share, unchanged from the previous

year. This brings the total ordinary

dividends declared in FY21 to 16.90

cents per share, also unchanged

from the previous year. This year, for

the first time, we are introducing a

dividend reinvestment programme

and the Board has determined that

shares issued under the Plan in respect

of the 2021 final ordinary dividend

will be issued at a discount of 2.0% to

the market price. The programme will

enable investors to invest effortlessly

in our future at the same time as it will

enable us to reduce our debt position

and manage our debt more prudently.

An exciting new context

Aotearoa’s imperative to decarbonise

the economy and the expiry of our

contract to supply the aluminium

smelter at Tīwai Point in late 2024 have

reset the playing field for Meridian and

the electricity sector as a whole. We

believe our brands, our people and our

renewable asset base serve as strong

sources of competitive advantage for

Meridian. Leveraging these advantages

while staying true to our sustainability

values means Meridian can execute our

customer and renewable-generation

growth strategies and continue to

deliver value for all our stakeholders.   

Finally, a sincere thank you, on behalf

of the Board and the Executive Team,

to everyone we work with or are our

customers, those who invest in us and

everyone in our teams for helping us

to continue delivering cleaner energy

for a fairer and healthier world.

427

431

635

604

0

$M

200

100

300

400

500

700

600

2018201920202021

Operating cash flow

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

CHAIR AND CEO’S REPORT

45

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021
CHAMPION

46

Champion
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

CHAMPION

47

CHAMPION

Market leadership
We are actively involved in a wide range of

initiatives and engagements to transform our

business, our society and our economy in

response to the climate emergency facing us all.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

CHAMPION

48

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021
CHAMPION

Taking care of our own backyard

We have an ambitious target to halve our operational emissions by 2030 from

a 2019 baseline, which we describe as ‘Half by 30’. In the meantime, we continue

to offset our emissions via the purchase and surrender of Gold Standard Verified

Emission Reductions (VERs) to ensure our operations are carbon neutral. For

FY21, these VER credits have been retired from two wind farms projects in

India. In this decade, we will displace the use of Gold Standard VERs and through

our Forever Forests programme create our own carbon sink and offset those

emissions we have not been able to remove through our Half by 30 work.

Forever Forests will create a carbon sink here in Aotearoa and involves planting

over 1.5 million native and exotic trees over approximately 1,100 hectares.

To date our Forever Forests work resulted in 60,000 trees being planted over

approximately 45 hectares of our own land representing about 4% of our total

target. Our focus now is on scaling up our planting effort to date and securing

access to land. We will plant another 80,000 trees in 2021. We will also look to

partner with other landowners to get the rest of the stems in the ground. One

partnership involves the Christchurch Foundation and Sustainable Coastline

in creating the ‘Tūī Corridor’ initiative. This project will welcome tūī back to

Christchurch by planting a corridor of tūī tucker (their favourite native plants)

across the city.

30 ha

37 ha

130 ha

24 ha

14 ha

InvestigatingPlanningRegistering with MPI/planting

80 ha

22 ha

24 ha

49

Progress towards our Half by 30 target
has this year focused on reducing

our light vehicle fleet and electrifying

the balance, resulting in a 100% light

vehicle fleet and 195 tonnes of carbon

abatement every year from here.

We are now investigating electric

alternatives for the utility vehicles

used by our hydro and wind asset

maintenance teams, one third of which

is already electric. We aim to complete

that conversion by 2025. We are also

actively assessing options to electrify

our Mararoa ferry, which enables our

staff to get to and from the Manapōuri

Power Station each day.

Tackling the challenge of Half by 30

will require a deliberate effort across

the Group and in particular include a

sharp focus on our supply chain, which

is where over 95% of our operational

emissions lie. Achieving this will see us

continue to engage and collaborate

with our suppliers. In FY20 we

commenced a supplier engagement

plan, building on foundations set

out in our Supplier Code of Conduct

2

,

investigating how our suppliers can

take climate action in ways that work

for their businesses and get us on our

way to a net-zero-carbon Aotearoa in

2 www.meridianenergy.co.nz/assets/Investors/Governance/Policies/Supplier_Code_of_Conduct_Rev2.pdf.

3 www.meridianenergy.co.nz/assets/Sustainability/MER0117-Modern-Slavery-Statement-8_0.pdf.

4 Created in collaboration with seven leading organisations, see more at www.tools.business.govt.nz/climate.

2050. We focused on and prioritised

our supplier engagement based on

criticality (risk/spend), the ability to

influence and the materiality of the

relevant greenhouse gas footprint.

In the coming financial year we

will take this further and develop a

Group Half by 2030 roadmap, which

we will then execute and against

which we will report progress. Our

Greenhouse Gas Inventory for this

year, with a breakdown on category

movements from FY20, is available at

www.meridianenergy.co.nz/who-we-

are/sustainability/greenhouse-gas-

emissions.

Also connected to our Half by 30

supplier engagement conversation,

we are ensuring our suppliers meet

the requirements of modern slavery

legislation. In FY21 Meridian released

its first Modern Slavery Statement

3

.

For the purposes of the Australian

Modern Slavery Act 2018, both Meridian

Energy Limited and Powershop Australia

Pty are considered ‘reporting entities’.

The 2020 Modern Slavery Statement is

for the Meridian Group, both reporting

entities (under the Act) and all Group

operational subsidiaries. In FY21 two

areas that were identified as potentially

having a high risk of modern slavery

amongst our Tier 1 suppliers were

with our cleaning and security service

providers, which are all are located in

New Zealand and Australia. To assess

these potential risks accurately, Meridian

issued a self-assessment questionnaire

to each associated supplier as well as a

request for supporting documentation.

Based on these further actions, we

did not identify any modern slavery

practices in our suppliers within the

reporting period.

We have also been encouraging other

companies to reduce carbon emissions

from their businesses. One way we are

doing that is through a collaborative

partnership

4

creating a climate action

toolbox. The Toolbox targets small to

medium businesses (SMEs) with offers

of practical advice on five areas where

they can make a difference and reduce

emissions: moving people; moving

goods; office operations; site operations

and equipment; and designing

products. We look forward to enabling

a scale-up of this initiative and ensuring

that SMEs in Aotearoa have easy access

to practical advice and are empowered

to take climate action.

Total operational greenhouse

gas emissions by scope (tCO2e)

Scope 1:

1,376 (4%)

Scope 2

(market based):

14 (0.0%)

Scope 3:

31,085 (96%)

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Meridian Group greenhouse gas emissions
tCO2eFY19FY20FY21

Scope 11,0991,1771,376

Scope 21,6051714

Scope 3 operational43,76142,25031,085

Total Group operational emissions*46,46543,44432,475

Scope 3 energy purchased and onsold**

New Zealand electricity000

Australian electricity and gas 611,822813,054881,461

Scope 3 one-time construction and upgrades6832285

Total Group value chain emissions658,355856,530914,221

* Emissions from our electricity purchased and onsold are calculated using market-based methodologies.

In New Zealand we use the annual netting off methodology. In Australia we use the National Carbon Offset

Standard (NCOS) administered by the Austrailan Government.

** Group operational emissions are offset using Gold Standard Voluntary Emission Reductions and credits purchased

by Powershop Australia as part of NCOS, and taking into account credits cancelled by suppliers against their own

emissions.


In FY21 we applied inflation adjustments to our purchased goods and services emission factors to align with Scope 3

calculation guidance. To be consistent we also applied these adjustments to FY19 and FY20, resulting in restatements.

The restated figures are used here.

Progress against our Half by 2030 goal (tCO2e)

46,465

43,444

32,475

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

F

Y

1

9

F

Y

2

0

F

Y

2

1

F

Y

2

2

F

Y

2

3

F

Y

2

4

F

Y

2

5

F

Y

2

6

F

Y

2

7

F

Y

2

8

F

Y

2

9

F

Y

3

0

Actual

Target

Working with our suppliers

The bulk of our carbon footprint is in

our supply chain. This makes our work

to engage our suppliers crucial if we’re

to achieve our reduction targets. In

the generation side of our business we

have local and global suppliers provide

us with the parts and components

needed to build and maintain our

generation assets, as well as a mix of

general engineering consumable and

specialist parts’ suppliers, and service

providers including ICT and facilities’

management providers. More than

1,000 people are employed directly

or contracted to us. The majority of

our work is conducted by permanent

employees, not contractors. In our

retail businesses we have very short

supply chains because the physical

assets used to distribute electricity

and meter its use are managed

by national and local lines and

metering companies. Our retail

operation requirements are similar

to those of many corporate offices.

They include physical facilities and

ICT, sales and marketing, billing

and governance functions.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

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Our Process Heat Electrification
Programme is designed to help

customers who rely on fossil fuels,

mostly old coal boilers, to decarbonise

their businesses by electrifying their

heat processes.

The opportunity is significant.

Fossil-fuel-fired industrial boilers

are the second-largest source of

energy-related greenhouse gas

emissions, while process heat

accounts for 34% of New Zealand’s

total energy consumption and

generates 8.5 million tonnes of carbon

emissions every year. Through 10-year

contracts, highly competitive electricity

pricing and a capital contribution towards

conversion costs, we can potentially

reduce carbon emissions by 100,000

tonnes per annum (the carbon

emissions equivalent of more than

50,000 cars every year) and add 250

GWh to 500 GWh to our demand in

sectors like food manufacturing, dairy,

chemical and wood processing.

Our first three projects include ANZCO,

WoolWorks and Meadow Mushrooms

as pilot customers. Together we aim

to remove more than 15,000 tonnes

of carbon emissions every year – the

equivalent of removing more than

8,000 cars from the road. Meridian’s

assistance will support Meadow

Mushrooms, for example, to reduce

its carbon emissions by 1,300 tonnes

per year by decommissioning and

replacing an existing diesel-fired

boiler with an electric alternative.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

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52

Contribution to public policy
5 www.meridianenergy.co.nz/investors/reports-and-presentations/submissions.

We actively contribute to public

policy, legislative and regulatory

developments

5

. We do so to share

our perspective, ensure that decision-

makers are fully informed, and

ensure that decisions are made in

the best interests of our customers

and all New Zealanders.  This year

we provided submissions to a wide

range of organisations, including

the Climate Change Commission,

the Electricity Authority, the Ministry

for the Environment, the Ministry of

Business, Innovation and Employment,

the Infrastructure Commission,

the Commerce Commission and

Transpower.

In our assessment, intervention

in the Australian electricity market

and a lack of emissions pricing have

led to spiralling and unintended

consequences that will hinder

investment in renewable generation

and limit the overall ability of

Australia’s energy sector to mitigate

climate change. By contrast, the

New Zealand electricity market

continues to incentivise the

construction of renewable electricity

generation and works well because

the Government has largely stayed

out of operations. Wholesale

electricity prices in New Zealand have

been high for much of the year due

to below-average hydro inflows and

gas shortages. While these prices

are challenging for larger consumers

exposed to the wholesale market,

they reflect supply and demand and

are encouraging further investment

in renewable electricity generation.  

We are supportive of having a

policy framework in place that enables

Aotearoa to change course and sets us

up to deliver our climate commitments.

The Government’s key role in our view

is to put in place conducive regulatory

environments and guidelines. To that

end, we remain supportive of the work

of the Climate Change Commission,

which has demonstrated how Aotearoa

can viably achieve our emission-

reductions targets while continuing

to grow as a country.

The Emissions Trading Scheme with its

recent improvements will play a critical

role in the transition to a low-emissions

future. It now provides a sinking cap

on total emissions and price signals to

ensure businesses are incentivised to

make the transition to a low-emissions

future successfully. Complementary

policies may be needed in addition to

the Emissions Trading Scheme, and for

us priority actions include increasing

the number of EVs on our roads and

increasing total renewable energy use,

particularly in heating for industrial

processes. It is also important that the

transition happens in an equitable and

inclusive way.

It is vital for the country that current

and future governments deliver policy

stability, transparency and continuity on

climate change. We look forward to the

Government’s first emission-reductions

plan due to be published later in 2021

and expect to see a strong commitment

to deliver on the recommendations

of the Climate Change Commission. 

A response that closely aligns with the

Commission’s recommendations will

establish expectations of the weight

that future governments will give to

the Commission’s advice in the years

to come.

Energy wellbeing

We believe in a world where all people

have access to the energy they need for

wellbeing in their lives. We also believe

that achieving wellbeing requires an

appreciation of a range of factors such

as housing quality, financial hardship,

and electricity pricing. We have

initiatives in place to maximise energy

wellbeing while taking into account

this wide set of considerations, and

continually strive to do more.

New Zealand’s electricity retail prices

remain among the lowest in the OECD,

and data from the Ministry of Business,

Innovation and Employment shows

that the real average annual household

bill in 2020 was $140 lower than in

2014, and the real price per kilowatt

hour was at its lowest level since 2012.

This suggests that the healthy degree

of competition and choice that comes

with having more than 40 retailers

competing across the market is

working for customers.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

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53

Energy retailers also have an ongoing
responsibility to ensure that in

situations where consumers become

vulnerable, there are safeguards in

place to protect them. Vulnerable

Consumer and Medically Dependent

Consumer guidelines have been

around since the mid-2000s and were

introduced in collaboration with the

industry and stakeholders including

Meridian. The Electricity Authority said

these guidelines had “generally served

New Zealand consumers well, and

electricity system stakeholders could

be proud of their shared commitment

to implementing them.” However, the

Authority said that after more than 10

years the guidelines needed updating

and a review. Meridian supported the

review and the resulting Consumer

Care Guidelines – in fact we think the

Authority should now go further and

make mandatory rules for all retailers

to follow. We will fully align our

practices with the new guidelines.

We have a trained Credit Team

to support customers in need, with

support that includes alternative

payment options (such as our LevelPay

product), and plans and support with

Work and Income and FinCap. In

addition, we support the funding of

the Electricity Retailers’ Association

EnergyMate programme, which

provides free in-home coaching and

community hui workshops to help

Kiwis in need manage their energy use

are proud to see that this programme

has now enabled support for more

than 150 families and an expansion is

planned this year to reach more than

1,500 families.

In Australia, retail prices have followed

wholesale prices down to, in our view,

unsustainable lows, while prolonged

lockdowns have had pronounced

effects on people’s mental health and

their ability to earn. (On the face of it,

low pricing overall may seem a good

thing for consumers. Our concern with

the wholesale situation in Australia is

that, unless prices lift, there will be no

incentives to introduce new generation

and the country will continue

struggling to decarbonise.)

In FY21, we banded together with

others to offer Australian consumers

a range of supports. These included

work by the Energy Cluster and

campaigns to publicise the COVID-19

Support Hub. We also created a new

Usage Specialist role in our Contact

Centre to encourage customers to

talk about minimising their usage,

especially gas customers in Victoria.

New Zealand disconnections*

Meridian

Powershop NZ

NZ average

0

.

1

3

%

0

.

1

0

%

0

.

0

8

%

0

.

0

%

0

.

2

5

%

0

.

2

3

%

0

.

0

5

%

0

.

0

8

%

0

.

3

9

%

0

.

31%

0.0%

0.1%

0.2%

0.3%

0.4%

FY18FY19FY20**FY21***

0.22%

0.17%

* Data from the Electricity Authority (emi.ea.govt.nz/Datasets/Retail/Disconnections).

** FY20 restated with four quarters of data.

** Showing as 0% due to decimal place rounding.

*** Does not include Q4 data as unavailable.

Our ambition is to achieve a world with no disconnections. We continue to focus

on lowering our disconnection rates, and during lockdown adopted a policy of

no disconnections. We offer customers products like LevelPay and have a trained

Credit team to support customers in need with alternative payment options and

access to support with a range of agencies.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

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54

Meanwhile, our Power It Forward
campaign asked those Australian

business customers who could afford

it to pay a little more so that we could

distribute the proceeds to smaller

businesses affected by COVID-19.

Our Switch Your Mates campaign also

encouraged our current customers

to refer their friends to us, with each

party getting a $100 credit and $100

going to Foodbank Australia. We are

proud to have raised $50,000 for

Foodbank Australia to feed vulnerable

people. All up, through our various

initiatives for vulnerable customers

in Australia this year, we raised and

contributed more than $250,000.

We are also planning a new Community

Energy partnership in FY22.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

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55

Putting customers first
Ultimately, our retail businesses judge

their success by our collective ability

to secure and retain the loyalty of

customers. In Aotearoa we monitor

our Meridian Energy and Powershop

brands using customer satisfaction and

compare our brands to the average

score for gentailer brands (generators

and retailers combined), challenger

brands and the category as a whole.

We have been very pleased to see

both our brands holding their own,

which highlights the effectiveness of

the customer focus and service ethos

we have been building steadily in

recent years.

Powershop New Zealand won the 2021

Consumer People’s Choice Award and

the 2021 Canstar Blue Most Satisfied

Customers Award. It is a sign of the

absolute competitiveness of this brand

that we have won this prestigious

award five times in the past six years.

Powershop also won two Finder

awards, Gentailer and Overall, for

Greenest Energy Retailer. To quote

Finder: “Powershop once again showed

why it tops the leaderboards when it

comes to green energy in Australia.

Zero emissions electricity generation,

carbon-neutral plans for all customers

and innovative efforts to support

clean technology helped Powershop

differentiate itself.” The brand also won

the Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction

award – Electricity Provider of the

Year 2020. It was the second year in a

row that we had won this award. The

breadth of awards shows Powershop

leading the way in caring for both the

planet and customers.

Green finance programme

In August 2020 Meridian announced

a Green Finance Programme, which

covers both existing and future

issuances of debt instruments. The

Programme recognises Meridian’s

commitment to and leadership

investment in renewable energy

generation and will be used to

finance or refinance sustainable

projects and assets such as new and

existing renewable energy assets.

The Programme enables Meridian

to connect its company strategy and

vision to its financing requirements, and

provides investors with an opportunity

to invest in a range of accredited debt

instruments. The proceeds of these have

been allocated (directly or notionally)

to refinance eligible wind

and hydro projects and assets that

meet the following market standards:

• The International Capital Market

Association Green Bond Principles.

• The Climate Bonds Standard.

• The Asia Pacific Loan Market

Association Green Loan Principles.

Further information on the Green

Finance Programme, including the

Programme framework document,

opinions from DNV GL Business

Assurance Pty. Limited, Climate Bonds

Standard Certification and Green

Asset and Debt registers, is available

on Meridian’s website at www.meridian

energy.co.nz/investors/reports-and-

presentations/green-finance.

Page 140 also provides detailed

information on the Green Debt

included in the Programme for FY21.

Customer satisfaction – brand monitor NZ

June 2020June 2021

Meridian Energy7. 4 07. 49

Gentailer average7. 3 47. 4 0

Powershop8.038.04

Challenger average7. 6 67. 57

Category average7. 5 37. 57

* Data is collected through brand tracking and results reported on a 12-month moving average.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

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NZAS
A large financial contract with NZAS at

Tīwai Point that accounts for the equivalent

of 38% of Meridian’s generation

Our customers

Available in four Australian states. All on the Flux platform.~15% national retail volume

AU

Meridian

Customer connections

residential

business

corporate

agri-business

Powershop AU

Electricity customer

connections

Powershop NZ

Customer connections

residential

business

Carbon-neutral gas

customer connections

NZ

241K105K142K43K

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

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57

Building sustainable
relationships

Relationships underpin our ability to operate. This

year, while the extension of NZAS’s exit arrangement

may have dominated headlines, we continued

conversations with a wide range of groups on

subjects as important as water, biodiversity and

helping communities to prosper that will enable us

to continue to generate 100% renewable energy.

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2025 Waitaki reconsenting
The water resource consents for the Waitaki chain of power stations are

due for reconsent by 2025. This is a major catchment. 18% of New Zealand’s

power is generated here and we are engaging with Ngāi Tahu and a full range

of stakeholders.

Last year, new clean-water regulations sought to prioritise healthy water ahead

of human and commercial needs and explicitly recognised the importance

of maintaining flexibility at and output from the five largest hydro schemes in

New Zealand, including our Manapōuri and Waitaki schemes. Keeping climate

change front and centre is part of the context for the National Policy Statement

for Freshwater Management 2020 and we acknowledge the vital role that hydro

schemes play in allowing Aotearoa to maintain renewable electricity generation,

ensure security of supply and enable and accelerate decarbonisation.

Meridian will be applying to reconsent on the basis of the current arrangements

for the use and storage of water for hydro-electricity generation, such that

we can retain the benefits our hydro assets provide Aotearoa. We remain

strongly committed to working in good faith with all those involved to resolve

this large, complex and public process.

NZAS extended exit agreement

Deliberations on the aluminium smelter at Tīwai Point took the better part

of six months to resolve.

On 9 July 2020, NZAS gave notice terminating the existing electricity agreement

with effect from the end of August 2021. An offer allowing for a longer exit

period up to the end of 2024 was put to NZAS. Terms for an extended closure

were agreed in January 2021. These give NZAS a lower price over the remaining

contract and the option to reduce the contract volume from 572 MW to 400 MW

with effect from 1 July 2022. NZAS consumes around 40% of Meridian’s generation

output in any year, depending on generation output and demand, so this

negotiation was significant. Its potential exit from the market and the expiry

of our contract with NZAS in four years represents a significant reduction in

demand and will likely result in a near-term reduction in Meridian’s revenue.

However, once NZAS leaves, more renewable energy will be available to

potentially displace fossil fuel use and this will make a noticeable difference

to the percentage of renewable electricity on the grid.

We have been working closely with Transpower, along with Contact Energy,

on the Clutha Upper Waitaki Lines Project as part of preparing the expiry of our

contract with NZAS in December 2024 and their potential exit. This project is now

due to be completed by May 2022. We are exploring the feasibility of a grid scale

battery, located in the North Island. The battery will provide reserve energy and

therefore increase the effective capacity over the Cook Strait Cable and allow a

greater flow of power from the South Island to the North Island.

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Hydrology this year
has been challenging

Recent good hydrological years were

followed this year by a record-setting

drought. About mid-November, the

La Niña climate pattern took hold and

continued throughout summer.

As a result we experienced above-

average temperatures and lower-

than-average rainfall across much of

Aotearoa, reducing inflows to their

lowest levels on record for 88 years

and taking our main storage lakes to

800 GWh below average. Meanwhile

in Australia, wind generation was 5%

lower than at the same time in the

previous year and at a 49% lower

average price. Australian hydro

generation improved as drought

conditions eased during the second

half of 2020.

Meridian is well prepared operationally

to ride significant droughts, with

arrangements and contingencies in

place to help us conserve our hydro

storage, continue to support our

customers and manage the financial

impacts of this challenge.

Under our contract with NZAS we can

require a Smelter Demand Response

if hydro storage is less than the Dry

Year Trigger Level. When we issue

such a notice, NZAS must manage its

electricity consumption to achieve a

reduction in electricity consumption

of 250 GWh in 130 days.

At the end of April 2021 we agreed

an electricity swap to assist NZAS to

voluntarily reduce its consumption

of electricity by up to 30.5 MWh

through to 31 May 2021 to assist with

managing the dry hydrology conditions

the country was experiencing. The

arrangement compensated NZAS for

any load it voluntarily decided to reduce

as a means of supporting us to manage

the dry period. This new arrangement

did not override our ability to call a

Smelter Demand Response if the dry-

year trigger level in our main electricity

contract was reached. An extension to

the electricity swap was agreed again

in late May, to 30 June 2021.

Meridian has a swaption arrangement

with Genesis for up to 150 MW (three

tranches of 50 MW each) until the end

of 2022. This financial arrangement

locks in a fixed price for the volume

called. The climatic downside of the

swaption is that Genesis can hedge

its own exposure under the swaption

using thermal generation including

coal, resulting in increased carbon

dioxide emissions. We will continue to

look for a replacement of the Genesis

swaption from 2023 onwards with a

range of parties.

We envisage that load management

(controlling how we deal with periods

of peak demand) will form a key part

of the arrangement going forward.

Since the Genesis swaption was

agreed, we have overcome the

engineering and operational issues

that previously prevented us accessing

the full range of Lake Pūkaki contingent

storage. This has given us additional

flexibility to use Lake Pūkaki down to

513.0 m in some circumstances, and

our operations recognise the potential

to utilise this additional water.

The dry conditions were part of the

reason for spot prices in the wholesale

market and near-future prices on the

ASX climbing during the financial year.

But they were not the only reason.

The market also factored in a loss of

gas field production because there is

less gas coming off New Zealand’s gas

fields, and there are concerns about the

implications for supply caused in part by

the gas industry responding to zero-

carbon policy settings. This sentiment

around gas supply resiliency saw the

longer-term demand curve rise.

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Plant availability

%FY16FY17FY18FY19FY20FY21

Wind Australia91.092.693.488.689.092.2

Wind New Zealand88.985.483.983.389.889.0

Hydro New Zealand93.491.390.491.688.991.1

Hydro Australia85.880.168.070.9

Outages for FY21 – maintenance 12,160 hours, planned 9,608 hours, forced 2,991 hours.

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61

528

113

1,465

12,758

502

236

1,395

11,297

525

203

1,244

12,326

553

28

1,263

11,265

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

FY18FY19FY20FY21

201

92.4

416416

2,353

201

99.2

2,353

201

92.4

416

2,353

201

92.4

416

2,353

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

FY18*FY19FY20FY21**


Generation (GWh)Capacity (MW)

Hydro NZ

Wind NZ

Wind AU

Hydro AU

* Waitaki Power Station total generation capacity updated following restoration.

** Approval has been received for operational improvements to increase Burrinjuck

capacity from 27.2 MW to 34 MW.

Relationships with
local communities and iwi

Building long-term relationships with

communities close to the assets we

operate is an important part of what

we do. Our community fund Power Up

continues to support local projects in

Te Āpiti, Mill Creek, Manapōuri, West

Wind, White Hill, Te Uku and Waitaki.

In the 14 years that we have offered this

fund, we have been able to undertake

a range of projects that are important

to locals, and have invested more than

$8.5 million back into these local

communities through 1,161 projects.

We engage with our asset communities

in various ways, including via dedicated

Community Relationship Managers

across the country. We want people,

groups and communities to feel

included and consulted, and that we

have worked with them to understand

any concerns they might have.

We also recognise the mana whenua

of Ngāi Tahu, particularly in relation to

our hydro schemes in the Ngāi Tahu

takiwā, and engage with Ngāi Tahu and

other iwi in several ways. We recognise

and respond to the kaupapa of ki uta

ki tai (from the mountains to the sea)

and work closely with local rūnaka

(Arowhenua, Awarua, Hokonui, Moeraki,

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Impact on water
Water use in both New Zealand

and Australia continues to be a

highly emotive and important issue,

particularly in relation to quality and

access. As water and waterways are

fundamental elements in our business,

we are acutely aware of their value

and role. We actively work with as

many parties as we can to collaborate

and reach agreements on the use of

water. We are committed to working

in good faith with all regulatory

authorities involved in water access,

water purity and water rights.

Hydro generation does not primarily

change the chemical composition of

water where it’s used in our power

stations. Where there are potential

consequential impacts on fresh water

quality, these are managed through

our resource consent conditions and

stakeholder agreements. The discharge

of fresh water from Manapōuri Power

Station into a marine environment at

Deep Cove is undertaken in accordance

with resource consent conditions and

annual marine environment monitoring

and reporting; potential risks of

sediment laden and turbid water

entering Lake Manapōuri is managed in

accordance with our resource

consent conditions and subject to

annual reporting to Environment

Southland. Potential for erosion in the

Lower Waiau and Lower Waitaki rivers

is subject to stakeholder agreements

with Environment Southland and

Environment Canterbury respectively,

with powers for the councils holding

Meridian resource consents to

review our operations in the event

of unexpected impacts; risks of

contaminants from the stations

entering water ways is protected

through requirements in resource

consents to operate oil interceptors

with standards for contamination

levels being set conservatively and

with annual reporting requirements

with councils.

Water quality on the Waiau and Waitaki

river systems can be compromised by

the activities of other users, potentially

boosting the chances of algal growth

and weeds. Our preference is for the

water in these catchments to be as

clean as possible. While we can release

more water into waterways to dilute

the effects of these contaminants,

such actions affect the amount of

renewable energy we can deliver to

meet New Zealand’s power needs,

and our profitability.

In Australia we operate the hydro

stations but we do not own the dam

structures. The environmental impacts

of these dam structures and the water

use are the responsibility of WaterNSW.

When the Manapōuri Power Station

was commissioned 51 years ago, the

tailrace began discharging freshwater

to Deep Cove.

All of the fiords in Fiordland have

a low salinty layer, a function of the

shape of the landscape and very high

rainfall levels. The ecology of all the

fiords is unique due to the naturally

low salinity layer and is one of the

reasons why black coral grows at

shallower depths here than is

common in other marine settings.

Ōraka Aparima, Waihao and Waihōpai)

through Te Ao Marama and the Waitaki

Governance Group, as well as trusts, to

enhance mahinga kai and native fish in

the Waitaki and Waiau catchments. At

Harapaki we are working with two iwi

in the region,the Ngāti Hineuru Trust

and the Maungaharuru Tangitu Trust, to

determine how we can be a good long-

term partner, and work together to fulfil

what is culturally appropriate to iwi and

good for the broader community.

We recognise the need to strengthen

our iwi partnerships and have been

talking with people about how they

would like those arrangements to

look. Over many years, together with

ngā rūnaka (Arowhenua, Waihao, and

Moeraki) and landowners Jan and Geoff

Keeling, we have been developing

a mahika kai project (gathering of

food and resources) focused on the

restoration of the Takiroa Stream and

wetland complex in the Waitaki Valley.

The wetlands and the associated rock

art at Takiroa were once a seasonal

settlement or nohoanga area, with rich

resources of mahika kai such as raupō

(bulrush), harakeke (flax), waterbirds,

ducks and tuna (freshwater eels).

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Impact on biodiversity
Projects like the Takiroa Stream

complement our extensive and ongoing

work to minimise our impacts on water

and biodiversity in our catchments.

They include our funding of Project

River Recovery (PRR), Aotearoa’s

longest-running conservation/business

partnership, and the Waiau Fisheries

and Wildlife Habitat Enhancement

Trust (the Waiau Trust).

For 30 years PRR, in partnership with

the Department of Conservation, has

been working to preserve and restore

braided river habitats in the Waitaki

catchment through predator and

weed eradication. This has helped

to protect the endangered black-

fronted tern/tarapirohe and kakī/

black stilt colonies and increase their

populations, as well as significantly

increase the wetland areas.

In our Waiau catchment we continue

to work closely with the Waiau Trust

to enhance stream and wetland

habitats for fisheries and wildlife.

We acknowledge that hydro generation

does have impacts on native fish such

as tuna (eels). We support and fund

‘trap and transfer’ programmes in

both our hydro catchments, ensuring

that as many elvers and migrant eels

as possible are transported across

the dam structures every year.

We are achieving co-benefits of

stronger biodiversity outcomes and

growing our own carbon sink through

our Forever Forests programme.

We have been working with local

authorities in the Waitaki District to

remove wilding pines and replace them

with a mixture of sterile pinus radiata

and natives endemic to the area.

Water consumption*

Mm

3

FY18FY19FY20FY21

New Zealand

Fresh surface water (lakes, rivers)65,56274,18385,33966,434

Water returned to the source of extraction

at similar quality53,82361,83272,99454,769

Total net freshwater consumption**11,73912,35112,34511,665

Australia

Fresh surface water (lakes, rivers)3,6962,5743,832

Water returned to the source of extraction at similar quality

3,6962,5743,832

* Municipal water consumption not reported as minimal

and not metered. While in New Zealand we have no

exposure to water-stressed areas, in Australia our

power stations are operating in areas that can suffer

from drought. Note we only hold the right to generate

electricity from water passing through the dams

associated with our Australian hydro power stations;

we do not hold the water rights themselves.

** Fresh water taken from Lake Manapōuri is released

into Doubtful Sound, and is not altered in terms of

water quality.

No serious

environment breaches

All our hydro operations are governed

by resource consents, and in the case

of Manapōuri specific legislation,

supported in many cases by agreements

with groups connected with the

waterways. We work closely with

local bodies, particularly during

planning and consenting, and we

report regularly on our environmental

performance and compliance with

resource consent conditions. We are

again pleased to report there were

no prosecutions in FY21. While we did

record eight breaches of environmental

compliance in New Zealand, none was

serious and there were no significant

adverse effects. There were no

breaches in Australia.

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AU
Generating <1% of the

National Energy Market

Equivalent to the

power needs of

around 190,000

Australian

homes yearly

Equivalent to the

power needs of

around 46,000

Australian

homes yearly

Mt Millar

Mt Mercer

Long-term power purchase

agreements with two other

wind farms

Hume

Burrinjuck

Keepit

Enough electricity for about 167,000 homes yearly

NZ

NZ’s largest

electricity generator

~30% national electricity generation

Equivalent to the power

needs of around 200,000

NZ homes yearly

White Hill

West Wind

Mill Creek

Te Āpiti

Te Uku

Harapaki – under

development

Equivalent to the

power needs of

around 1.7 million

NZ homes yearly

Waitaki and

Manapōuri

generate around

50% of NZ’s

total hydro

200K46K

190K

1.7M

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

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Meeting the changing
needs of our customers

We are the largest generator of renewable

energy in Aotearoa. Our hydro dams and wind

farms generate around a third of the country’s

energy. In Australia our market share is much

smaller, and we are seen as a challenger brand

providing conscientious consumers with the ability

to offset the carbon emissions associated with

their energy usage, and innovative products that

allow them to engage with their energy use.

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Healthy customer growth across our three brands
Net double-digit growth in all segments – most notably in the Commercial and

Industrial segment for Meridian and Residential and Small Business market share

for Powershop – means Meridian is now the third-largest retailer in New Zealand.

New Zealand retail sales volumes for FY21 were 14% higher than last year. Sales

increased in all segments; by 4% in residential, 24% in SME, 9% in agricultural,

13% in large business and 18% in corporate. Customer numbers were also up –

increasing by 7% from the previous year.

Our New Zealand and Australian retail businesses, with their three distinctive

customer brands, continued to deliver sustained customer growth this year.

Our Meridian brand appeals to New Zealand customers looking for a

renewable energy generator that is deeply connected to the environment and

New Zealand. The brand achieved profitable growth through good volume and

margin management. Financial performance also improved despite increased

competition and pressure on retail margins.

Powershop in New Zealand uses innovative marketing communications to offer

customers greater personal control with its ‘shop’ proposition. This year the brand

hit a significant milestone – surpassing 100,000 customer accounts for the first

time thanks to a service proposition, pricing and brand positioning that stood

out in a bustling retail energy sector.

Our Powershop brand in Australia focuses on sustainability. While the business

is a small player in the Australian market overall, it continues to grow rapidly as

more and more Australian consumers look for cleaner options.

The requirement to pass on lower wholesale and input costs coupled with

market/default offer prices has led to continued margin pressure in retail in

Australia. Nevertheless, Powershop has continued to grow its customer base

in a very competitive market, and our Net Promoter Score, which measures

customer satisfaction, remains very high against the market. Given the erosion

of margins, our strategic focus going forward will be to lower our cost to serve

without compromising quality, and offering the best range of products,

priced competitively.

By year end, Australian electricity customer numbers were 4% higher than in

the same time last year. In the same timeframe, Australian retail sales volumes

were 15% higher at an 8% lower average price. Our certified carbon-neutral

retail gas product, which is currently available in Victoria (and soon to be released

in New South Wales), had 43,905 customer connections as at 30 June 2021, up

from 37,878 the previous year.

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Customer sales volume (GWh)*Customer connections* (ICPs)
Meridian – Res, Agri, SME

Meridian – Corporate

Powershop

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

00,000

2

250,000

500,000

450,000

400,000

350,000

00,000

3

NZAU**

FY18

97,241

2

9

0

,

7

5

6

1

0

9

,

8

0

4

NZAU

FY19

3

0

2

,

2

7

7

NZAU

FY20

324,253

1

3

6

,

2

0

2

29,262

105,804

NZAU***

FY21

211,764

346,830

185,934

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

9,000

8,000

5

4

9

5,9

8

1

NZAU

FY18

5

5

3

6,2

4

0

NZAU

FY19

6

8

3

7

,

3

7

6

NZAU

FY20

3,200

785

4,130

1,075

8,405

NZAU

FY21

* Excludes the Tīwai Point aluminium smelter; <10 of the above ICPs are connected to the

transmission network; around 4,700 customer connections have distributed generation metering.

** Powershop Australia FY18 figure restated to correct value of 97,241.

*** Also 43,905 gas customer connections in Australia with a total of 1,711 TJ in volume.


Switching rates*

FY18FY19FY20**FY21

Powershop New Zealand33.63%30.35%24.97%25.81%

Meridian 17. 6 3%16.94%14.18%14.45%

New Zealand combined21.16%20.08%16.98%17.76%

New Zealand industry20.95%20.64%18.91%20.77%

* Data from the Electricity Authority (emi.ea.govt.nz) and Meridian analysis.

Switching rates are not published by the market operator in Australia.

** Data restated based on final figures from the Electricity Authority.

Customer satisfaction*

Net Promoter Score (NPS)**FY18FY19FY20FY21

Powershop Australia53535746

Australian industry average

***

(14)(18)18N/A

Powershop New Zealand55616466

Meridian283028

New Zealand industry average

***

141822N/A

* Australia surveys both residential and business customers (with exception being customers

who opted “do not contact”). Powershop New Zealand and Meridian New Zealand residential

customers only.

** Calculated from a survey asking customers using a 0–10 scale “How likely is it that you would

recommend Meridian/Powershop to a friend or colleague?” and then subtracting the percentage

of detractors from the percentage of promoters. A positive value indicates that more customers are

promoters versus detractors (and vice versa). All results are a 12-month moving average from July

to June each financial year.

*** Perceptive Group Limited: New Zealand and Australia NPS Industry Benchmarks. FY21 data

currently unavailable.

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Flux growth
underpins our success

Flux is helping Meridian to lead

the energy transition with flexible,

innovative software that changes

the way we produce, sell and use

energy. The platform assists retailers

with energy retail best practice,

operational improvements, cost

savings, risk reductions, digital

transformations and change

management, and data insights.

Flux’s suite of market-leading

software products allows energy

retailers to move faster, offer more

pricing options and integrate with

a wide range of chosen partners.

The products, which include an

industry-leading complex billing

engine, are backed by bespoke

customer service and comprehensive

privacy and security tooling. In the

past year client satisfaction with

the products has improved by 30%,

lifting the performance of teams

like Meridian and reducing the

cost to serve customers.

Most of Meridian’s customer base

has been successfully migrated to

the Flux platform under Project

Momentum, with the remainder

due for completion during 2021.

This exciting achievement will enable

Meridian to grow customer numbers

with a scalable and modern platform,

bringing to life new products and

enabling greater innovation for

the Group.

The platform is now ready for the

global market, with Flux confident

of impressive results as it looks to

acquire new clients in its three focus

markets before expanding to Asia

and the United States.

Since March 2020 Flux has transitioned

to remote-first working, empowering

its 200+ staff to work from anywhere

in New Zealand, Australia and the UK.

This has seen significant reductions

in costs and carbon emissions, thanks

to reduced commuting and increased

staff satisfaction due to flexible

working arrangements.

Work on Harapaki

wind farm begins

Construction has begun on our new,

$395 million wind farm in Hawke’s

Bay; it will be our sixth wind farm in

Aotearoa. New Zealand’s second-

largest wind farm will have 41 turbines

generating up to 176 MW of renewable

energy and will increase our wind

assets by 40% at a time when the

market is building. Construction

will take around three years and is

expected to create 260 new jobs.

Our investment in Harapaki will not

only boost our wind farm portfolio to

542 GWh per annum, but support our

plans for greater existing flexibility and

continued retail customer growth.

Harapaki will boost New Zealand’s

overall ability to take action on

climate change, help accelerate the

transformation of the economy to clean

energy sources, and encourage the

retirement of aging thermal plant. Five

big projects currently underway by

various energy companies will take the

country from 85% to 90% renewable

energy by 2023, putting New Zealand

ahead of the 90% by 2025 target.

A pipeline of

generation options

Our analysis suggests New Zealand

needs approximately 12 TWh of new

grid generation by 2030 to meet

its 100% renewable energy target.

A third of that growth (our current

market share) equates to at least

seven Meridian generation projects

by 2035. Longer-term analysis suggests

further system demand growth of at

least approximately 10 TWh between

2035 and 2050.

Our current development pipeline

amounts to 1.9 GW (4,400 GWh),

and development challenges

include the likelihood of needing

to re-consent consented sites for

better technology fit and the reality

that design, development and

construction timeframes are all subject

to site complexity. Inevitably, some

opportunities will not crystalise,

meaning more development options

will be needed.

While the Government is proposing

the Onslow-Manorburn pumped

storage scheme as a key plank towards

its 100% renewable system goal, the

Tīwai Point smelter closure could see

5 TWh of excess Southland-Otago

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generation attempting to flow
northward by as soon as the end of

2024. In response, we are currently

investigating three initiatives.

First, we are working with South Island

industrial customers to assist with the

decarbonisation and electrification of

industrial plant. We estimate that the

potential new demand opportunity here

is 250 GWh to 500 GWh each year.

Through integrated marketing strategies and

campaigns for our brands, we successfully

grew awareness, consideration and business

performance across our portfolio. We also

invested in our cornerstone partnerships

with the Department of Conservation for

the Kākāpō Recovery Programme, and

KidsCan. In total, we spent $19.5 million

on marketing activities.

The second is engaging with

potential developers on a green

data hub in Southland that connects

New Zealand to the east coast of

Australia. With the Australian data

centre market forecast to grow from

500 MW in 2021 to 2,200 MW in 2026,

we believe Southland could have a

hyperscale data centre in place in the

medium term that can service Australia

at significant discounts to its domestic

green options.

The third is the development of green

hydrogen for global industries like steel

manufacturing, fertiliser manufacture

and heavy transport (trucks, trains and

shipping), which are traditionally carbon

intensive and difficult to abate. At

year end we are preparing a feasibility

study to examine potential markets,

the technology and engineering

required and how we can incorporate

dry-year flexibility. It could provide a

large amount of New Zealand’s dry-

year reserve at a fraction of the cost of

building new power stations. Having

a large amount of demand with the

flexibility to turn it down or turn it off

during a dry year could add a huge

benefit to New Zealand in managing

the security of our energy supply.

That study is due to be completed

in August 2021.

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Shining examples of solar
We continue to look at how we

can introduce large-scale solar

in the medium term to build out

New Zealand’s energy portfolio.

In Australia we have been encouraging

the use of solar energy residentially

for some time. Through Powershop

Australia we have already successfully

introduced a range of initiatives to

help reduce demand on the electricity

grid and help customers save on their

energy bills. These include Grid

Impact, ChargeForce, our ‘Curb

Your Power’ demand response

programme in Victoria and the

‘Better Solar’ advisory service.

In New Zealand we have completed

four significant commercial solar

projects and contracted two more

under standard power purchase

agreements that will total 720 kWp.

All of these are with either Kiwi

Property or Lincoln University.


NZ SOL AR INS TALL ATIONS

Completion

date

YTD Perf

against

forecastSize

Northlands Mall, Kiwi PropertyJune 2019+8%185 kWp

Te Kete Ika, Lincoln UniversityOctober 2019+4%102 kWp

The Plaza, Kiwi PropertyJanuary 2020+1%111 kWp

RFH Building, Lincoln UniversityJuly 2020+5%94 kWp

Rec Centre, Lincoln UniversityMay 2021168 kWp

Science South, Lincoln UniversityJune 202160 kWp

Tot a l+5%720 kWp

Significant progress was made on

the Hume Battery Energy Storage

System (BESS) project this year, with

the Board creating a subcommittee to

monitor progress and ultimately drive

the project to final approval. What is

unique about the Hume BESS project

is it will be the first pairing of a hydro

and battery storage system in the

Southern Hemisphere, and the only

known combination project that

dispatches into multiple regions

(New South Wales and Victoria).

We continue to look for new wind

and solar sites to enable us to meet

the expected increase in demand

for renewable generation.

Distributed energy

We have been working to identify

and respond to distributed energy

opportunities, in particular rooftop and

small-scale solar, and storage batteries.

While the electrification of transport

is one of the biggest ways that we

can help combat climate change,

New Zealand needs a more extensive

charging infrastructure to help build

real momentum for the switch to

electric. This year we committed

$4 million to roll out a new network

of at least 200 EV chargers in the

next three years.

The AC chargers we are rolling out

are ideally suited to shopping malls,

retail and business parks and community

facilities and will complement the

existing DC fast chargers that are

available for those who need to charge

quickly and travel long distances. Twelve

chargers have been installed to date.

In Australia, we have encouraged

investment in battery installations

through our Charge Force Virtual

Power Plant programme. Through

the programme we have created a

battery offer for customers to cater

for this distributed energy resource.

We are also providing shared learnings

from the programme to the industry.

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Equipping our people
for the changes ahead

We are very proud of our people and their

contributions to our success. This year, while

operations returned pretty much to normal

in New Zealand, our Australian team endured a

severe and prolonged lockdown that saw them

working out of the office for much of the year.

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By the time the team in Melbourne returned to the office, they had developed

new ways of working that were more effective and more connected with our

Contact Centre (based in Masterton) and our customer base. Once they could

return, from late March, we took the opportunity to re-order the office space

to incorporate more remote working and lots of breakout areas. It is a tribute

to our Australian team’s resilience that they continued to work effectively and

enabled us to continue growing our Australian customer base across four states.

We think that helping teams perform well means making sure everyone feels

included, welcomed and valued for their experiences and perspectives. Getting

that mix right is important to us because it equips us to better understand and

meet the needs of our changing demographics in the countries and markets

in which we compete. In the case of our Flux team, adopting a remote-first

approach, for example, has enabled us to source highly skilled professionals

who see the offices as hubs for connection and collaboration. Fitting our work

around people’s lives is part of giving them the flexibility to work in ways that

are best for them and their circumstances.

We have continued to train our people in tikanga and proper pronunciation

of te reo to reflect our commitment to respecting Te Ao Māori and connecting

with our stakeholders. We have undertaken cultural training as a part of National

Reconciliation Week in Australia to recognise Indigenous people’s rights.

With the ongoing challenges COVID-19 continues to bring around the world, we

are particularly mindful of the wider impacts this may be having on our people.

Our Healthy Minds programme launched its second evolution during the year,

providing support, guidance and understanding to those dealing with mental

health issues. This included workshops and seminars for all staff.

Overall our employee engagement held up well across the Group, with

engagement scores in Meridian, Powershop and our Australian companies at 78%.

This year, to help round out our understanding of overall cultural commitment, we

included Employee Net Promoter Score elements that asked things like “would you

recommend Meridian to your friends?”. 100% of our people said they would (NPS

of 100, with >50 being best practice).

73

Employee engagement*
8

0.0%

8

6.0%

7

3.0%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

FY18

7

8.0%

8

0.0%

FY19

8

5.0%

8

5.0%

FY20

7

6.0%

78.0%

F

MayDec

Y21

8

1.0%

80.0%

FY21

Meridian NZ**

Powershop NZ

Meridian Australia***

Global top 25%

NZ top 25%

Total market

* Measured by ‘level of agreement’ – the percentage

of staff who ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ with the five

questions that collectively determine our Engagement

Index (previously calculated as a weighted mean).

** From FY19 onwards Powershop New Zealand is

reported as part of Meridian New Zealand. Dam Safety

Intelligence is included but does not include Flux.

*** Meridian and Powershop Australia plus the Powershop

Call Centre in Masterton are all included in Australian

engagement numbers.

Meridian Group Workforce

New Zealand**Australia***

Permanent employeesFemaleMaleFemaleMaleTotal

Permanent full time*438 481**** 25 57 1,001

Permanent part time 23 4 0 1 28

Temp/Fixed-term employees

Temp/fixed-term full time 24 14 1 3 42

Temp/fixed-term part time 8 8 1 0 17

Total 493 507 27 61 1,088

* Two of these employees are based in the UK. Both are male.

** 131 of these employees work for Flux New Zealand.

*** 3.41% of these staff are covered by collective bargaining agreements.

**** The Meridian Australia Chief Executive is included in New Zealand as part of the Group Executive Team.

A significant percentage

of our experienced staff

may soon be considering

retirement. To help

ensure that their skills

are passed on, we have

actively encouraged

young professionals

to join our teams

Flux has a remote-first workforce

and takes a weekly ‘pulse check’ of all

staff to gain insights into how people

at Flux are feeling at work, and to

enable fast action for any areas of

concern. This score is currently at

4.1 (an average rating out of 5 as

at 30 June 2021). Additionally and

on a fortnightly basis, we ask two

engagement-related questions –

our average score is 8.2 (scale of

1–10) for the 12 questions asked

since November 2020.

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Generation and Wholesale staff turning age 65
FY18FY19FY20FY21

In five years9.1%10.9%12.5%13.3%

In 10 years20.3%22.5%23.9%24.3%

The common retirement age in New Zealand and Australia is 65.

Future of work

Recognising that the future of work

at Meridian will be very different from

what has been expected of a large

gentailer, this year we introduced

the role of a Future of Work lead to study

pending disruptions across our business

and to plan how we might respond.

The Future of Work is about more than

just looking at our new, flexible way

of working. It is about ensuring our

people have the opportunity to learn

new skills for future roles. Roughly

40–55% of our people will need to

be upskilled or reskilled into new or

existing roles in the next five years.

Our Future of Work strategy will look

at the work we do today and how it will

be completed in the future, including

how we create an engaging workplace

experience for our people, how we

take a lifelong learning approach

and what is needed in our workplace

environment to ensure we are set up

to collaborate, innovate and create

together. The initiative also involves

looking at things like psychological

safety (remote and face-to-face

leadership), technology, digitisation,

automation and outward thinking,

such as the external and global forces

that will lead us to a new future or

force change (sustainability as

an example).

Also, as part of future-proofing our

workforce, we rolled out a bold new

recruitment, onboarding and core

people data platform that will give us

much deeper insights into key first

experiences and how our expectations

of the people we hire compare with

their actual performance. Tracking

and adjusting how we look for people

and how they perform inside our culture

will provide us with a much more

evidence-based approach to appraising

performance both initially and for the

longer term. Next year we will add to

the resources we make available to our

people with a new Learning Hub that,

for the first time, will put everything

learning and development in one

place, meaning we can directly and

easily access and align learning

content and records.

Succession planning

Succession planning is a key aspect

of ensuring that we are a successful

business for years to come. Along

with our Future of Work strategy

we continue to build our talent

and succession strengths with the

implementation of Talent Pools for

hard-to-fill roles, along with new-

skilling existing employees with skills

that will be more in demand in the

future. We are building frameworks

and success profiles for an executive

development pool that, once it is

operational, we will look to use

through all levels of leadership.

Generation and wholesale

staff turning age 65

A significant percentage of our

experienced staff may soon be

considering retirement – especially

those in our generation team. To

successfully ensure that skills are

passed on, we are encouraging young

professionals to join our business and

providing opportunities for people to

complete their trade apprenticeships

with us. Our goal is to ensure that, as

people consider retirement, they are

supported to transition out of work

smoothly (for example, through

part-time arrangements) and that

we have clear succession plans for

their areas of expertise.

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Meridian employees
Meridian onsite contractors

Meridian onsite (employees


and contractors combined)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

1

.

74

1

3

.

63

FY18

4

.

18

14.95

FY19

3

.

44

7

.

36

FY20

8.03

9.10

FY21

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

0

.

7

0

1

.

8

2

0

.

8

8

FY18

1

.

3

4

3

.

9

9

1

.

7

2

FY19

1

.

0

3

2

.

9

4

1

.

2

3

FY20

2.41

5.46

2.66

FY21

Total recordable injury frequency rate (TRIFR*)Lost time injury frequency rate (LTIFR*)

* The TRIFR is calculated per 200,000 hours and includes all lost time, medical treatment and

restricted work injuries for Meridian New Zealand employees and contractors only. While

we have incident numbers for Powershop New Zealand, Powershop Australia and offsite

contractors, the TRIFR cannot be calculated as the number of hours worked for those

periods has not been recorded.

* FY21 data excludes Meridian Australia, Flux and offsite contractors.

* The LTIFR is calculated per 1,000,000 hours and includes all lost time work injuries for Meridian

New Zealand employees and contractors only. While we have incident numbers for Powershop

New Zealand, Powershop Australia and offsite contractors, the LTIFR cannot be calculated as the

number of hours worked for those periods has not been recorded.

* FY21 data excludes Meridian Australia, Flux and offsite contractors.


More work needed

to increase safety

Safety is our greatest priority.

Our environments are technically

challenging with extremely large

electrical and mechanical assets, and

our people work in locations that range

from home to underground, inside

large structures, on tall wind and

hydro structures and close to large

volumes of water. For those who

predominantly work from home, risks

include mental health and trip hazards.

Because of the risk of incidents, we

are always evolving our health and

safety culture to keep our people

as safe as possible and to manage

wellbeing through pace and change.

There is a structured health and safety

training plan for all employees relative

to their job, almost always to NZQA

standards. The management system

is accredited to NZS7901 to meet the

requirements of the Electricity Act.

We’re focussed on developing and

maintaining an empathetic, caring

culture – and the levels of safety

management that we build into our

daily operations reflect our concern

for everyone who works with us.

For example, we have site-specific

Health and Safety Committees that

represent all employees on our sites,

including contractors, and our Learning

Teams are effective in responding

to events, creating an environment

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

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where speaking up without fear or
blame is encouraged, and improving

our opportunities to gather better

operational information and increase

worker engagement. More detail can

be found in our Health and Safety

Policy at www.meridianenergy.co.nz/

investors/governance/policies.

These Committees meet every month

to identify hazards and review incidents

that have occurred. The Committee

representatives are freely elected by

their colleagues and receive regular

training in risk identification and

controls. They are further supported

by dedicated business unit safety

specialists who provide extensive

technical expertise and support. All

our people are required to log any

incidents or near misses directly into

our Safety Manager system. We have a

stop work policy, which includes mental

health risk, and all corrective actions

are implemented as per our Health and

Safety Policy at www.meridianenergy.

co.nz/investors/governance/policies.

We apply this approach to safety across

our Australian and New Zealand assets,

including Flux and our contractors.

We are an active member of Stay Live,

an electricity industry forum focusing

on working together across the sector

to improve safety. Our Head of Safety

is Deputy Chair of the forum.

Regrettably, despite all our efforts,

there was an increase in our reportable

injuries this year, with more injuries

overall and more time off work due to

injury recorded. In FY21 our calculated

total recordable injury frequency rate

for employees and contractors per

200,000 hours worked (TRIFR) was

2.66 (compared with 1.23 in FY20),

representing 18 people hurt (three

contractors and 15 employees). The

main types of injury in FY21 were

sprains, strains and superficial injuries;

no serious injuries were reported.

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Supporting the work of others
Two key reasons for people being drawn

to Meridian are that they perceive us as a

force for good through our commitment

to renewable energy, and they consider

us a good corporate citizen.

We have been a National Partner of

the Department of Conservation’s

Kākāpō Recovery Programme for five

years now, contributing to vital research

to help these precious native parrots

to increase in numbers. Many of our

people are involved in helping change

the future for the kākāpō through

volunteering and raising awareness

of the plight of these beautiful birds.

KidsCan is another organisation close

to our hearts. This amazing charity

provides essentials to children affected

by poverty so they can participate in

learning. As Principal Partner, we work

with KidsCan to provide thousands of

Kiwi kids with basics such as food,

raincoats, shoes and socks and basic

hygiene and healthcare items. This

year, we contributed more than

$1 million to help KidsCan to help

young New Zealanders in need and

we have committed to doing this every

year for at least the next three years.

A stronger sense of belonging

Despite some good progress in

attracting and appointing more

female candidates this year, we still

do not have a good gender balance in

the engineering parts of our business

or in leadership and senior-level roles

throughout the business.

Currently 37.2% of our staff in people

leadership and senior specialist

positions below Executive Team level

are women. This is a positive lift from

the 34.3% achieved on this measure in

2020, but still means we have missed

our target of 40% by year-end 2021.

To address this we are working on

initiatives to deepen our understanding

of the drivers for women’s aspirations

to leadership within our company.

We also continue to deepen our

commitment to developing staff,

with a particular focus on women, to

reach their full potential as leaders.

The Board has agreed a new

gender-diversity, which is to achieve

a gender balance in leadership and

senior roles. In order to achieve this,

we will strive for recruitment to result

in appointments that are 45% men,

45% women and 10% any gender, by

2023. Our Gender and Team Rainbow

working groups have initiatives to

help with the retention of women and

embedding gender and non-binary

practices wherever possible to assist

in achieving our goals.

In FY21, our average level of gender

pay equity was similar to that of FY20

(96.7% compared with 96.3%).

To address this, our recruitment

team will build and maintain an

internally run Māori and Pacifika

internship programme, leverage

our relationships with iwi to promote

work opportunities within our company

and use opportunities such as our

Harapaki wind farm development

to improve our relationships with iwi

and promote scholarships, upskilling

and job opportunities.

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Women remain underrepresented
in the engineering parts of our

business, and in leadership and

senior-level roles throughout the

business. Currently 37.2% of our

staff in people leadership and

senior specialist positions below

Executive Team level are women,

against a target of 40% by year-

end 2021.

Traditionally, generation, with its

80% male workforce, has had the

biggest gender gap.

* Includes Dam Safety Intelligence.

** Includes Flux-UK staff.

Diversity by gender (headcount)

We strive to build a culture where

everyone is welcome. Our people

identify themselves in a range

of ways.

Female

Male

30.7%

69.3%

43.5%

56.5%

25.0%

75.0%

22.9%

77.1%

31.8%

68.2%

70.2%

29.8%

36.4%

63.6%

50.0%

50.0%

63.7%

36.3%

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

Board

Executive

Corporate Centre

ICT

Generation and

Natural Resources*

Wholesale

The Customer T

eam

Flux NZ**

Australia

Female representation

FY18FY19FY20FY21

Female share of total workforce (%) 41.8%45.3%46.2%47. 8%

Females on the Board25.0%28.6%50.0%50.0%

Females in management positions (as % of total management workforce)33.6%37. 2 %37. 4%36.1%

Females in junior management positions, i.e. first level of management

(as % of total junior management positions)

36.3%40.8%40.0%40.1%

Females in top management positions, i.e. maximum two levels away from

the Chief Executive or comparable positions (as a % of total top management positions)

30.7%33.6%34.8%32.4%

Females in management positions in revenue-generating functions (e.g. sales)

as a % of all such managers (i.e. excluding support functions such as HR, IT, and Legal)

29.4%33.7%34.0%33.3%

Percentage of women in senior roles at 30 June*32.8%35.2%34.3%37. 2 %

* Parent company only, women in people leadership and senior specialist roles, excluding the Executive Team.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

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Diversity by age (headcount)
Under 30

30–50

Over 50

0.00%

12.5%

87.5%

45.5%

54.5%

0%


0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

260

240

220

200

180

BoardExecutiveICT

Wholesale

Flux NZ**

Australia

Corporate

Centre

Generation

and Natural

Resources*

The Customer

Team

54.3%

18.0%

27.7%

70.4%

27.3%

2.3%

51.5%

37.9%

10.6%

58.3%

33.3%

8.3%

74.1%

13.3%

12.6%

72.7%

9.1%

18.2%

54.3%

14.0%

31.7%

* Includes Dam Safety Intelligence

** Includes Flux-UK staff

We are committed to achieving pay

equity for all employees in similarly

sized roles and with similar skills,

experience and accountabilities.

In FY21 the average level of gender

pay equity was similar to that in FY20

(96.3 compared with 96.7). The average

salary for men across the organisation

remains higher than the average salary

for women. There are still more men

than women at senior levels. What

we are seeing is a healthy increase

in the proportion of females at mid-

senior levels.

Group % ratio female salary to male salary

by salary band*FY19FY20FY21

K–L91.5%89.9%88.7%

I–J98.1%95.8%98.4%

G–H95.4%96.1%96.1%

E–F99. 2%98.3%95.4%

C–D96.9%97.9 %100.6%

A–B99.7%99.0%100.8%

Average of averages96.8%96.3%96.7%

* K and L are our highest salary bands and A and B are our lowest.

Percentage of women by salary band

by salary band*FY19FY20FY21

K–L18.5%24.1%28.6%

I–J27.0%32.0%31.0%

G–H30.8%32.9%33.2%

E–F43.2%43.3%48.7%

C–D59.7%55.4%54.8%

A–B61.6%70.8%72.7%

Average of averages40.1%43.1%44.8%

* K and L are our highest salary bands and A and B are our lowest.

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Keeping our technology
systems safe, stable and secure

Increasing digitalisation, a reliance on

ICT systems, and flexible approaches

to working throughout the COVID-19

pandemic have made managing cyber

risk an even greater priority for many

industries, including our own. A failure

to protect our technology systems,

information and people from cyber

threats could have adverse impacts on

both our company and our customers.

Across the business, we apply a range

of measures to manage our cyber risk,

including policies and procedures,

cybersecurity capabilities, continuous

threat monitoring and event-detection

capabilities. To equip our people with

the knowledge and skills to combat

cyber threats, we have developed

a security training and awareness

programme covering topics such as

phishing, incident reporting, passwords

and keeping information and devices

safe. We also conduct regular exercises

to test our cyber resilience and

business continuity processes. We

are a contributing member of several

fora to collaborate with government,

business partners and industry peers

in understanding and responding to

new and emerging threats.

In the past year we have continued

to invest in and strengthen our

cybersecurity capabilities, particularly

in terms of embarking on ‘zero

trust’ architecture that includes:

network segregation; identity and

access management; monitoring

and reporting; third-party risk

management; and training and

awareness for our people. We remain

focused on continually improving

our security capabilities to counter

dynamic and advanced cyber threats

through an outcome-driven approach.

By managing and securing our digital

environment, our goal is to give our

people the confidence to understand

and manage cyber risk, realise new

business opportunities, unlock value

and continue to provide essential

services to our customers.

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Rewarding
energy

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Our approach to
remunerating our people

Attracting, retaining and motivating talented

people, and rewarding them for delivering

desired business performance and long-term

shareholder value, are key to Meridian’s success.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

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84

Our remuneration philosophy is guided by the principles that remuneration will:
• be clearly aligned with our company values, culture and strategy

• support us to attract, retain and engage employees

• be fair, equitable and flexible

• appropriately reflect market conditions and the organisational context

• recognise and reward high performance

• align with creating shareholder value.

The People and Remuneration Committee regularly reviews remuneration

policy and practice and provides recommendations to the Board. The Board

approves the executive balanced scorecard objectives, and company financial

performance targets and outcomes on an annual basis.

Fixed remuneration is benchmarked to market remuneration data, and permanent

employees may participate in a short-term incentive (STI) scheme at the discretion

and invitation of the Board. As a minimum, Meridian pays the Living Wage for all

permanent and fixed-term employees. A range of benefits is provided, including

employee insurance, enhanced parental leave provisions, the ability to purchase

additional leave, and access to purchasing discounts. The Executive Team and

Chief Executive also have the opportunity to participate in a long-term incentive

(LTI) plan. Both the STI scheme and LTI plan are variable, performance-based

incentives, awarded only if specific financial and non-financial performance

hurdles are met, and at the discretion of the Board.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

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Fixed remuneration
Fixed remuneration includes

base salary and matched KiwiSaver

contributions of up to 4%. Salaries

are reviewed annually.

Short-term incentive (STI)

The STI is an at-risk incentive that

may be offered for a specific year, by

invitation from the Board. Potential

STI payments reflect the achievement

of predetermined company profit

levels and individual performance

objectives aligned to business

strategies and goals, and are wholly

discretionary. An STI may be paid

subject to a behaviour gate and

company financial performance

hurdles, and at the discretion of

the Board.

The STI opportunity within total

remuneration reflects the complexity

and level of the roles. In FY21 the

Chief Executive had an STI opportunity

of 50% of his salary, and the Executive

Team STI opportunity was 30%.

Long-term incentive (LTI)

An LTI plan is offered at the discretion

of the Board to the New Zealand

Executive Team, to align executives’ and

shareholders’ interests and optimise

long-term shareholder returns.

The LTI opportunity is 40% of salary

for the Chief Executive, and 30%

of salary for the Executive Team.

Vesting of the LTI is contingent on

their meeting both absolute and

relative Total Shareholder Return

(TSR) performance hurdles at the

conclusion of a three-year period.

Further details of the LTI plan are

provided on pages 156-157.

Employee share ownership

Employees are invited to join Meridian’s

employee share ownership plan,

MyShare. Under MyShare, Meridian

shares are purchased for participating

employees, funded by monthly pay

deductions of between $500 and

$5,000 per annum. After three years

participants may be eligible for award

shares subject to ongoing employment

(Tenure Award Shares) and the

company TSR outperforming a peer

group of competitors (Performance

Award Shares). In FY21, 58.5% of

employees participated in MyShare,

and this has increased to 60% for FY22.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

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BandTotal Group
100,000 – 109,99997

110,000 – 119,99964

120,000 – 129,999

68

130,000 – 139,99956

140,000 – 149,99943

150,000 – 159,99938

160,000 – 169,99926

170,000 – 179,99930

180,000 – 189,99919

190,000 – 199,99919

200,000 – 209,99914

210,000 – 219,9997

220,000 – 229,9998

230,000 – 239,9996

240,000 – 249,9993

250,000 – 259,9992

260,000 – 269,9993

270,000 – 279,9996

280,000 – 289,9991

290,000 – 299,9991

300,000 – 309,9993

310,000 – 319,9993

330,000 – 339,9991

340,000 – 349,9992

350,000 – 359,9991

360,000 – 369,9992

370,000 – 379,9993

380,000 – 389,9991

390,000 – 399,9995

490,000 – 499,9991

520,000 – 529,9991

530,000 – 539,9991

610,000 – 619,9991

820,000 – 829,9992

830,000 – 839,9991

2,030,000 – 2,039,9991

540

Terminated employees42

Employee remuneration range

The number of employees and

former employees of Meridian and its

subsidiaries (not including directors)

who during the year ended 30 June

2021 received cash remuneration

and other benefits (including at-risk

performance incentives, KiwiSaver

contributions and redundancy

compensation) exceeding $100,000

is outlined opposite:

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

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Chief executive remuneration for performance periods
ending 30 june 2021 and 30 june 2020

Ye a r

Base

salary

Taxable

benefits

6

Fixed

rem

7

MyShare

8

Pay for performanceTotal rem

STI

9

LTI

10

Subtotal

FY21$1,071,125$42,845$1,113,970$2,500$ 527,91 0$664,066$1,191,976$2,308,446

FY20

$1,071,125$42,845 $1,113,970$2,500 $ 517, 216 $406,155$923,371 $2,039,841

The Chief Executive is entitled to receive a matching employer KiwiSaver contribution of 4% of gross taxable earnings.

The company’s KiwiSaver contributions for the Chief Executive, paid within the FY21 period were $78,459.

Five-year remuneration summary

Ye a rSingle figure rem

% STI

against maximum

% vested LTIs

against maximum

Span of LTI

Performance Period

FY21$2,308,44666.75%100%FY19–FY21

FY20$2,039,84178.69%100%FY18–FY20

FY19$1,695,19590.91%100%FY17–FY19

FY18 $2,156,48472.8%75%FY16–FY18

FY17$2,379,76879.29%100%FY15–FY17

Neal Barclay was appointed as Chief Executive effective from 1 January 2018.

Chief Executive remuneration for FY18 therefore reflects the sum of Chief Executive remuneration for Neal Barclay

and previous Chief Executive Mark Binns.

Notes

The FY21 MyShare figure is the

$2,500 award shares related to

participation in the MyShare plan

for FY19, which vested in FY21.

The FY21 LTI figure is payment

relating to the vesting of the FY19

LTI plan. It is higher than the payment

received in FY20 given the FY18 offer

(which vested in FY20) was adjusted

to reflect the fact that the Chief

Executive had been appointed to

that role partway through FY18.

6 Taxable benefits are 4% company KiwiSaver contributions on salary.

7 Fixed remuneration is salary plus company KiwiSaver contributions.

8 MyShare is gross value of award shares received in the applicable period.

9 STI is the potential payment based on performance achieved for the applicable period and includes 4% company KiwiSaver contributions.

10 LTI is grossed up for PAYE, and in FY19 included 4% company KiwiSaver contributions. The LTI plan changed in FY20.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

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Breakdown of Chief Executive pay for performance (FY21)
DescriptionPerformance measures% achieved

STI50% of base salary. Combination

of company result and a scorecard

of financial and non-financial

company measures

60% weighting on company performance (company profit,

which comprises Group EBITDAF minus capital charge)

111.3%

40% weighting on performance against a Board-approved

scorecard comprising financial and non-financial objectives,

as shown in the table below

70%

LTIConditional awards of shares

under LTI plan. 40% of base salary

Absolute TSR over the relevant assessment period:

• must be positive and >50th percentile/median TSR

of the peer group

11

Hurdle met

Relative TSR – if positive and:

• >50th percentile TSR of peer group, at least 50% vests

• ≥75th percentile TSR, 100% vests

• between the 50th and 75th percentile TSRs of peer group,

progressively vests on a straight-line basis

100%

Pay for Performance Scorecard Measures for FY21

For FY21, the Board-approved scorecard comprising up to 40% of the Chief Executive’s STI was measured as follows:

Performance areaMeasuresWeighting

EmployeesTrend in engagement score and TRIFR20%

CustomerCustomer growth20%

Australian customer numbers and assets20%

RiskSuccessful transition to accommodate significant market changes20%

Future developmentMigration to single customer platform20%

11 The peer group comprises AGL Energy, Origin Energy, Contact Energy, Mercury NZ, Trustpower and Genesis Energy.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

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Five-year summary – TSR performance
(Meridian Energy vs peer group)

The TSR summary above illustrates the performance of Meridian’s

shares against a peer group of companies between 1 July 2017

and 30 June 2021. TSR performance outcomes are independently

validated by external experts.

Chief Executive remuneration

performance pay for FY21

The chart above depicts elements of the Chief Executive’s

remuneration design under various scenarios for the year ended

30 June 2021, as a proportion of total remuneration.

1

7

%

1

4

%

5

9

%

9

%

18%

9%

43%

-10%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

90%

80%

FY17FY18FY19FY20FY21

-8 %

85%

58%

43%57%100%

30%

25%

27%

18%

0

$(000)

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

3,000

2,500

Fixed RemunerationMeets ExpectationsMaximum

Fixed remuneration

Annual variable

LTI

Meridian

Peer group median

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

REWARDING ENERGY

90

Other remuneration
report components

LTI S

In August 2019 the Board approved

a new LTI plan to replace Meridian’s

previous LTI plan. Set out below is a

summary of the new LTI plan, which

was first offered in FY20 (for the

period commencing on 1 July 2019

and ending on 30 June 2022). A

summary of the previous LTI plan,

which was last offered in FY19 (for the

period commencing on 1 July 2018

and ending on 30 June 2021) is also

included below.

New LTI plan

Under the new LTI plan, the company

issues rights to acquire ordinary shares

in the company (Share Rights) to

eligible participants who accept the

offer to participate in the LTI plan. Each

Share Right entitles the holder to one

ordinary share in the company and an

additional number of shares equal to

the value of gross cash dividends per

share that would have been paid to a

New Zealand tax resident who held a

share for the duration of the vesting

period, calculated using a 10-day,

volume-weighted average price.

The number of Share Rights that

vest is dependent on the following

Vesting Conditions:

• Meridian’s TSR over a three-year

performance period (Performance

Period) relative to Meridian’s cost

of equity and the TSR over the

Performance Period of a defined

group of NZX Main Board and

ASX listed peer companies

(Performance Hurdles).

• If the participant continues to

be employed by Meridian during

the vesting period (Employment

Condition).

Performance hurdles

Share Rights are granted in two

tranches:

• Absolute Return Share Rights.

• Relative Return Share Rights.

For Absolute Return Share Rights

to vest, the company’s TSR must

be greater than the absolute TSR

benchmark that is set at the beginning

of the vesting period with regard to the

company’s cost of equity (Absolute TSR

Benchmark) on a compounding annual

basis over the Performance Period. If

the company’s TSR is equal to or lower

than the Absolute TSR Benchmark,

no Absolute Share Rights will vest. If

the company’s TSR is greater than the

Absolute TSR Benchmark, 100% of the

Absolute Return Share Rights will vest.

The number of Relative Return Share

Rights that vest is determined by the

company’s TSR in the Performance

Period relative to the peer group.

For any of the Relative Return Share

Rights to vest, the company’s TSR

must be greater than or equal to the

50th percentile/median TSR of the

peer group. 100% of the Share Rights

will vest on meeting the 75th percentile

TSR of the peer group, with vesting

on a straight-line basis between

these two points.

For each three-year plan, an

independent external expert measures

the TSRs of Meridian and the peer group

of companies along with the outcome

on the progressive vesting scale.

Share Rights will lapse if the Vesting

Conditions are not satisfied (although

this is subject to the Board’s discretion in

relation to the Employment Condition).

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Previous LTI plan
The previous LTI plan was a share

loan and cash bonus scheme, where

executives purchased Meridian shares

via an interest-free loan from the

company, with the shares held on

trust by the LTI plan trustee. Any

shares awarded depend on whether

the following performance hurdles

are met over a three-year period:

• The company’s absolute TSR,

which must be positive.

• The company’s TSR compared

to a benchmark peer group.

If the performance hurdles have

been achieved, a progressive vesting

scale is applied to determine how

many shares vest:

• If the company’s TSR over the

three-year period exceeds the

50th percentile TSR of the

benchmark peer group, at

least 50% of an executive’s

shares will vest.

• 100% shares will vest on meeting

the 75th percentile TSR of the

peer group, with vesting on a

straight-line basis between

these two points.

• No shares will vest if the company’s

TSR is less than the 50th percentile

TSR of the peer group.

Over the three-year period, any

dividends paid on the shares are

applied to the executive’s loan

balance. Once the vesting level has

been confirmed, a cash amount (after

the deduction of tax, but before other

applicable salary deductions) is used

to repay the executive’s outstanding

loan balance.

For each three-year plan, an

independent external expert

measures the TSRs of Meridian and

the peer group of companies along

with the outcome on the progressive

vesting scale. If a TSR is not positive

(i.e. in absolute terms is less than

zero), or if a TSR does not meet the

peer group relative TSR hurdle of

50th percentile, the shares are

forfeited to the trustee and the

relevant executive receives no

benefits under the LTI plan. Where

the TSR is greater than the 50th

percentile of the benchmark peer

group, but below the 75th percentile,

shares that have not vested will also

be forfeited.

For the LTI plan that vested at the

end of 2021, the level of vesting

was 100% (2020: 100%). Therefore,

the outstanding balance of the

interest-free loans at 30 June 2021

of $0.65 million (2020: $0.5 million)

has now been repaid. A total

amount of 238,725 shares has been

transferred to the eligible participants

(2020: 208,707) and 96,173 shares

forfeited for executives who are

no longer employed by Meridian

(2020: 154,388).

Other information

Meridian has a policy to ensure that

the participants of the executive LTI

plan are not permitted to enter into

transactions (whether through the

use of derivatives or otherwise)

that limit the economic risk of

participating in the plan.

Meridian has written agreements

with the Chief Executive and

executives setting out the terms

of their employment.

Neal Barclay will be employed as

Chief Executive until his employment

is terminated in accordance with his

employment agreement. Pursuant

to the employment agreement, the

Chief Executive and Meridian have

mutual rights of termination on the

provision of six months’ written

notice. Meridian may also terminate

the Chief Executive’s employment

on the grounds of redundancy or

serious misconduct or where an

act of bankruptcy is committed.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

REWARDING ENERGY

92

Approved director remuneration for FY21
Director remuneration is paid from the total director fee pool that was

approved by shareholders at the Annual Meeting of 28 October 2016.

Shareholder-approved annual director fee pool

FY20FY21

Board fees$1,000,000$1,000,000

Committee fees$100,000$100,000

Total pool$1,100,000$1,100,000

Individual Board-approved annual fee breakdown

Position heldFY20FY21

Chair$200,000$196,500

Deputy Chair$140,000$137,550

Director$110,000$108,075

Audit and Risk Committee Chair$22,500$ 22,106

Audit and Risk Committee member$10,000$9,825

Safety and Sustainability Committee Chair$15,000$14,738

Safety and Sustainability Committee member $9, 200$9,039

People and Remuneration Committee Chair $15,000$14,738

People and Remuneration Committee member $9,100$8,941

For FY21, director remuneration for each position decreased from that payable in

FY20, as the total number of directors on the Board increased, and directors also

served on additional committees. However, the total director fee pool remained

unchanged from the amount approved by shareholders at the Annual Meeting

of 28 October 2016.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

REWARDING ENERGY

93

Director remuneration received in FY21
Name of director

Board

fees

Audit & Risk

Committee

People &

Remuneration

Committee

Safety &

Sustainability

Committee

Total

remuneration

Mark Verbiest

12

(Chair)$196,500 –––$196,500

Peter Wilson (Deputy Chair)$137,550$9,825–$9,039$156,414

Mark Cairns$108,075––$14,738

(Chair)

$122,813

Jan Dawson$108,075$9,825$14,738

(Chair)

–$132,638

Anake Goodall$108,075––$9,039$117,114

Michelle Henderson$108,075$9,825–$9,039$126,939

Julia Hoare$108,075$22,106

(Chair)

––$130,181

Nagaja Sanatkumar$108,075–$8,941–$117,016

Total$982,500$51,581$23,679$41,855$1,099,615

Directors are reimbursed for all reasonable and properly documented expenses

incurred in performing their duties as Meridian directors. No additional payments

or benefits were received by directors in FY21.

Meridian employees appointed as directors of Meridian subsidiaries do not

receive any directorship fees.

12 Does not receive additional fees for Committee membership.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

REWARDING ENERGY

94

Further disclosures
Further disclosures required by the

NZX Listing Rules, the Companies Act 1993

and other legislation and rules

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

FURTHER DISCLOSURES

95

Meridian Energy
The table opposite outlines the current

directors of Meridian Energy Limited.

There were no changes among the

people who held office as directors of

Meridian Energy Limited during FY21.

Company nameDirectors

Meridian Energy LimitedMark Cairns, Jan Dawson, Anake Goodall, Michelle Henderson,

Julia Hoare, Nagaja Sanatkumar, Mark Verbiest, Peter Wilson

The Board has determined that as at 30 June 2021, all Meridian directors are

independent. The factors relevant to this determination are that no director:

• has, within the past three years, been employed in an executive role

by Meridian or any of its subsidiaries

• has held, within the past 12 months, a senior role in a provider of

material professional services to Meridian or its subsidiaries

• has had, within the past three years, a material business relationship

with Meridian or its subsidiaries

• is a substantial product holder of Meridian, or a senior manager of, or a

person otherwise associated with a substantial product holder of Meridian

• has had, within the past three years, a material contractual relationship

with Meridian or any of its subsidiaries

• has close family ties with anyone in the categories listed above

• has been a director of Meridian for a length of time that may

compromise independence.

Current Board

and Executive team

gender composition

In accordance with NZX Listing

Rules, the gender make-up of

Meridian’s directors and officers

as at 30 June 2021 is:

As at 30 June 2021As at 30 June 2020

FemaleMaleFemaleMale

Number of directors4444

Percentage of directors50%50%50%50%

Number of officers4746

Percentage of officers36%64%40%60%

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

FURTHER DISCLOSURES

96

Meridian subsidiaries
The opposite and following tables list

the subsidiaries of Meridian Energy

Limited during the accounting period,

and any changes to those subsidiaries

and among the people who held office

as directors.

New Zealand subsidiaries

Company nameCompany numberDirectorsFurther information

Dam Safety Intelligence Limited6152623

Neal Barclay, Tania Palmer

No changes

Flux Federation Limited6292491Neal Barclay, Michael Roan No changes

Meridian Energy Captive Insurance Limited1612020

Neal Barclay, Michael Roan

No changes

Meridian Energy International Limited1114014Neal Barclay, Michael Roan No changes

Meridian Limited863312

Neal Barclay, Michael Roan

No changes

Meridian LTI Trustee Limited4644639Anake Goodall, Jan DawsonNo changes

Powershop New Zealand Limited1978930

Neal Barclay, Michael Roan

Amalgamated with Meridian Energy Limited

on 30 April 2021 and has been removed from

the Companies Office register

Powershop New Zealand Limited8184062Neal Barclay, Michael Roan Incorporated on 7 May 2021

Three River Holdings No. 1 Limited1920517Neal Barclay, Michael Roan No changes

Three River Holdings No. 2 Limited1920515

Neal Barclay, Michael Roan

No changes

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

FURTHER DISCLOSURES

97

Australian subsidiaries
Company nameDirectorsFurther information

Meridian Australia Holdings Pty LimitedNeal Barclay, Tony Sherburn, Mike Roan, Jason Stein No changes

Meridian Energy Australia Pty LimitedNeal Barclay, Tony Sherburn, Mike Roan, Jason Stein No changes

Meridian Energy Markets Pty LimitedNeal Barclay, Tony Sherburn, Mike Roan, Jason Stein No changes

Meridian Finco Pty LimitedNeal Barclay, Tony Sherburn, Mike Roan, Jason Stein No changes

Meridian Wind Australia Holdings Pty LimitedNeal Barclay, Tony Sherburn, Mike Roan, Jason Stein No changes

Meridian Wind Monaro Range Holdings Pty LimitedNeal Barclay, Tony Sherburn, Mike Roan, Jason Stein No changes

Meridian Wind Monaro Range Pty LimitedNeal Barclay, Tony Sherburn, Mike Roan, Jason Stein No changes

Mt Millar Wind Farm Pty LimitedNeal Barclay, Tony Sherburn, Mike Roan, Jason Stein No changes

Mt Mercer Windfarm Pty LimitedNeal Barclay, Tony Sherburn, Mike Roan, Jason Stein No changes

Powershop Australia Pty LimitedNeal Barclay, Tony Sherburn, Mike Roan, Jason Stein No changes

GSP Energy Pty LimitedNeal Barclay, Tony Sherburn, Mike Roan, Jason Stein No changes

Rangoon Energy Park Pty LimitedNeal Barclay, Tony Sherburn, Mike Roan, Jason Stein No changes

Wandsworth Wind Farm Pty LimitedNeal Barclay, Tony Sherburn, Mike Roan, Jason Stein No changes

UK subsidiaries

Company nameDirectorsFurther information

Flux-UK LimitedTania Palmer, Guy Waipara No changes

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

FURTHER DISCLOSURES

98

Particulars of entries in the
interests register made during

the accounting period

Shareholders can review

Meridian Energy Limited’s full

interests register on request.

In accordance with sections 140 and

211(e) of the Companies Act 1993,

the table opposite lists the general

disclosures of interest by directors

of Meridian Energy Limited and

its subsidiaries.

NamePositionDisclosures

Mark CairnsDirector, Meridian Energy Limited and

Meridian LTI Trustee Limited

Coda GP Limited, Director**

Freightways Limited, Director*

Northport Limited, Director**

Port of Tauranga, Employee**

Port of Tauranga Trustee Company Limited, Director**

Quality Marshalling Limited, Chair**

Sanford Limited, Director*

Jan DawsonDirector, Meridian Energy Limited and

Meridian LTI Trustee Limited

AIG Insurance New Zealand Limited, Director

Air New Zealand Limited, Bondholder**

Air New Zealand Limited, Director and Shareholder

Mercury NZ Limited, Shareholder

Westpac New Zealand Limited, Chair

Anake GoodallDirector, Meridian Energy Limited and

Meridian LTI Trustee Limited

Ekos, Chair**

Impax Environmental Markets, Shareholder

Moreton Resources Limited, Shareholder

Seed the Change – He Kākano Hāpai, Chair

Michelle HendersonDirector, Meridian Energy LimitedCycling New Zealand Incorporated, Board Member*

Fulton Hogan Australia (Management) Pty Limited, Director*

Fulton Hogan Australia Pty Limited, Director*

Fulton Hogan Construction Pty Limited, Director*

Fulton Hogan Industries Pty Limited, Director*

Fulton Hogan Land Development Limited, Director*

Fulton Hogan Limited, Director*

Fulton Hogan Quarries Pty Limited, Director*

Fulton Hogan Transport Pty Limited, Director*

Fulton Hogan Utilities Pty Limited, Director*

Southern Institute of Technology Engineering and Trades Advisory Committee, Member

Youthline Southland Charitable Trust, Trustee

Julia HoareDirector, Meridian Energy Limited Auckland International Airport Limited, Director and Shareholder

AWF Madison Limited (now known as Accordant Group Limited), Director**

External Reporting Advisory Panel, Member**

Institute of Directors, Vice President

Mercury NZ Limited, Shareholder

Port of Tauranga, Director and Shareholder*

Sustainable Finance Forum, Leaders’ Group, Member

The a2 Milk Company Limited, Deputy Chair and Shareholder

Watercare Services Limited, Deputy Chair**

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

FURTHER DISCLOSURES

99

NamePositionDisclosures
Nagaja SanatkumarDirector, Meridian Energy LimitedAmazon.com, Inc, Shareholder

Cawthron Institute, Director*

First Fibre Bidco NZ Limited, Director*

First Fibre Midco Limited, Director*

Imagen8 Limited, Director

Mediaworks Investments Limited, Director*

Mercury NZ Limited, Shareholder*

New Zealand Post Limited, Director

Nova Digital Consulting Limited, Director and Principal

Trustpower Limited, Bondholder*

UFF Holdings Limited, Director*

Ultrafast Fibre Limited, Director*

Vector Limited, Bondholder*

Z Energy Limited, Bondholder*

Mark VerbiestDirector, Meridian Energy LimitedANZ Bank New Zealand Limited, Director

Freightways Limited, Chair and Shareholder

Infratil Limited, Shareholder

Mycare Limited, Shareholder

NZ Treasury Advisory Board**

Southern Alps Rescue Trust, Trustee

Southern Lakes Art Festival Trust, Trustee

Willis Bond Capital Partners Limited, Chair and Shareholder**

Willis Bond General Partner Limited, Chair**

Peter WilsonDirector, Meridian Energy LimitedArvida Group, Chair

Contact Energy Limited, Shareholder

Genesis Energy Limited, Shareholder and Bondholder

Infratil Limited, Shareholder

Mercury NZ Limited, Shareholder and Bondholder

* Entries added and effective during the year ended 30 June 2021.

** Entries removed during the year ended 30 June 2021.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

FURTHER DISCLOSURES

100

During FY21, the disclosures opposite
were made in accordance with section

148 of the Companies Act 1993.

Director

Nature of

relevant interestDate

Acquisition/

DisposalClass

Number

acquired

Consideration

received per share

Michelle HendersonBeneficial interest 1) 22 March 2021

2) 21 April 2021

AcquisitionShares1) 1,781.7857

2) 1,742. 8 82

1) $5.550

2) $5.725

Julia HoareBeneficial interest22 March 2021AcquisitionShares4,000$5.375

Mark VerbiestBeneficial interest7 April 2021Acquisition Shares10,000$5.266

Director indemnity

and insurance

Pursuant to section 162 of the

Companies Act 1993, as permitted

by Meridian’s constitution, Deeds

of Indemnity have been given to

directors for potential liabilities and

costs they might incur for actions or

omissions in their capacity as directors.

From 1 May 2021, Meridian’s directors’

and officers’ liability insurance was

renewed to cover risks normally

covered by such policies. Insurance is

not provided for dishonest, fraudulent,

malicious or wilful acts or omissions.

Donations

The Meridian Energy Group made

donations totalling $0.3 million during

FY21. Meridian does not make donations

to political parties. All donations must

be approved by the Board.

Auditor

The Auditor-General has appointed

Mike Hoshek of Deloitte Limited as

auditor of the company. Meridian

and its subsidiariets paid $0.8 million

(2020: $0.8 million) to Deloitte Limited

as audit fees in FY21.

The fees for other services under- taken

by Deloitte Limited during FY21 totalled

$0.1 million (2020: $0.1 million). These

related to other assurance activities,

including reviews of carbon emissions,

securities registers, vesting of the

executive LTI plan, the solvency return

of Meridian Energy Captive Insurance

Limited and trustee reporting.

Meridian has also paid $14,000

(2020: $14,000) to Deloitte Limited

for administrative and other advisory

services to the Corporate Taxpayers

Group (CTG), of which Meridian, along-

side a number of other organisations,

is a member. In addition to this, Meridian

has paid $5,000 (2020: nil) to Deloitte

Limited for consultancy services relating

to the CFO Vantage Programme.

Interests in Meridian securities

In accordance with NZX Listing

Rule 3.7.1(d), as at 30 June 2021

Meridian Energy Limited directors

had the following relevant interests

in Meridian Energy Limited Quoted

Financial Products.

Director

Number

of shares*

Number

of bonds

Mark Cairns235,000–

Jan Dawson51,300–

Anake Goodall60,000–

Michelle Henderson3,525–

Julia Hoare4,000–

Nagaja Sanatkumar3,723–

Mark Verbiest45,000–

Peter Wilson99,170–

* Rounded to the nearest whole number.

Senior managers’ equity holdings

As at 30 June 2021, the following

senior managers had relevant interests

in Meridian Energy Limited shares.

Senior manager

Number

of shares

Neal Barclay725,752

Chris Ewers 91,959

Mat Bayliss12,850

Lisa Hannifin68,675

Mike Roan318,999

Jason Stein344,281

Guy Waipara388,174

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

FURTHER DISCLOSURES

101

Twenty largest registered
holders of quoted financial

products as at the balance date

The table opposite lists the

company’s 20 largest registered

shareholders as at 30 June 2021.

Names

Number of shares% of issued shares

Her Majesty the Queen in Right of New Zealand Acting by

and Through Her Minister of Finance and Minister for SOEs

1,307,586,37451.01

HSBC Nominees (New Zealand) Limited 131,033,5655.11

HSBC Nominees (New Zealand) Limited A/C State Street*113,085,3294.41

J.P. Morgan Chase Bank Na NZ Branch-Segregated Clients Acct*91,811,9003.58

Citibank Nominees (New Zealand) Limited*89,840,6703.50

Accident Compensation Corporation*52,164,9722.03

National Nominees Limited*34,622,1311.35

HSBC Nominees A/C NZ Superannuation Fund Nominees Limited*31,667,8411.23

BNP Paribas Nominees (NZ) Limited*29,950,0591.16

Custodial Services Limited28,771,4671.12

BNP Paribas Nominees (NZ) Limited*25,301,4570.98

JBWere (NZ) Nominees Limited24,059,8500.93

Custodial Services Limited23,098,7740.90

Forsyth Barr Custodians Limited18,451,6310.72

HSBC Custody Nominees (Australia) Limited*18,162,5680.70

BNP Paribas Nominees (NZ) Limited*18,141,5290.70

TEA Custodians Limited Client Property Trust Account*17, 514 ,9 9 20.68

New Zealand Depository Nominee Limited17,104,0090.66

Custodial Services Limited16,025,1750.62

ANZ Wholesale Australasian Share Fund*14,455,0010.56

* Held through New Zealand Central Securities Depository Limited (NZCSD). NZCSD provides a custodial service that allows electronic trading of securities by its members.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

FURTHER DISCLOSURES

102

The table opposite lists the
company’s 20 largest registered

holders of MEL030 retail fixed-rate

bonds as at 30 June 2021.

Names

Number of shares% of issued shares

BNP Paribas Nominees (NZ) Limited*

23,047,00015.36

BNP Paribas Nominees (NZ) Limited*21,605,000

14.40

FNZ Custodians Limited

14,557,0009.70

Forsyth Barr Custodians Limited

11,941,0007.96

Citibank Nominees (New Zealand) Limited*

9,552,0006.37

Mt Nominees Limited*4,000,0002.67

Investment Custodial Services Limited 3,566,0002.38

Ning Gao3,331,0002.22

Custodial Services Limited

3,132,0002.09

TEA Custodians Limited Client Property Trust Account*

3,035,0002.02

Southern Cross Medical Care Society*

3,000,0002.00

Custodial Services Limited

2,769,0001.85

Hobson Wealth Custodian Limited

2,733,0001.82

ANZ Custodial Services New Zealand Limited*

2,638,0001.76

Custodial Services Limited

2,451,0001.63

Custodial Services Limited

2,139,0001.43

JBWere (NZ) Nominees Limited

2,100,0001.40

FNZ Custodians Limited

1,709,0001.14

University of Otago Foundation Trust

1,400,0000.93

Custodial Services Limited

1,268,0000.85

* Held through New Zealand Central Securities Depository Limited (NZCSD). NZCSD provides a custodial service that allows electronic trading of securities by its members.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

FURTHER DISCLOSURES

103

The table opposite lists the
company’s 20 largest registered

holders of MEL040 retail fixed-rate

bonds as at 30 June 2021.

Names

Number of shares% of issued shares

BNP Paribas Nominees (NZ) Limited*

21,149,00014.10

Citibank Nominees (New Zealand) Limited*

13,940,0009. 29

BNP Paribas Nominees (NZ) Limited*

11,450,0007. 6 3

Custodial Services Limited8,980,0005.99

FNZ Custodians Limited8,048,0005.37

Custodial Services Limited7,349,0004.90

HSBC Nominees (New Zealand) Limited*

7,060,0004.71

Forsyth Barr Custodians Limited6,700,0004.47

Custodial Services Limited4,818,0003.21

Custodial Services Limited3,956,0002.64

Hobson Wealth Custodian Limited

3,810,0002.54

TEA Custodians Limited Client Property Trust Account*

3,446,0002.30

NZPT Custodians (Grosvenor) Limited*

3,000,0002.00

Custodial Services Limited

2,636,0001.76

BNP Paribas Nominees (NZ) Limited*

2,500,0001.67

Adminis Custodial Limited

2,357,0001.57

Forsyth Barr Custodians Limited

1,842,0001.23

ANZ Custodial Services New Zealand Limited*

1,789,0001.19

FNZ Custodians Limited

1,321,0000.88

Woolf Fisher Trust Incorporated

1,300,0000.87

* Held through New Zealand Central Securities Depository Limited (NZCSD). NZCSD provides a custodial service that allows electronic trading of securities by its members.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

FURTHER DISCLOSURES

104

The table opposite lists the
company’s 20 largest registered

holders of MEL050 retail fixed-rate

bonds as at 30 June 2021.

Names

Number of shares% of issued shares

ANZ Custodial Services New Zealand Limited*

39,603,00019.80

FNZ Custodians Limited18,517,000

9. 26

Forsyth Barr Custodians Limited18,364,0009.18

HSBC Nominees (New Zealand) Limited A/C State Street*

11,900,0005.95

BNP Paribas Nominees (NZ) Limited*10,083,0005.04

Hobson Wealth Custodian Limited9,190,0004.60

Custodial Services Limited8,545,0004.27

ANZ Custodial Services New Zealand Limited*6,708,0003.35

HSBC Nominees (New Zealand) Limited*5,177,0002.59

Investment Custodial Services Limited4,784,0002.39

Citibank Nominees (New Zealand) Limited*4,400,0002.20

Custodial Services Limited4,331,0002.17

Mint Nominees Limited*4,138,0002.07

Mt Nominees Limited*4,000,0002.00

Custodial Services Limited

3,946,0001.97

Custodial Services Limited3,812,0001.91

JBWere (NZ) Nominees Limited2,831,0001.42

NZPT Custodians (Grosvenor) Limited*2,570,0001.29

TEA Custodians Limited Client Property Trust Account*

2,390,0001.20

Custodial Services Limited

1,950,0000.98

* Held through New Zealand Central Securities Depository Limited (NZCSD). NZCSD provides a custodial service that allows electronic trading of securities by its members.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

FURTHER DISCLOSURES

105

Substantial security holder
The information opposite is given

pursuant to section 293 of the Financial

Markets Conduct Act 2013 (FMCA).

According to notice given pursuant to

section 280 of the FMCA, the substantial

security holder in the company and its

relevant interests as at the date of the

notice are noted opposite. The total

number of voting products in the class

as at 30 June 2021 was 2,563,000,000

13

.

Name

Relevant interest

in number of shares

% of shares held

at the date of noticeDate of notice

Ordinary shares

Her Majesty the Queen in Right of New Zealand

1,353,786,55052,820

6 July 2015

Distribution of shareholders and

holdings as at 30 June 2021

The table opposite provides information

on the distribution of shareholders and

holdings of Meridian Energy Limited

ordinary shares as at 30 June 2021.

Size of holdingNumber of holders% Number of sharesHolding quantity %

1–1,0009, 22519.947,1 3 4 ,9 260.28

1,001–5,00021,88247. 362,894,3462.45

5,001–10,0008,37018.0965,601,7442.56

10,001–50,0006,09613.18123,431,7714.82

50,001–100,0004360.9430,513,8121.19

100,001–500,0001750.3833,352,8021.30

500,001 and over740.162,240,070,59987. 4

Total46,2581002,563,000,000100

13 As at 30 June 2021, the total number of ordinary shares was 2,563,000,000, which included 885,842 ordinary shares held by Meridian as treasury stock.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

FURTHER DISCLOSURES

106

Distribution of bondholders and
holdings as at 30 June 2021

The table opposite provides information

on the distribution of MEL030 retail

fixed-rate bonds as at 30 June 2021.

Size of holdingNumber of

bondholders

% of

bondholders

Number of

bonds

% of

bonds

1,001–5,000

7310.33365,0000.24

5,001–10,000

16823.761,601,0001.07

10,001–50,000

36451.4910,096,0006.73

50,001–100,000

314.382,601,0001.73

100,001–500,000

436.088,945,0005.96

500,001 and over

283.96126,392,00084.26

Total

707100150,000,000100

The table opposite provides information

on the distribution of MEL040 retail

fixed-rate bonds as at 30 June 2021.

Size of holdingNumber of

bondholders

% of

bondholders

Number of

bonds

% of

bonds

1,001–5,000

365.37177,0000.12

5,001–10,000

10415.52973,0000.65

10,001–50,000

40460.3010,770,0007.1 8

50,001–100,000

669.8 55,090,0003.39

100,001–500,000

314.637,432,0004.95

500,001 and over

294.33125,558,00083.71

Total

670100150,000,000100

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

FURTHER DISCLOSURES

107

The table opposite provides information
on the distribution of MEL050 retail

fixed-rate bonds as at 30 June 2021.

Size of holdingNumber of

bondholders

% of

bondholders

Number of

bonds

% of

bonds

1,001–5,000

305.20150,0000.08

5,001–10,000

9115.77849,0000.42

10,001–50,000

32355.988,785,0004.39

50,001–100,000

7312.655,610,0002.81

100,001–500,000

284.856,140,0003.07

500,001 and over

325.55178,466,00089. 23

Total

577100200,000,000100

Waivers from NZX

On 31 January 2020, NZX Regulation

published a waiver decision in respect

of Listing Rules 5.2.1 and 8.1.5, which

re-documented a prior waiver decision

dated 18 September 2013. A copy of this

waiver decision and a summary of all

waivers granted and published by the

NZX or relied on by Meridian during

the 12 months preceding 30 June 2021

is available on Meridian’s website at:

www.meridianenergy.co.nz/investors/

governance/nzx-waivers.


Non-standard designation

In New Zealand, Meridian Energy

Limited has a ‘non-standard’ (NS)

designation on the NZX Main Board.

This is due to particular provisions of

the company’s constitution, including

requirements that regulate the

ownership and transfer of Meridian

securities. The NS designation is also

required as a condition of any NZX

waivers and approvals.

Credit rating as at 30 June 2021

S&P Global Ratings reaffirmed

Meridian Energy Limited’s credit rating

of BBB+/stable/A-2 on 30 June 2021.

Registration as a foreign company

Meridian has registered with the

Australian Securities and Investments

Commission as a foreign company

and has been issued with the Australian

Registered Body Number of 151 800 396.

ASX disclosures

Meridian holds a foreign exempt

listing on the ASX. As a requirement

of admission Meridian must make

the following disclosures:

• Meridian’s place of incorporation

is New Zealand.

• Meridian is not subject to Chapters

6, 6A, 6B and 6C of the Australian

Corporations Act 2001 dealing with

the acquisition of shares (including

substantial holdings and takeovers).

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

FURTHER DISCLOSURES

108

Shareholding restrictions
The Public Finance Act 1989 was

amended in June 2012 to include

restrictions on the ownership of

certain types of security issued

by each mixed-ownership-model

company (including Meridian) and

the consequences of breaching

those restrictions. The constitution

incorporates these restrictions and

mechanisms for monitoring and

enforcing them.

A summary of the restrictions on the

ownership of shares under the Public

Finance Act and the constitution is set

out below. If in the future the company

issues any other class of shares, or other

securities confer voting rights, the

restrictions summarised below will

also apply to those other classes of

shares or voting securities.

51% holding

The Crown must hold at least 51%

of the shares on issue.

The company must not issue, acquire

or redeem any shares if such issue,

acquisition or redemption would

result in the Crown falling below

this 51% holding.

10% limit

No person (other than the Crown) may

have a ‘relevant interest’

14

in more than

10% of the shares on issue (10% Limit).

The company must not issue, acquire,

redeem or transfer any shares if it has

actual knowledge that such issue,

acquisition, redemption or transfer

will result in any person other than

the Crown exceeding the 10% Limit.

Ascertaining whether

a breach has occurred

If a holder of shares breaches the

10% Limit or knows or believes that a

person who has a relevant interest in

shares held by that holder may have

a relevant interest in shares in breach

of the 10% Limit, the holder must

notify the company of the breach

or potential breach.

Meridian may require a holder of

shares to provide the company with

a statutory declaration if the Board

knows or believes that a person is, or is

likely to be, in breach of the 10% Limit.

That statutory declaration is required

to include, where applicable, details of

all persons who have relevant interests

in shares as a result of the shares held

by or on behalf of that holder.

Determining whether

a breach has occurred

The company has the power to

determine whether a breach of the 10%

Limit has occurred. In broad terms, if:

• the company considers that a

person may be in breach of the

10% Limit; or

• a holder of shares fails to lodge

a statutory declaration when

required to do so or lodges a

declaration that has not been

completed to the reasonable

satisfaction of the company,

Meridian is required to determine

whether or not the 10% Limit has been

breached and, if so, whether or not that

breach was inadvertent. The company

must give the affected shareholder the

opportunity to make representations

to the company before it makes a

determination on these matters.

Effect of exceeding the 10% Limit

A person who is in breach of the 10%

Limit must:

• comply with any notice that they

receive from the company requiring

them to dispose of shares or their

relevant interest in shares, or take

any other steps that are specified

in the notice, for the purpose of

remedying the breach and reducing

their holding below the 10% Limit

• ensure that they are no longer in

breach within 60 days after the

date on which they became aware,

or ought to have been aware, of

the breach. If the breach is not

remedied within that timeframe, the

company may arrange for the sale

of the relevant number of shares on

behalf of the relevant shareholder.

In those circumstances the company

will pay the net proceeds of sale,

after the deduction of any other

costs incurred in connection with

the sale (including brokerage and

the costs of investigating the breach

of the 10% Limit), to the relevant

shareholder as soon as practicable

after the sale has been completed.

14 In broad terms, a person has a ‘relevant interest’ in a share if the person (a) is the registered holder or beneficial owner of the share; or (b) has the power to exercise, or control the exercise of, a right to vote attached to the share or has the power

to acquire or dispose of, or to control the acquisition or disposition of, that share. A person may also have a ‘relevant interest’ in a share in which another person has a ‘relevant interest’ depending on the nature of the relationship between them.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

FURTHER DISCLOSURES

109

If a relevant interest is held in any
shares in breach of the 10% Limit then,

for as long as that breach continues:

• no votes may be cast directly by a

shareholder in respect of any of the

shares in which a relevant interest

is held in excess of the 10% Limit

• a registered holder of shares in

which a relevant interest is held

in breach of the 10% Limit will not

be entitled to receive, in respect

of the shares in which a relevant

interest is held in excess of the

10% Limit, any dividend or other

distribution authorised by the

Board in respect of the shares.

However, if the Board determines

that a breach of the 10% Limit was not

inadvertent, or that it does not have

sufficient information to determine

that the breach was not inadvertent,

the restrictions on voting and the

entitlement to receive dividends and

other distributions described in the

preceding paragraphs will apply in

respect of all the shares (as applicable)

held by the relevant shareholder or

holder (and not just the shares in which

a relevant interest is held in excess of

the 10% Limit).

The Board may refuse to register

a transfer of shares if it knows or

believes that the transfer will result

in a breach of the 10% Limit or where

the transferee has failed to lodge a

statutory declaration requested from

it by the Board within 14 days of the

date on which the company gave

notice to the transferee to provide

such statutory declaration.

Crown directions

The Crown has the power to direct

the Board to exercise certain of the

powers conferred on it under the

constitution. For example, where the

Crown suspects that the 10% Limit has

been breached but the Board has not

taken steps to investigate the suspected

breach, the Crown may require the

company to investigate whether a

breach of the 10% Limit has occurred

or to exercise a power of sale of the

relevant share that has arisen as

described under the heading ‘Effect

of exceeding the 10% Limit’ above.

Trustee corporations

and nominee companies

Trustee corporations and nominee

companies (that hold securities on

behalf of a large number of separate

underlying beneficial holders) are

exempt from the 10% Limit provided

that certain conditions are satisfied.

Share cancellation

In certain circumstances shares can

be cancelled by Meridian through a

reduction of capital, share buyback

or other form of capital reconstruction

approved by the Board and, where

applicable, shareholders.

NZX Corporate

Governance Code

Meridian complied with the NZX

Corporate Governance Code

recommendations in all material

respects during FY21 other than

in respect of recommendation

3.6 as the Board has determined,

given Meridian’s status as a mixed-

ownership model company, that it

is not appropriate or necessary for

Meridian to adopt a takeover protocol,

although there are protocols to ensure

compliance with the constitution.

Meridian has a separate Corporate

Governance Statement available on

its website at www.meridianenergy.

co.nz/investors/governance. The

Corporate Governance Statement

outlines in detail Meridian’s compliance

with the NZX Corporate Governance

Code and is current as at 24 August 2021.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

FURTHER DISCLOSURES

110

Trade associations
Largest contributions

Value to electricity customers

• Electricity Retailers’ Association of New Zealand

• Australian Energy Council

Sustainable business

• Sustainable Business Council

• Sustainable Business Network

• The New Zealand Initiative

Clean energy advocacy

• Melbourne Energy Institute

• Clean Energy Council

• New Zealand Wind Energy Association

• New Zealand Hydrogen Association

• Electricity Engineers’ Association

• Drive Electric

Other large business expenditure

• BusinessNZ

• The Hugo Group

• New Zealand Shareholders’ Association

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

FURTHER DISCLOSURES

111

Generating
returns

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

FINANCIALS

112

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021
FINANCIALS

113

115Income Statement
The income earned and operating

expenditure incurred by the Meridian

Group during the financial year.

115Comprehensive Income Statement

Items of income and operating expense,

that are not recognised in the income

statement and hence taken to reserves

in equity.

116Balance Sheet

A summary of the Meridian Group

assets and liabilities at the end of the

financial year.

117Statement of Changes in Equity

Components that make up the capital

and reserves of the Meridian Group

and the changes of each component

during the financial year.

118Statement of Cash Flows

Cash generated and used by the

Meridian Group.

119About this report

121Significant matters in the financial year

123A. Financial performance

A1. Segment performance

A2. Income

A3. Expenses

A4. Taxation

129B. Assets used to generate and sell electricity

B1. Property, plant and equipmentB2. Intangible assets

134

C. Managing funding

C1. Capital management

C2. Share capital

C3. Earnings per share

C4. Dividends

C5. Cash and cash equivalents

C6. Trade receivables

C7. Borrowings

C8. Green financing

C9. Lease liabilities

C10. Commitments

143

D. Financial instruments used to manage risk

D1. Financial risk management

155E. Group structure

E1. Subsidiaries

156F. O t her

F1. Share-based payments

F2. Related parties

F3. Auditors remuneration

F4. Contingent assets and liabilities

F5. Subsequent events

F6. Changes in financial

reporting standards

161Signed report

Independent auditor’s report

Notes to the Group financial statementsGroup financial statements

Subsequent

event

Key judgements

and estimates

Risks

Key

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

FINANCIALS

114

Income Statement
For the year ended 30 June 2021

Note

2021

$M

Restated*

2020

$M

Operating revenueA2 4,296 3,405

Operating expenses

A3(3,567)

(2,552)

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation,

changes in fair value of hedges and other significant

items (EBITDAF) 729 853

Depreciation and amortisationA3(303) (312)

Reversal of previous impairment of assetsA36(58)

Gain/(loss) on sale of assets

A3

(1) –

Net change in fair value of energy hedgesD1 169 (113)

Operating profit600370

Finance costsA3(84) (85)

Interest income

A2– 1

Net change in fair value of treasury hedgesD1 79 (48)

Net profit before tax 595 238

Tax expenseA4(167) (63)

Net profit after tax attributed

to the shareholders of the parent company 428 175

Earnings per share (EPS) attributed to

ordinary equity holders of the parent Cents Cents

Basic and diluted earnings per shareC3 16.7 6.8

The notes to the Group financial statements form an integral part of these financial statements.

Comprehensive Income Statement

For the year ended 30 June 2021

Note

2021

$M

Restated*

2020

$M

Net profit after tax428 175

Other comprehensive income

Items that will not be reclassified to profit or loss:

Asset revaluationB1202(22)

Deferred tax on the above itemA4(58) 7

144(15)

Items that may be reclassified to profit or loss:

Net (loss)/gain on cash flow hedges 6 2

Exchange differences arising from

translation of foreign operations 2 11

Income tax on the above itemsA4(2) (1)

6 12

Other comprehensive income for the year, net of tax150 (3)

Total comprehensive income for the year, net of tax

attributed to shareholders’ of the parent company 578 172

* Refer to Significant matters section for details on 2020 restatement.

115

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

FINANCIALS

Balance Sheet
As at 30 June 2021

Note

2021

$M

Restated*

2020

$M

Current assets

Cash and cash equivalents

C5 148

176

Trade receivablesC6491 323

Customer contract assets 25 24

Financial instrumentsD1 192 100

Other assets

61 42

Total current assets 917 665

Non-current assets

Property, plant and equipmentB1 8,598 8,594

Intangible assetsB2 84 64

Deferred taxA4 35 34

Financial instrumentsD1 214 265

Other assets 8 –

Total non-current assets 8,939 8,957

Total assets 9,856 9,622

Note

2021

$M

Restated*

2020

$M

Current liabilities

Payables and accruals

577

364

Employee entitlements 25 24

Customer contract liabilities 23 23

Current portion of term borrowingsC7 378 88

Current portion of lease liabilities

C9

7 7

Financial instrumentsD1 63 63

Current tax payable 37 79

Total current liabilities 1,110 648

Non-current liabilities

Term borrowingsC7 1,298 1,600

Deferred taxA4 1,940 1,850

Provisions 23 17

Lease liabilitiesC9 90 97

Financial instrumentsD1 131 279

Term payables 40 49

Total non-current liabilities 3,522 3,892

Total liabilities 4,632 4,540

Shareholders’ equity

Share capitalC2 1,595 1,598

Reserves 3,629 3,484

Total shareholders’ equity 5,224 5,082

Total liabilities and shareholder’s equity 9,856 9,622

The notes to the Group financial statements form an integral part of these financial statements.

For and on behalf of the Board of Directors who authorised the issue of the financial statements

on 24 August 2021.

Mark Verbiest,

Chair, 24 August 2021

Julia Hoare,

Chair, Audit and Risk Committee, 24 August 2021

* Refer to Significant matters section for details on 2020 restatement.

116

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

FINANCIALS

Statement of Changes in Equity
For the year ended 30 June 2021

$MNote

Share

capital

Share option

reserve

Revaluation

reserve

Foreign

currency

translation

reserve

Cash flow

hedge

reserve

Retained

earningsTotal equity

Balance at 1 July 2019 1,599 1 5,068 (37) (3) (1,171) 5,457

Net profit for the 2020 financial year––––– 175 175

Other comprehensive income

Asset revaluationB1––(22)–––(22)

Net gain on cash flow hedges–––– 2 – 2

Exchange differences from translation of foreign operations––– 11 –– 11

Income tax relating to other comprehensive incomeA4––7 – (1) –6

Total other comprehensive income, net of tax––(15) 11 1 – (3)

Total comprehensive income for the year, net of tax––(15) 11 1 175 172

Share-based transactionsC2,F1(1) –––––(1)

Dividends paidC4–––––(546) (546)

Balance at 30 June 2020 and 1 July 2020 (Restated)* 1,598 1 5,053 (26) (2) (1,542) 5,082

Net profit for the 2021 financial year–––––428428

Other comprehensive income

Asset revaluationB1––202–––202

Transferred to retained earnings on disposal–– 1 ––(1)–

Net loss on cash flow hedges––––6–6

Exchange differences from translation of foreign operations–––2––2

Income tax relating to other comprehensive incomeA4––(58)–(2) – (60)

Total other comprehensive income, net of tax––145 2 4 (1) 150

Total comprehensive income for the year, net of tax––145 2 4 427578

Share-based transactionsC2,F1(3) –––––(3)

Dividends paidC4–––––(433) (433)

Balance at 30 June 2021 1,595 1 5,198 (24) 2 (1,548) 5,224

The notes to the Group financial statements form an integral part of these financial statements.

* Refer to Significant matters section for details on 2020 restatement.

117

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

FINANCIALS

Statement of Cash Flows
For the year ended 30 June 2021

Note

2021

$M

Restated*

2020

$M

Operating activities

Receipts from customers 4,164 3,375

Interest received– 1

Payments to suppliers and employees(3,472) (2,520)

Interest paid

(82) (79)

Income tax paid(179) (173)

Operating cash flowsC5 431 604

Investing activities

Sale of property, plant and equipment––

Purchase of property, plant and equipment(76) (43)

Purchase of intangible assets(38) (19)

Purchase of subsidiary

E1–(2)

Investing cash flows(114) (64)

Financing activities

Term borrowings drawnC7 108 172

Term borrowings repaidC7(10) (60)

Lease liabilities repaidC 7, C 9(7) (7)

Dividends paidC4(433) (546)

Shares purchased for long-term incentiveC2, F1(3) (2)

Financing cash flows(345) (443)

Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents(28) 97

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year 176 78

Effect of exchange rate changes on net cash– 1

Cash and cash equivalents at end of yearC5 148 176

The notes to the Group financial statements form an integral part of these financial statements.

* Refer to Significant matters section for details on 2020 restatement.

118

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

FINANCIALS

Meridian Energy Limited is a for-
profit entity domiciled and registered

under the Companies Act 1993 in

New Zealand. It is an FMC reporting

entity for the purposes of the

Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013.

Meridian’s core business activities

are the generation, trading and

retailing of electricity and the sale of

complementary products and services.

The registered office of Meridian is Level

2, 55 Lady Elizabeth Lane, Wellington.

About this report

In this section

The notes to the financial statements

include information which is considered

relevant and material to assist the

reader in understanding changes

in Meridian’s financial position

or performance. Information is

considered relevant and material if:

• the amount is significant because

of its size and nature;

• it is important for understanding

the results of Meridian;

• it helps to explain changes in

Meridian’s business; or

• it relates to an aspect of Meridian’s

operations that is important to

future performance.

Key judgements and estimates

In the process of applying the Group’s accounting

policies and application of accounting standards,

Meridian has made a number of judgements

and estimates. The estimates and underlying

assumptions are based on historical experience

and various other factors that are considered to

be appropriate under the circumstances. Actual

results may differ from these estimates.

Judgements and estimates which are considered

material to understanding the performance of

Meridian are found in the following notes:

Note

A2Income

B1Property, plant and equipment

D1Financial risk management

Meridian Energy Limited is dual listed on

the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX)

and the Australian Securities Exchange

(ASX). As a mixed ownership company,

majority owned by Her Majesty the

Queen in Right of New Zealand, it is

bound by the requirements of the

Public Finance Act 1989.

These financial statements have

been prepared:

• in accordance with Generally

Accepted Accounting Practice

(GAAP) in New Zealand and comply

with International Financial Reporting

Standards (IFRS) and the New Zealand

equivalents (NZ IFRS), as appropriate

for a for-profit entity;

• in accordance with the requirements

of the Financial Markets Conduct

Act 2013;

• on the basis of historical cost,

modified by revaluation of certain

assets and liabilities;

• in New Zealand dollars (NZD),

with all values rounded to millions

($M) unless otherwise stated; and

• using accounting policies as provided

throughout the notes to the financial

statements.

119

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

Basis of consolidation
The Group financial statements

comprise the financial statements

of Meridian Energy Limited and its

subsidiaries and controlled entities,

as contained in Note E1 Subsidiaries.

The financial statements of members of

the Group are prepared for the same

reporting period as the parent company,

using consistent accounting policies.

In preparing the Group financial

statements, all material intra-group

transactions, balances, income and

expenses have been eliminated.

Subsidiaries are consolidated from

the date on which control is obtained

to the date on which control is lost.

Foreign currency

Transactions denominated in foreign

currencies are converted at the exchange

rates at the date of the transactions.

Foreign currency monetary assets

and liabilities are translated at the rate

prevailing at balance date, 30 June 2021.

The assets and liabilities of international

subsidiaries are translated to NZD at the

closing rate at balance date. The revenue

and expenses of these subsidiaries are

translated at rates approximating the

exchange rates at the dates of

the transactions.

When the financial statements of

subsidiaries are translated into NZD,

exchange differences can arise. These

are recorded in the foreign currency

translation reserve (within equity). If an

international subsidiary is disposed of,

these cumulative translation differences

are recognised in the income statement

in the period in which that occurs.

The principal functional currency of

international subsidiaries is Australian

dollars; the closing rate at 30 June 2021

was 0.9311 (30 June 2020: 0.9349).

A full list of international subsidiaries

and their functional currencies are

provided in Note E1 Subsidiaries.

120

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

New Zealand Aluminium
Smelter (NZAS) Exit

On 9 July 2020, the New Zealand

Aluminium Smelter (NZAS) announced

plans to wind-down its operation

at Tiwai Point. NZAS terminated its

572MW electricity supply agreement

with Meridian, giving a 14-month notice

period through to 31 August 2021.

On 14 January 2021 NZAS accepted

Meridian’s offer of an amended contract

covering an extended exit period and

would continue operating through to

31 December 2024. As such, Meridian’s

Group financial statements have been

prepared based on an extended NZAS

exit date of 31 December 2024.

Hydro inflows

Meridian started the financial year

with below average storage in our main

hydro storage lake, Pūkaki. A series of

large inflow events in September and

October lifted storage to average at

Lake Pūkaki and to spill levels in the

Waiau. However, from mid November

Significant matters

in the financial year

In this section

Significant matters which have

impacted Meridian’s financial

performance and an explanation

of non-GAAP measures used within

the notes to the financial statements.

inflows dried up. The inflows from

1 December 2020 to 30 April 2021

were extremely low in the Waitaki River

and below average in the Waiau. From

May a series of fronts returned to the

region and as a result Meridian finished

the year with near normal storage.

Generation structures

and plant revaluation

At 30 June 2021, a valuation of

Meridian’s generation structures and

plant assets has been undertaken, to

determine the fair value of the assets as

at this date. The valuation has resulted

in a net increase of $202 million from

30 June 2020. Meridian uses an

independent valuer to determine a

valuation range on which the Board’s

ultimate valuation decision is based.

The valuation range is set using

discounted cash flows (DCFs) and an

income approach based primarily

on capitalisation of earnings.

For more information refer to Note B1

Property, plant and equipment.

COVID-19

In light of the continuing uncertainty

around the economy Meridian

continues to hold a higher provision

for credit losses in the short to medium

term. Meridian will continue to assess

the level of the provision at each

reporting date to ensure it reflects

current economic conditions.

Meridian has also considered the

potential impact of COVID-19 as part

of our key assumptions when valuing

our property plant and equipment and

financial instruments. However, there

was no impact when taking this into

consideration. Refer to Note B1 Property,

plant & equipment and D1 Financial risk

management for further detail.

121

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

Implementation of
IFRIC Agenda Decision

During the year, the Group revised its

accounting policy in relation to upfront

configuration and customisation costs

incurred in implementing Software

as a Service (SaaS) arrangements in

response to the IFRS Interpretations

Committee (IFRIC) agenda decision

clarifying its interpretation of how

current accounting standards apply to

these types of arrangements. The new

accounting policy is presented below:

SaaS

SaaS arrangements are service

contracts providing the Group with

the right to access the cloud provider’s

application software over the contract

period. Costs incurred to configure or

customise, and the ongoing fees to

obtain access to the cloud provider’s

application software, are recognised

as operating expenses when the

services are received.

Some of these costs incurred are for

the development of software code

that enhances or modifies, or creates

additional capability to, existing

on-premise systems and meets the

definition of and recognition criteria

for an intangible asset. These costs

are recognised as intangible software

assets and amortised over the useful

life of the software on a straight-line

basis. The useful lives of these assets

are reviewed at least at the end of

each financial year, and any change

accounted for prospectively as a

change in accounting estimate.

Historical financial information has

been restated to account for the

impact of the change in accounting

policy, as follows:

Financial Statement Item2020

$M

Statement of Financial Position

Intangible assets(1)

Total assets(1)

Retained earnings 1

Total equity 1

Income Statement

Operating expenses(1)

Profit before tax(1)

Statement of cashflows

Payments to suppliers

and employees

(1)

Net cash generated

by operating activities

(1)

Payments to acquire

intangible assets

1

Net cash used in investing activities 1

Non-GAAP measures

Meridian refers to non-GAAP financial

measures within these financial

statements and accompanying notes.

The limited use of non-GAAP measures

is intended to supplement GAAP

measures to provide readers with

further information to broaden their

understanding of Meridian’s financial

performance and position. They are

not a substitute for GAAP measures.

As these measures are not defined

by NZ GAAP, IFRS, or any other body

of accounting standards, Meridian’s

calculations may differ from similarly

titled measures presented by other

companies. The measures are

described below, including note

references for reconciliations to the

financial statements.

EBITDAF

Earnings before interest, tax,

depreciation, amortisation, change

in fair value of hedges, impairments

and gains or losses on sale of assets.

EBITDAF is reported in the income

statement, allowing the evaluation

of Meridian’s operating performance

without the non-cash impacts of

Significant matters continued

depreciation, amortisation, fair value

movements of hedging instruments

and other one-off or infrequently

occurring events and the effects

of Meridian’s capital structure and

tax position. This allows a better

comparison of operating performance

with that of other electricity industry

companies than GAAP measures

that include these items.

Energy margin

Energy margin provides a measure of

financial performance that, unlike total

revenue, accounts for the variability of

the wholesale electricity market and the

broadly offsetting impact of wholesale

prices on the cost of Meridian’s retail

electricity purchases and revenue from

generation. Meridian uses the measure

of energy margin within Meridian’s

segmental financial performance in

Note A1 Segment performance.

Net debt

Net debt is a metric commonly used

by investors as a measure of Meridian’s

indebtedness that takes account of

liquid financial assets. Meridian uses this

measure within its capital management

and this is outlined in Note C1 Capital

management.

122

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

A1 Segment performance
The Chief Executive (the chief operating

decision-maker) monitors the operating

performance of each segment for the

purpose of making decisions on resource

allocation and strategic direction.

The Chief Executive considers the

business according to the nature of the

products and services and the location

of operations, as set out below:

New Zealand wholesale

• Generation of electricity and

its sale into the New Zealand

wholesale electricity market.

• Purchase of electricity from the

wholesale electricity market and

its sale to the NZ Retail segment

and to large industrial customers,

including New Zealand Aluminium

Smelter (NZAS) representing the

equivalent of 40% (30 June 2020:

38%) of Meridian’s New Zealand

generation production.

• Development of renewable

electricity generation opportunities

in New Zealand.

New Zealand retail

• Retailing of electricity and

complementary products through

two brands (Meridian and Powershop)

in New Zealand.

Electricity sold to residential, business

and industrial customers on fixed

price variable volume contracts

is purchased from the Wholesale

segment at an average annual

fixed price of $88 per megawatt

hour (MWh) and electricity sold to

business and industrial customers

on spot (variable price) agreements

is purchased from the Wholesale

segment at prevailing wholesale

spot market prices.

Agency margin from spot sales is

included within “Contracted

sales, net of distribution costs”.

• Meridian provides front line customer

and back office services for Powershop

Australia from New Zealand based

offices. Revenue of $3 million has

been recorded in ‘other revenue’ and

is eliminated on Group consolidation.


Australia

• Generation of electricity from

Meridian’s two wind farms and three

hydro power stations, and acquired

under power purchase agreements,

for sale into the Australian wholesale

electricity market.

• Retailing of electricity and gas,

mainly through the Powershop

brand in Australia.

• Development of renewable electricity

generation options in Australia.

Other and unallocated

• Other operations, that are not

considered reportable segments,

include licensing of the Flux developed

electricity and gas retailing platform.

• Activities and centrally based costs

that are not directly allocated to

other segments.

The financial performance of the

operating segments is assessed

using energy margin and EBITDAF

(a definition of these measures is

included within significant matters in

the financial year) before unallocated

central corporate expenses. Balance

sheet items are not reported to the

Chief Executive at an operating

segment level.

Financial

performance

In this section

This section explains the financial

performance of Meridian, providing

additional information about

individual items in the income

statement, including:

a. accounting policies, judgements

and estimates that are relevant for

understanding items recognised

in the income statement; and

b. analysis of Meridian’s performance

for the year by reference to key

areas including: performance

by operating segment, revenue,

expenses and taxation.

A

123

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

A1 Segment performance continued
NZ Wholesale NZ Retail AustraliaOther and Unallocated Inter-segment Total

2021

$M

2020

$M

2021

$M

2020

$M

2021

$M

2020

$M

2021

$M

2020

$M

2021

$M

2020

$M

2021

$M

2020

$M

Contracted sales, net of distribution costs 489 531 944 796 172 182 – – – – 1,605 1,509

Cost to supply customers (3,020) (1,558) (782) (625) (115) (139)– – 906 697 (3,011) (1,625)

Net cost of hedging 271 11 – – (9) (9)– – –– 262 2

Generation spot revenue 2,193 1,266 – – 50 89 – – –– 2,243 1,355

Inter-segment electricity sales 906 697 – – – – – – (906) (697)––

Virtual asset swap margins (3) 9 – – – – – – –– (3) 9

Other market revenue/(costs) (5) (6) 1 1 (1) (1) – – – – (5) (6)

Energy margin 831 950 163 172 97 122 – – – – 1,091 1,244

Other revenue 3 3 14 13 2 3 55 32 (45) (24) 29 27

Dividend revenue – – – – – – 52 27 (52) (27)–` –

Energy transmission expense (82) (116) – – (5) (7) – – – – (87) (123)

Electricity metering expenses – – (39) (36) – – – – – – (39) (36)

Gross margin 752 837 138 149 94 118 107 59 (97) (51) 994 1,112

Employee expenses (29) (32) (32) (32) (15) (13) (36) (38) – – (112) (115)

Other operating expenses (59) (61) (33) (34) (41) (39) (34) (23) 14 13 (153) (144)

EBITDAF 664 744 73 83 38 66 37 (2) (83) (38) 729 853

Depreciation and amortisation–––––––––– (303) (312)

Impairment of assets––––––––––6 (58)

Gain/(Loss) on sale of assets–––––––––– (1) –

Net change in fair value of energy hedges–––––––––– 169 (113)

Operating profit–––––––––– 600 370

Finance costs–––––––––– (84) (85)

Interest income–––––––––– – 1

Net change in fair value of treasury hedges–––––––––– 79 (48)

Net profit before tax–––––––––– 595 238

Tax expense–––––––––– (167) (63)

Net profit after tax–––––––––– 428 175

Reconciliation of energy margin

Energy sales revenue, net of hedging 3,178 2,271 1,663 1,453 332 351 –– (906) (697) 4,267 3,378

Energy expenses, net of hedging (2,347) (1,320) (914) (714) (130) (142)–– 906 697 (2,485) (1,479)

Energy distribution expenses – (1) (586) (567) (105) (87)–– – – (691) (655)

Energy margin 831 950 163 172 97 122 – – – – 1,091 1,244

A

124

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

A2 Income
Operating revenue

2021

$M

2020

$M

Energy sales to customers 2,165 1,994

Generation revenue, net of hedging 2,102 1,384

Energy related services revenue 10 10

Other revenue 19 17

4,296 3,405

Total revenue by geographic area

2021

$M

2020

$M

New Zealand 3,948 3,039

Australia 333 353

United Kingdom 15 13

Total operating revenue 4,296 3,405

2021

$M

2020

$M

Interest income–1

Operating revenue

Energy sales to customers

Revenue received or receivable from

residential, business and industrial

customers. This revenue is influenced

by customer contract sales prices and

their demand for electricity and gas.

Generation revenue, net of hedging

Revenue received from:

• electricity generated and sold into

the wholesale markets; and

• net settlement of energy hedges sold

on futures markets, and to generators,

retailers and industrial customers.

This revenue is influenced by the

quantity of generation and the wholesale

spot prices. It is recognised at the time

of generation.

Key judgements and estimates – Revenue

Electricity consumption

Meridian exercises judgement in

estimating retail electricity sales,

where customer electricity meters

are unread at balance date. These

estimates of customer electricity

usage in the unread period are

based on the customers’ historical

consumption patterns.

Revenue is recognised at the time of

supply and customer consumption.

Elements of the sale price such

as discounts and credits given to

customers and any incremental

costs incurred obtaining or retaining

a customer contract are deferred

to customer contract assets on

the balance sheet on a portfolio

basis and released to the income

statement over the contract tenure.


Supply contract with NZAS

The agreement with New Zealand

Aluminium Smelters (NZAS) has

been recognised in these financial

statements in a manner consistent

with fixed price supply agreements

with other industrial customers.

Revenue is recognised as electricity

sales revenue in the income

statement and the estimated future

cash flows are included in the fair

value of generation structures and

plant assets on the balance sheet.

Discounts and payment terms

Where a discount is offered,

revenue is initially recognised net

of estimated discount based on

accumulated experience used to

estimate the amount of discounts

taken by customers.

There are no significant differences

between the payment terms and

this policy.

A

125

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

A3 Expenses
Operating expenses

2021

$M

2020

$M

Energy expenses, net of hedging 2,485 1,479

Energy distribution expenses 691 655

Energy transmission expenses 87 123

Employee expenses 112 115

Energy metering expense 39 36

Other expenses 153 144

3,567 2,552

Depreciation and amortisationNote

2021

$M

2020

$M

DepreciationB1 285 288

Amortisation of intangiblesB2 18 24

303 312

Finance costsNote

2021

$M

2020

$M

Interest on borrowings 78 77

Interest on electricity option premium 1 2

Interest on lease liabilitiesC 7, C 9 5 6

84 85

Impairment and gain on sale of assetsNote

2021

$M

2020

$M

Impairment of property, plant and equipmentB1– 58

Remeasurement of Australian remediation assets and liabilities(6)–

(Gain)/Loss on sale on disposal of assets 1


A

Operating expenses

Energy expenses, net of hedging

The cost of:

• energy purchased from wholesale

markets to supply customers;

• net settlement of buy-side

energy hedges; and

• related charges and services.

Energy expenses are influenced by

quantity and timing of customer

consumption and wholesale spot prices.

Energy distribution expenses

The cost of distribution companies

transporting energy between

where energy is transmitted/stored

and customers’ properties.

Energy transmission expenses

Meridian’s share of the cost of the

high voltage direct current (HVDC) link

between the North and South Islands of

New Zealand and the cost of connecting

Meridian’s generation sites to the

national grid by grid providers.

Energy metering expenses

The cost of electricity meters, meter

reading and data gathering of retail

customer electricity consumption in

New Zealand. Metering expenses in

Australia are bundled with electricity

distribution costs.

Employee expenses

Provisions are made for benefits owing

to employees in respect of wages and

salaries, annual leave, long service leave

and employee incentives for services

rendered. Provisions are recognised

when it is probable they will be settled

and can be measured reliably. They

are carried at the remuneration rate

expected to apply at the time of

settlement.

Contributions to defined contribution

plans (largely KiwiSaver) were $5 million

in 2021 (30 June 2020: $5 million).

Impairment of non-financial assets

Meridian reviews the recoverable

amount of its tangible and intangible

assets at each balance date. They are

grouped into cash-generating units

with separately identifiable cash flows.

The recoverable amount is the higher

of an asset’s fair value less costs to

sell, and present value of future cash

flows expected to be generated by the

assets (also known as value in use). If

the carrying value of an asset exceeds

the recoverable amount, an impairment

expense is recognised in the income

statement. For assets that are revalued

refer to Note B1 Property, plant and

equipment for specific treatment.

In 2020, $57 million of the impairment is

a result of the revaluation of our Australia

generation structures and plant. Refer to

Note B1 Property, plant and equipment

for further detail.

The Group recognises an asset and

liability for decommissioning its

Australian wind farm assets when they

reach the end of their useful lives.

Because of the long term nature of these,

there is considerable uncertainty in

estimating the costs that will be incurred.

In 2021, a $6 million gain was recorded

from changes in the assumptions used

to calculate this estimate.

126

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

A4 Taxation
Tax expense

2021

$M

2020

$M

Current income tax expense 137 169

Adjustments to tax of prior years–(1)

Total current tax expense 137 168

Deferred tax30(106)

Other– 1

Total tax 167 63

Reconciliation to profit before tax

Profit before tax 595 238

Income tax at applicable rates 166 65

Expenditure not deductible for tax2–

Income tax (over)/under provided in prior year–(1)

Other(1) (1)

Tax expense 167 63

Current tax expense

Tax expense components are current

income tax and deferred tax.

Current income tax expense is the

income tax assessed on taxable profit

for the year. Taxable profit differs

from profit before tax reported in the

income statement as it excludes items

of income and expense that are taxable

or deductible in other years, and also

excludes items that will never be taxable

or deductible. Meridian’s liability for

current tax is calculated using tax rates

enacted at balance date, being 28% for

New Zealand and 30% for Australia.

A

127

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

A4 Taxation continued
Deferred tax assets and liabilities

2021

$M

2020

$M

Balance at beginning of year 1,816 1,928

Temporary differences in income statement:

Depreciation/amortisation(52) (69)

Term payables 9 5

Financial instruments 70 (45)

Australia tax losses utilised(1) 7

Customer contract assets– 1

Other – payables & receivables3(5)

29(106)

Temporary differences in other comprehensive income:

Revaluation reserve movements58(7)

Other2 1

Balance at end of year 1,905 1,816

Made up of:

Property, Plant and Equipment 1,941 1,93 5

Term payables(13) (22)

Financial instruments 6 (64)

Customer contract assets 7 7

Other – payables & receivables(1)(6)

Deferred tax liability 1,940 1,850

Carried forward unused tax losses(33) (32)

Deferred income(2) (2)

Deferred tax asset(35) (34)

Total deferred tax 1,905 1,816

Deferred tax assets and liabilities

Deferred tax is income tax which is

expected to be payable or recoverable

in the future as a result of the unwinding

of temporary differences. These arise

from differences in the recognition

of assets and liabilities for financial

reporting and from the filing of income

tax returns. Deferred tax is recognised

on all temporary differences, other

than those arising:

• from goodwill; and

• from the initial recognition of assets

and liabilities in a transaction (other

than in a business combination) that

affects neither the accounting nor

taxable profit or loss.

The majority of Meridian’s deferred

tax balance is made up of temporary

differences on the revaluation of

property, plant and equipment. This

balance will only reverse if the fair

value of these assets declines back

to their original historical cost.

Deferred tax is calculated at the tax

rates that are expected to apply to the

year when the liability is settled or the

asset realised, based on tax rates and

tax laws that have been enacted or

substantively enacted at balance date.

Unused tax losses

The deferred tax asset relates to

unused tax losses from our Australian

operations and will be utilised against

future taxable income from retail and

generation activities in that country.

Deferred tax asset is recognised to the

extent it is probable that future taxable

profit will be available to use the asset.

This is reviewed at each balance date

and reduced to the extent that it is no

longer probable that sufficient taxable

profits will be available in the future to

utilise the deferred tax asset.

Offsetting deferred tax balances

Deferred tax assets and liabilities

are offset only if there are legally

enforceable rights to set off current tax

assets against current tax liabilities and

when they relate to the same taxable

entity and taxation authority.

A

128

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

In this section
This section shows the assets Meridian

uses in the production and sale of

electricity to generate operating

revenue. In this section of the notes

there is information about:

a. property, plant and equipment;

and

b. intangible assets.

B1 Property, plant and equipment

$M

Generation

structures and

plant at fair value

Land and

buildings

at cost

Other plant

and equipment

at cost

Right of Use

Lease Assets

Work in

progress

at cost Total

Cost or fair value 8,655 20 160 – 96 8,931

Less accumulated depreciation(1) (5) (97) – (3) (106)

Net book value at 30 June 2019 8,654 15 63 – 93 8,825

Additions – – – – 38 38

Transfers – work in progress 24 – 5 – (29) –

Lease assets transferred on implementation of NZ IFRS 16 – – (27) 27 – –

Lease assets recognised on implementation of NZ IFRS 16 – – – 75 – 75

Adjustment of Right of Use lease assets 1 1

Decommisioning Asset – remeasurement 6 – – – – 6

Foreign currency exchange rate movements

15

14 – 1 – – 15

Generation structures and plant revaluations: –

Decrease taken to revaluation reserve(21) – – – – (21)

Decrease taken to income statement(57) – – – – (57)

Depreciation expense(275) – (7) (7) 1 (288)

Net book value at 30 June 2020 8,345 15 35 96 103 8,594

Cost or fair value 8,593 20 130 111 105 8,959

Less accumulated depreciation

16

(248) (5) (95) (15) (2) (365)

Net book value at 30 June 2020 8,345 15 35 96 103 8,594

Additions – – – 1 79 80

Transfers – work in progress 4 1 17 – (22) –

Adjustment of Right of Use lease assets – – – 1 – 1

Decommisioning Asset – remeasurement11 – – – – 11

Disposals(1) – (4) (4) – (9)

Foreign currency exchange rate movements

15

4 – – – – 4

Generation structures and plant revaluation: – – – –

Increase taken to revaluation reserve202 – – – – 202

Depreciation expense(268) (1) (9) (6) (1) (285)

Net book value at 30 June 2021 8,297 15 39 88 159 8,598

Cost or fair value 8,314 21 143 109 162 8,749

Less accumulated depreciation

16

(17) (6) (104) (21) (3) (151)

Net book value at 30 June 2021 8,297 15 39 88 159 8,598

Assets used to

generate and

sell electricity

B

15 Through the foreign currency translation reserve in other comprehensive income.

16 Includes the reversal of accumulated depreciation on generation structures and plant at revaluation date.

129

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

earnings to establish a valuation
range on which the Board’s ultimate

valuation decision is based.

Any increase arising on revaluation

is credited to the revaluation reserve,

except to the extent that it reverses a

revaluation decrease for the same asset

previously recognised in the income

statement. In that case the increase is

credited to the income statement to

the extent of the decrease previously

charged. A decrease in carrying

amount arising on revaluation is

charged to the income statement to

the extent that it exceeds the balance,

if any, held in the revaluation reserve

relating to a previous revaluation of

that asset.

Accumulated depreciation at

revaluation date is eliminated against

the gross carrying amount so that

the carrying amount after revaluation

represents the revalued amount.

Subsequent additions to generation

structures and plant assets are recorded

at cost, which is considered fair value,

including costs directly attributable to

bringing the asset to the location and

condition necessary for its intended

purpose, and financing costs where

appropriate.

Meridian engaged an independent

valuer to assess its generation structures

and plant assets at 30 June 2021. At this

date an independent valuer assessed

values using DCFs and capitalisation

of earnings when determining a

valuation range.

At 30 June 2021, the revaluation

resulted in a net increase of $202 million

(2020: net decrease of $78 million) in

the carrying value of our generation

structures and plant assets. The impact

of the revaluation was recognised as a

increase of $202 million (2020: decrease

of $21 million) in the revaluation reserve

and a nil impairment expense (2020:

impairment expense of $57 million)

of generation assets recognised in

the income statement.

As a consequence of this revaluation,

accumulated depreciation on most

generation assets is reset to nil.

Accumulated depreciation of two sites

(Mt Millar and Mt Mercer) are not reset

to nil, as their current carrying value

was the same as the estimated fair

value at 30 June 2021. There was no

depreciation impact of this revaluation

in the income statement.

At 30 June 2021, had the generation

structures and plant not been carried

at historical cost less accumulated

depreciation and accumulated

impairment losses, their carrying

amount would have been approximately

$2.0 billion (30 June 2020: $2.3 billion).

Recognition and measurement

Generation structures and plant

assets (including land and buildings)

are held on the balance sheet at their

fair value at the date of revaluation,

less any subsequent depreciation and

impairment losses. All other property,

plant and equipment are stated at

historical cost less accumulated

depreciation and any accumulated

impairment losses.

Fair value and revaluation of

generation structures and plant

Revaluations are performed with

sufficient regularity to ensure that

the carrying amount does not differ

materially from that which would be

determined using fair values at

balance date.

Meridian uses an independent valuer,

who uses an income valuation approach

based primarily on discounted cash

flows (DCFs) and capitalisation of

B

B1 Property, plant and equipment continued




130

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021





Key judgements and estimates –

Generation structures and plant

valuation techniques and key inputs

The Meridian Board uses its judgement

to decide on the appropriateness of

key valuation techniques and inputs for

fair value measurement. Judgement is

also used in determining the estimated

remaining useful lives of assets. As the

valuation of generation structures and

plant does not fully use observable

market data, it continues to be

classified as Level 3 under Meridian’s

fair value hierarchy defined in Note D1

Financial risk management.

As discussed above, the independent

valuer uses an income approach which

involves incorporating two techniques

in establishing a valuation range being

DCF and capitalisation of earnings.

The fair value adopted aligns closely

with the DCF and capitalisation of

earnings value.

The DCF methodolgy involves

calculating the present value of

B

future cashflows expected to be

produced over a projection period

including forecast revenues and

forecast future generation output.

The capitalisation of earnings

methodology calculates value by

reference to an assessment of future

maintainable earnings and capitalisation

multiples as observed from market

prices of listed companies with broadly

comparable operations to Meridian. In

preparing the capitalisation of earnings

valuation, an EBITDAF multiple range at

Key input to measure fair valueDescriptionRange ofunobservable inputsSensitivityImpact on valuation

Future NZ wholesale electricity prices The price received for NZ generation$42MWh to $118MWh by 2035 (in real terms)+ $3MWh

- $3MWh

$442M

($442M)

Future Australia wholesale electricity pricesThe price received for Australian generation,

inclusive of LGCs

A$31MWh to A$104MWh by 2035 (in real terms)+ 5%

- 5%

A$31M

(A$31M)

Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC)The discount rate takes into account the time

value of money and relative risk of achieving

the cash flow forecast

6.25% to 7.90%+ 0.5%

- 0.5%

($693M)

$810M

New Zealand generation volumeAnnual generation production 13,059GWh p.a. to 14,024GWh p.a.+ 250GWh

- 250GWh

$234M

($234M)

Australian generation volumeAnnual generation production 762GWh p.a. to 579GWh p.a.+ 5%

- 5%

A$33M

(A$33M)

Operating expenditure (excluding electricity

related expenditure – refer Note A3 Expenses)

Meridian’s cost of operations$280M p.a.+ $10M

- $10M

($124M)

$124M

EBITDAF earnings multipleValuation multiple (including control premium

of 20%) derived from earnings and valuations of

comparable companies

14 x EBITDAF+ 0.5x

- 0.5x

$360M

($360M)

Sensitivities show the movement in fair value as a result of a change in each input (keeping all other inputs constant).

which to capitalise Meridian’s historical

and forecast earnings is determined.

In determining the maintainable

earnings, observable wholesale

electricity prices extracted from

the ASX have been used.

The impact of COVID-19 has been

considered as part of our key

assumptions when preparing this

years valuation however there was

no impact on the valuation when

taking this into consideration.

131

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

B
Depreciation

Depreciation of property, plant and

equipment assets, other than freehold

land, is calculated on a straight-line

basis. This allocates the cost or fair

value amount of an asset, less any

residual value, over its estimated

remaining useful life.

Right of Use Assets are depreciated

over the term of their underlying

lease arrangement.

Useful lives

Meridian uses its judgement in

determining the remaining useful lives

and residual value of assets, which are:

• generation structures and plant –

up to 80 years;

• buildings – up to 67 years;

• other plant and equipment –

up to 20 years; and

• right of use lease assets –

up to 27 years.

The residual value and useful lives

are reviewed, and if appropriate

adjusted, at each balance date.

B1 Property, plant and equipment continued

Disposals or retirement

The gain or loss arising on the disposal

or retirement of an item of property,

plant and equipment is determined

as the difference between the sale

proceeds and the carrying amount

of the asset and is recognised in

the income statement. Any balance

attributable to the disposed asset

in the asset revaluation reserve is

transferred to retained earnings.

132

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

v
B2 Intangible assets

$MGoodwillSoftwareTotal

Cost or fair value– 158 158

Less accumulated amortisation–(99) (99)

Net book value at 30 June 2019 – 59 59

Additions 5 25 30

Amortisation expenses–(24) (24)

Expensed to Income Statement

17

–(1) (1)

Net book value at 30 June 2020 5 59 64

Cost or fair value 5 182 187

Less accumulated amortisation–(123) (123)

Net book value at 30 June 2020 5 59 64

Additions– 40 40

Expensed to Income Statement

17

–(2) (2)

Amortisation expenses–(18) (18)

Net book value at 30 June 2021 5 79 84

Cost or fair value 5 220 225

Less accumulated amortisation–(141) (141)

Net book value at 30 June 2021 5 79 84

17 Adjustment for SaaS costs transferred to Income Statement

Software

Acquired computer software licences

(that are not considered an integral part

of related hardware) are capitalised on

the basis of the costs incurred to acquire

and bring to use the specific software.

Additionally, costs directly associated

with the production of identifiable

and unique software products that will

generate economic benefits beyond

one year are also recognised

as intangible assets.

All these costs are amortised over their

useful lives on a straight-line basis.

Costs associated with maintaining

computer software programs are

recognised as an expense as incurred.

Useful lives

Meridian uses its judgement in

determining the remaining useful

lives and residual value of intangible

assets, which are:

• electricity and gas retail platform

– up to 5 years;

• generation control – up to

10 years; and

• other software – up to 3 years.

These are reviewed, and, if appropriate,

adjusted at each balance date.

B

Goodwill

Goodwill represents the excess of

the cost of a business acquisition

over the fair value of the identifiable

assets and liabilities at the date of

acquisition. Goodwill is assessed as

having an indefinite useful life and is

not amortised. Instead, it is subject to

impairment testing at each reporting

date or whenever there are indications

of impairment. Goodwill has been

allocated to the following business units:

$M20212020

Rangoon Energy Park Pty Ltd 4 4

Wandsworth Wind Farm Pty Ltd 1 1

5 5

The goodwill recognised related

to the acquisition of two wind farm

development sites in Australia. As these

are development sites, the impairment

test is based on comparing the carrying

value to the expected recoverable

value of each site. Key inputs into the

expected recoverable amount include

the potential generation capacity of

each site, and a market value

multiple per unit of generation capacity

($/MW). Potential capacity is revisited as

the development of each wind farm site

progresses. The market value multiple

is reassessed by analysing other similar

purchase transactions, where available.

133

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

C1 Capital management
Capital risk management objectives

Meridian’s objective when managing

capital is to provide appropriate returns

to shareholders whilst maintaining a

capital structure that safeguards its

ability to remain a going concern

and optimise the cost of capital.

Capital is defined as the combination

of shareholders’ equity, reserves and

net debt.

Meridian manages its capital through

various means, including:

• adjusting the amount of dividends

paid to shareholders;

• raising or returning capital; and

• raising or repaying debt.

Meridian regularly monitors its capital

requirements using various measures

which consider debt facility financial

covenants and credit ratings. The key

measures are net debt to EBITDAF and

interest cover. The principal external

measure is Meridian’s credit rating

from Standard & Poor’s.

Meridian is in full compliance with

debt facility financial covenants.

Note

2021

$M

2020

$M

Share capitalC2 1,595 1,598

Retained earnings(1,548) (1,542)

Other reserves 5,177 5,026

5,224 5,082

Drawn borrowingsC7 1,589 1,491

Lease liabilities payableC9 97 104

Less: cash and cash equivalentsC5(148) (176)

1,538 1,419

Net capital 6,762 6,501

Note

2021

$M

2020

$M

Net debt to EBITDAF

Drawn borrowingsC7 1,589 1,491

Lease liabilitiesC9 97 104

Less: cash and cash equivalentsC5(148) (176)

Add back: restricted cashC5 97 67

Add back: cash buffer

18

13 27

Net debt (A) 1,648 1,513

EBITDAF (B) 729 853

Net debt to EBITDAF (times) (A/B) 2.3 1.8

Note

2021

$M

2020

$M

EBITDAF Interest cover

EBITDAF (B) 729 853

Interest on borrowingsA3 78 77

Interest on lease liabilitiesA3 5 6

Interest (C) 83 83

EBITDAF interest cover (times) (B/C) 8.8 10.3

Standard & Poor’s rating BBB+ BBB+

18 The cash buffer is calculated as 25% of unrestricted cash and cash equivalents.


In this section

This section explains how Meridian

manages its capital structure and

working capital, the various funding

sources and how dividends are returned

to shareholders. In this section of the

notes there is information about:

a. equity and dividends;

b. net debt;

c. receivables and payables; and

d. leases and commitments.

Managing

funding

C

134

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

Dividend policy
Meridian’s dividend policy considers

free cash flow, working capital

requirements, the medium-term

investment programme, maintaining

a BBB+ credit rating and risks from

short and medium-term economic,

market and hydrology conditions.

On 30 March 2021, the Board

approved a dividend reinvestment

plan offering shareholders the

opportunity to reinvest the net

proceeds of their dividends from

Meridian shares into additional, fully

paid shares. This will apply from the

payment of the 30 June 2021 final

dividend on 15 October 2021.

Imputation credit balance

Imputation credits allow Meridian to

pass on to its shareholders the benefit

of the New Zealand income tax it has

paid by attaching imputation credits

to the dividends it pays, reducing the

shareholders’ net tax obligations.

The imputation credits available

for future use reflect the balance

available on 24 August 2021, therefore

recognising any tax payments between

balance date and 24 August 2021.

C2 Share Capital

Share capitalShares

2021

$MShares

2020

$M

Shares issued 2,563,000,000 1,600 2,563,000,000 1,600

Treasury shares held(1,359,011) (5) (1,212,448) (2)

Share capital 2,561,640,989 1,595 2,561,787,552 1,598

C

All shares issued are fully paid and have equal voting rights. All shares participate

equally in any dividend distribution or any surplus on the winding up of the company.

The movement in Treasury shares relates to the purchase of shares by participants and

held on trust as part of a long-term equity settled incentive plan for New Zealand-

based senior executives (refer to Note F1 Share-based payments) and to hedging

of the new long term incentive scheme.

C3 Earnings per share

Basic and diluted earnings per share (EPS)

2021

Restated*

2020

Profit after tax attributable to shareholders

of the parent company ($M)428175

Weighted average number of shares used

in the calculation of EPS 2,563,000,000 2,563,000,000

Basic and diluted EPS (cents per share) 16.7 6.8

* Refer to Significant matters section for details on 2020 restatement.

C4 Dividends

Dividends declared and paid

2021

$M

2020

$M

Interim ordinary and special dividend 2021: 5.7cps (cents per share)

(2020: 8.14cps) 146 209

Final ordinary and special dividend 2020: 11.2cps (2019: 13.16cps) 287 337

Total dividends paid 433 546

Dividends declared and not recognised as a liability

Final ordinary dividend 2021: 11.2cps (2020:11.2cps) 287 287

Imputation credit balance

Imputation credits available for future use89 94

Subsequent event –

dividend declared

On 24 August 2021 the Board

declared a partially imputed

final ordinary dividend of

11.20 cents per share.

135

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

C5 Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents

2021

$M

2020

$M

Current account 148 154

Money market account– 22

Cash and cash equivalents 148 176

Cash and cash equivalents are made up of cash on hand, on-demand deposits

and other short-term, highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to a

known amount of cash and are not subject to a significant risk of change in value.

Restricted cash

Meridian trades electricity hedges on the ASX using Macquarie as a broker.

As a result, a proportion of the funds it holds on deposit are pledged as

margin which varies depending on market movements and contracts held.

At 30 June 2021, this collateral was $97 million (30 June 2020: $67 million).

All other cash and cash equivalent balances are available for use.

Reconciliation of net profit after tax

to cash flows from operating activities

2021

$M

2020

$M

Net profit after tax428 176

Adjustments for operating activities’ non-cash items:

Depreciation and amortisation 303 312

Movement in deferred tax29(106)

Net change in fair value of financial instruments(248) 161

Electricity option premiums(21) (22)

Share-based payments 2 1

65 346

Items classified as investing activities:

Remeasurement of Australian remediation assets and liabilities(6) 58

(Gain)/Loss on sale of assets 1 –

(5) 58

Changes in working capital items:

(Increase) in accounts receivable(168) (31)

(Increase) in customer contract assets(1) (3)

(Increase) in other assets(19) (8)

(Decrease)/increase in payables and accruals/employee entitlements 214 68

Increase in customer contract liabilities– 7

Increase/(decrease) in current tax payable(42) (1)

Working capital items in investing activities(17) (21)

Working capital items in financing activities and other non-cash items(24) 14

(57) 25

Cash flow from operating activities 431 605

C

136

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

C6 Trade receivables
Trade receivables

2021

$M

2020

$M

Accrued receivables429 262

Current billed 50 57

Past due 1 to 30 days 14 10

Past due 31 to 60 days 3 3

Past due 61 to 90 days 1 1

Past due greater than 90 days 3 6

Less: credit loss allowance(9) (16)

Total trade receivables 491 323

Accounts receivable past due but not impaired 12 10

Movement in provision for credit loss allowance

Opening provision(16) (5)

Provision released (created) in the year 3 (14)

Provision used in the year 4 3

Closing provision for credit loss allowance(9) (16)

Trade receivables,

measurement and recognition

Trade receivables are measured on

initial recognition at fair value, and are

subsequently carried at amortised cost.

The overdue amounts are largely related

to energy sales to retail customers in

New Zealand and Australia.

Trade receivables written off during

the year were $4 million (30 June 2020:

$3 million).

Receivables are written off at the point

where Meridian believe there is no

reasonable expectation of recovery,

which is typically a combination of an

overdue amount, no communication

or response from the debtor, and no

payments received. Receivables written

off are handed to collection agencies

for enforcement.

Credit losses

The allowance for credit losses are an

estimate of the Group’s expected credit

losses over the lifetime of the current

amounts receivable. Or rather, it is the

difference between the face value of

trade receivables and the future cash

flows we expect to receive. Additions

to the provision are recognised in the

income statement.

We estimate collective future cash flows

by considering customer credit history,

historical recovery performance and

trends, through which we build default

matrices that apply a probability of

default given the ageing of debtors.

Forward-looking employment statistics

are also monitored for both New Zealand

and Australia, with a large rise in forecast

unemployment acting as a trigger for

us to reconsider the probability rates

in our matrices.

As noted in the Significant matters

section, Meridian continues to hold

a higher provision for credit losses

in light of continuing economic

uncertainty in response to COVID-19.

C

137

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

C7 Borrowings
$M

2021 2020

Currency

borrowed in

Drawn facility

amount

Transaction

costs paid

Fair value

adjustment

Carrying

amount

Drawn facility

amount

Transaction

costs paid

Fair value

adjustment

Carrying

amount

Current borrowings

Unsecured borrowings

NZD 321 (1) – 320 89 (1) – 88

Unsecured borrowings

USD 47 – 11 58 – – – –

Total current borrowings

368 (1) 11 378 89 (1) – 88

Non –current borrowings

Unsecured borrowings

NZD 665 (1) – 664 800 (2) – 798

Unsecured borrowings

USD 556 (1) 79 634 602 (1) 201 802

Total non –current borrowings

1,221 (2) 79 1,298 1,402 (3) 201 1,600

Total borrowings

1,589 (3) 90 1,676 1,491 (4) 201 1,688

Fair value of items held

at amortised cost

2021

$M

2021

$M

2020

$M

2020

$M

Carrying

value

Fair

value

Carrying

value

Fair

value

Retail bonds500 540 500 558

Floating Rate Notes50 51 50 51

Unsecured term loan (EKF facility)50 52 60 64

Within term borrowings there are

longer dated instruments which are

not in hedge accounting relationships.

The carrying values and estimated fair

values of these instruments are noted

in the table above.

Fair value is calculated using a

discounted cash flow calculation and

the resultant values would be classified

as Level 2 within the fair value hierarchy.

The Retail Bonds are listed instruments;

however, a lack of liquidity on the NZX

precludes them from being classified

as Level 1 (a definition of hierarchy levels

is included in Note D1 Financial risk

management).

Carrying value approximates fair value

for all other instruments within term

borrowings.

Borrowings, measurement and recognition

Borrowings are recognised initially at

the fair value of the drawn facility

amount (net of transaction costs paid)

and are subsequently held at amortised

cost using the effective interest method.

Any borrowings which have been

designated as hedged items (USD

borrowings) are carried at amortised

cost plus a fair value adjustment under

hedge accounting requirements – refer

to Note D1 Hedge accounting section

for further detail on this. Any borrowings

denominated in foreign currencies are

retranslated to the functional currency

at each reporting date. Any retranslation

effect is included in the “Fair value

adjustment” column in the table, along

with any amounts relating to fair value

hedge adjustments.

Meridian uses cross-currency interest

rate swap (CCIRS) hedge contracts to

manage its exposure to interest rates

and borrowings sourced in currencies

different to that of the borrowing entity’s

reporting currency. More information on

Meridian’s risk management and hedge

accounting practices can be found in

Section D Financial instruments used

to manage risk.

C

138

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

Reconciliation of liabilities arising from financing activities
The table below details changes in the Group’s liabilities arising from financing activities, including both cash and non-cash changes.

$M

2021

Balance at

30 June 2020

Term

borrowings

drawn

Term

borrowings

repaid

Valuation

adjustments

Foreign

Exchange

Transaction

costs paid

& accrued

Lease

liabilities

recognised

Lease

liabilities

paid

Lease

derecognition

Unwind of

discounting

Balance at

30 June 2021

Unsecured borrowings – NZD 886 108 (10) – – – – – – – 984

Unsecured borrowings – USD 802 – – (58) (52) – – – – – 692

Lease Liabilities 104 – – – – – 1 (7) (5) 5 97

Total 1,792 108 (10) (58) (52) – 1 (7) (5) 5 1,773

$M

2020

Balance at

1 July 2019

Term

borrowings

drawn

Term

borrowings

repaid

Valuation

adjustments

Foreign

Exchange

Transaction

costs paid

& accrued

Lease

liabilities

recognised

Lease

liabilities

paid

Lease

derecognition

Unwind of

discounting

Balance at

30 June 2020

Unsecured borrowings – NZD 775 172 (60) – – (1) – – – – 886

Unsecured borrowings – USD 695 – – 80 27 – – – – – 802

Lease Liabilities 32 – – (1) (1) – 75 (7) – 6 104

Total 1,502 172 (60) 79 26 (1) 75 (7) – 6 1,792

Sources of funding – $M

2021 2020

Currency

borrowed in

Facility

amount

Drawn

facility

amount

Undrawn

facility

amount

Facility

amount

Drawn

facility

amount

Undrawn

facility

amount

Bank facilities

New Zealand bank funding

19

NZD 770 161 609 600 200 400

EKF funding

20

NZD 50 50 – 60 60 –

Total bank facilities 820 211 609 660 260 400

Other sources of borrowing

Retail bonds

21

NZD 500 500 – 500 500 –

Floating rate notes

19

NZD 50 50 – 50 50 –

Fixed rate bonds

22

USD 603 603 – 602 602 –

Commercial paper

23

NZD 225 225 – 79 79 –

Total other sources of borrowing 1,378 1,378 – 1,231 1,231 –

Total sources of funding 2,198 1,589 609 1,891 1,491 400

C7 Borrowings continued

19 Funding bears interest at the relevant market

floating rate plus a margin.

20 EKF facility is an unsecured amortising term loan,

provided by the official export credit agency of

Denmark, for the construction of Te Uku wind farm.

21 Retail Bonds are senior unsecured retail bonds bearing

interest rates of 4.53%, 4.88% and 4.21%.

22 USD fixed rate bonds are unsecured fixed rate bonds

issued in the United States Private Placement Market.

23 NZD commercial paper comprises senior unsecured

short-term debt obligations paying a fixed rate of

return over a set period of time.

C

139

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

C
C8 Green Financing

To recognise Meridian’s commitment,

leadership and investment in renewable

energy, Meridian has designed a Green

Finance Programme which covers both

existing and future issuances of debt

instruments (Programme).

The Programme Framework

(Framework) sets out the process,

criteria and guidelines under which

Meridian intends to issue and/or

manage existing and future bonds

and loans under the Programme

which contribute towards achieving

Meridian’s sustainable objectives.

The Framework is aligned with the

following market standards as at

the date of the Framework:

International Capital Markets

Association (ICMA) Green Bond

Principles (GBP); Climate Bonds

Standard currently version 3.0

(CBS); and Asia Pacific Loan Market

Association Green Loan Principles

(GLP), (together the Market Standards).

The proceeds of Meridian’s debt

instruments, outlined in the following

tables, have been allocated (directly

or notionally) to refinance eligible

wind and hydro projects and assets

that meet the market standards.

Further information on the Green

Finance Programme, including the

Programme framework document,

opinions from DNV GL Business

Assurance Pty. Ltd, Climate Bonds

Standard Certification and Green

Asset and Debt registers are

available on Meridian’s website at

www.meridianenergy.co.nz/

investors/reports-and-

presentations/green-finance.

Green Debt Instruments under Meridian’s Green Finance Programme

Green Debt allocated to the Hydro Pool

24

30 June 2021

Type – $M

CUSIP/NZ X

Code

Currency

borrowed in

Facility

amount

Drawn

facility

amount

USPP Series 2014-1 Tranche A

25

Q5995*AA6USD4747

USPP Series 2014-1 Tranche B

25

Q5995*AB 4USD117117

USPP Series 2019-1 Tranche A

25

Q5995#AE4USD183183

USPP Series 2019-1 Tranche B

25

Q5995#AF1USD183183

USPP Series 2019-1 Tranche C

25

Q5995#AG9USD7373

Total USPP603603

Wholesale FRN – 10yrNZD5050

Bank Facilities

26

NZD770161

Commercial Paper

27

NZD225225

Total Green Debt allocated to the Hydro Pool 1,648 1,039

Green Debt allocated to the Wind Pool

28

30 June 2021

Type – $M

CUSIP/NZ X

Code

Currency

borrowed in

Facility

amount

Drawn

facility

amount

Retail Bond (Mar-23)MEL030NZD150150

Retail Bond (Mar-24)MEL040NZD150150

Retail Bond (Mar-25)MEL050NZD200200

Total Domestic Bonds500500

EKF Amortising FacilityNZD5050

Total Green Debt allocated to the Wind Pool 550 550

Total Green Debt 2,198 1,589

24 Verified as meeting the criteria established for Meridian by DNV GL which align with the stated definition of Green

Bonds and Loans within the Green Bond/Loan Principles.

25 United States private placement (USPP) Notes are included as the NZD equivalent under the Cross-Currency Interest

Rate Swaps related to the Issue.

26 Committed Bank facilities are included at the face value of the facilities.

27 Commercial Paper is included as the amount on issue.

28 Climate Bonds Standard Certified

140

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

C9 Lease Liabilities
Lease liabilities analysis

2021

$M

2020

$M

Minimum lease payments

Not later than 1 year 10 10

Later than 1 year and not later than 3 years 19 20

Later than 3 years and not later than 5 years 18 19

Later than 5 years 99 109

Gross future lease payables 146 158

Less future finance costs(49) (54)

Present value of lease liabilities 97 104

Analysed as:

Not later than 1 year 7 7

Later than 1 year and not later than 3 years 13 14

Later than 3 years and not later than 5 years 12 13

Later than 5 years 65 70

Present value of lease liabilities 97 104

Comprising:

Current 7 7

Non-current 90 97

97 104

Lease liabilities, measurement

and recognition

Meridian recognises the present value

of expected lease payments under

lease arrangements as lease liabilities

payable. Subsequent repayments are

split between principal and interest

expense. The interest reflects a constant

periodic charge over the expected

term of the lease.

A number of our lease arrangements

contain options to extend. Where we

are reasonably certain of taking up those

options, they are included in the lease

liability. If there is any uncertainty around

whether a lease extension will be taken

up, it is excluded from the liability value.

Lease liabilities are classified as financial

liabilities at amortised cost.

The weighted average discount rate

applied in the calculation of lease

liabilities is 3.10% (30 June 2020: 3.11%).

Lease details

Meridian’s leases relate to office

spaces, transmission connection assets

at Mill Creek and Mt Mercer, and land

access arrangements at our Australian

generation and development sites.

Meridian reported interest expense

on lease liabilities of $5 million

(30 June 2020: $6 million) in the

income statement.

Refer to Note B1 Property, plant and

equipment for details of the related

right of use lease assets.

C


141

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

C10 Commitments
Capital expenditure commitments

Group

2021

$M

2020

$M

Property, plant and equipment328 8

Software1–

Total capital expenditure commitments 329 8

Guarantees

Various entities within the Group provide guarantees to external counterparties,

with these mostly relating to security for energy market clearing and lines

companies. The maximum liability under these guarantees is $166 million

(30 June 2020: $75 million).

In addition to the above Meridian Energy Limited has provided parent guarantees

for various construction and grid connection obligations of Mt Mercer Windfarm

Pty Limited. The maximum liability under these guarantees is $29 million

(30 June 2020: $30 million).

C

142

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

D1 Financial risk management
Meridian’s activities expose it to a

variety of financial risks. Its financial

risk management framework focuses on

the unpredictability of financial markets

and wholesale energy markets. The

Board approves policies including Group

Treasury, Energy Hedging and Credit

Policies which set appropriate principles

and risk tolerance levels to guide

management in carrying out financial

risk management activities to minimise

potential adverse effects on the financial

performance and economic value of

the Group. The key risks managed are

discussed further below.

In order to help balance certain risk

exposures, Meridian uses a variety of

financial instruments (hedges). Hedges

are categorised as either “Treasury”

or “Energy” related, based on their

underlying nature. A small number

of Treasury hedges are designated in

hedge accounting relationships (refer

to Hedge accounting section for further

detail). Meridian does not enter into

speculative trades.

Financial instrument recognition

Meridian designates or classifies

financial hedging instruments as:

• Fair value hedge, hedges of the fair

value of recognised assets or liabilities

or a firm commitment; or

• Cash flow hedge, hedges of a

particular cash flow associated with a

recognised asset or liability or a highly

probable forecast transaction; or

• Held for trading, financial instruments

which have not been designated in a

hedging relationship.

Meridian accounts for derivative

and certain designated financial

instruments as fair value through

the income statement.

Hedges are initially recognised at

fair value on the dates the contracts

are agreed, and are subsequently

remeasured on a periodic basis.

Remeasurement is recognised in

the income statement.

Realised flows on hedges are recognised

in the income statement within EBITDAF,

in the same line as the underlying

business/transactions being hedged.

Fair value (or unrealised) changes are

recognised in “Net change in fair value

of energy hedges” or “Net change in fair

value of treasury hedges”, depending

on the underlying business nature of

the hedge.

Calculation of fair value

for financial instruments

Meridian uses quoted prices and/or

a discounted cash flows approach in

order to calculate fair values for financial

instruments. Fair value measurements

are grouped within a three-level

fair value hierarchy based on the

observability of inputs to the valuation

process:

• Level 1 Inputs: quoted prices

(unadjusted) in active markets for

identical assets or liabilities that the

entity can access at reporting date;

• Level 2 Inputs: either directly (i.e. as

prices) or indirectly (i.e. derived from

prices) observable inputs other than

quoted prices included in Level 1; or

• Level 3 Inputs: inputs that are not

based on observable market data

(i.e. unobservable inputs).

Meridian has a number of energy

hedges that require management

estimation and judgement in order to

generate a fair value at each reporting

date. These estimates can have a

significant risk of material adjustment

in future periods. This is discussed in

more detail later in this section.

D

Financial

instruments used

to manage risk

In this section

This section explains the financial

risks Meridian faces, how these risks

affect Meridian’s financial position

and performance, and how Meridian

manages these risks. In this section

of the notes there is information:

a. outlining Meridian’s approach to

financial risk management; and

b. analysing financial (hedging)

instruments used to manage risk.

143

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

Meridian ensures flexibility in funding
by maintaining committed surplus credit

lines available of at least $200 million

(refer to Note C7 Borrowings for details

of undrawn facilities). This helps ensure

Meridian has sufficient headroom under

both normal and abnormal hydrological

conditions.

Meridian manages its term debt

requirements on a portfolio basis. To

reduce concentration risk on any one

lender or funding type, Meridian uses

a range of different funding sources

and currencies. Meridian also monitors

contractual maturities and ensures these

are well spaced (or laddered) so that

refinancing risks are manageable.

For retail customers, credit checks

are carried out before new customers

are accepted. The credit team oversees

the collection of receivables and

works with customers to minimise

the chances of bad debts occurring.

Management monitors the size and

nature of retail customer exposures

on a regular basis and acts to

mitigate the risk if deemed to

exceed acceptable levels.

For banks and financial institutions,

only independently related parties with

a minimum rating of ‘A’ are accepted.

For wholesale customers, individual

credit limits are set based on internal

or external credit ratings in accordance

with limits set by the Board. Where

customers are not independently credit

rated, an assessment of credit quality

is made, taking into account financial

position, past experience and other

relevant factors. If appropriate, letters

of credit/guarantees are obtained from

counterparties to reduce credit risk to

acceptable levels. These assessments

and the utilisation of credit limits

and security provided by wholesale

customers are reviewed and monitored

by the Chief Financial Officer.

The carrying amounts of financial

assets recognised on the balance sheet

best represent Meridian’s maximum

likely exposure to credit risk at the date

of this report. Refer to Note C6 Trade

receivables for a description of how we

provide for any credit losses. Meridian

does not have any significant credit risk

concentrations.

In addition to borrowings, Meridian has

entered into a number of letters of credit

and guarantee arrangements which

provide credit support of $166 million for

Meridian’s general operations (30 June

2020: $75 million). Meridian indemnifies

the obligations of the bank in respect

of the letters of credit and performance

guarantees issued by the bank to

counterparties of Meridian.

Credit risk

Meridian is exposed to the risk of

default in relation to energy sales

to wholesale and retail customers,

hedging instruments, guarantees

and deposits held with banks and

other financial institutions.

Liquidity risk

Meridian is exposed to the

dynamic nature of energy

markets and weather patterns,

which can affect liquidity.

D

D1 Financial risk management continued

144

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

Liquidity Risk –
Contractual maturities

The following tables are an analysis

of the contractual undiscounted cash

flows (settlements expected under

the contracts) relating to financial

liabilities and a reconciliation from total

undiscounted cash flows to carrying

amounts. Meridian expects to meet

its future obligations from operating

cash flows and debt financing.

2021

$M

Due

within

1 year

Due in

1 to 2 years

Due in

3 to 5 years

Due after

5 years

Total

undiscounted

cash flows

Impact of

other

non-cash

items

Impact of

interest/FX

discounting

2021

carrying

value

Borrowings 475 207 554 650 1,886 (3) (207) 1,676

Lease liabilities 10 19 18 99 146 –(49) 97

Payables, accruals, provisions

and option premiums62640–35701–(13) 688

Treasury hedges 40 30 57 34 161 –(16) 145

Energy hedges 27 7 15 – 49 –– 49

1,178 303 644 818 2 ,943 (3) (285) 2,655

2020

$M

Due

within

1 year

Due in

1 to 2 years

Due in

3 to 5 years

Due after

5 years

Total

undiscounted

cash flows

Impact of

other

non-cash

items

Impact of

interest/FX

discounting

2020

carrying

value

Borrowings 144 174 778 753 1,849 (4) (157) 1,688

Lease liabilities 10 20 19 109 158 –(54) 104

Payables, accruals, provisions

and option premiums 410 42 9 24 485 –(8) 477

Treasury hedges 43 42 92 75 252 –(14) 238

Energy hedges 27 21 31 29 108 (1) (3) 104

634 299 929 990 2,852 (5) (236) 2,611

D

D1 Financial risk management continued

145

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021


Foreign exchange risk

Meridian is exposed to foreign

exchange risk arising from sales and

procurement of goods and services

denominated in foreign currencies

and also from term debt raised in

foreign currencies.

For exposures resulting from Meridian’s

general operations, foreign exchange

spot or forward contracts are used to fix

the value in reporting currency terms.

Material items may be placed in hedge

accounting relationships and can be

either fair value hedges or cash flow

hedges, depending on the nature of

the transaction/underlying exposure.

For term debt raised in US dollars, cross

currency interest rate swaps (CCIRS) are

used to convert the proceeds back to

functional currency. These derivatives

minimise foreign exchange risk on both

the notional and the coupon flows over

the life of the debt. CCIRS are placed in

both fair value and cash flow hedge

accounting relationships.

Interest Rate risk

Meridian is exposed to interest rate risk

arising from its funding portfolio, which

is a mix of fixed and floating rate debt.

Meridian issues debt on both a fixed

and a floating basis and is thus exposed

to changes in interest rates over time.

A portfolio of interest rate swaps (IRS) is

then used to manage the net exposure

to interest rate risk, in line with a Board

approved hedging policy and profile.

Please also refer to the Foreign exchange

risk section for derivatives used for term

debt raised in foreign currencies.

Meridian swaps a significant portion

of its borrowings to floating rates

at loan inception, and hedges the

resulting interest rate exposure over a

tenure based profile of fixed IRS. This

is achieved using a combination of

CCIRS and IRS hedges. Where Meridian

borrows in foreign currency it uses

CCIRSs to swap all foreign currency

denominated interest and principal

repayments to the reporting currency.

This results in floating rate borrowings in

the entity’s reporting currency. Meridian

uses IRS hedges to fix floating interest

rates in line with the Board approved

hedging policy and profile.

Market risk

Meridian is involved in both the energy

and financial markets and as such is

exposed to rises and falls in those

markets and the subsequent income

statement volatility this can cause. The

main sub-types of market risk that we

are exposed to are discussed below.

Commodity price risk

Meridian trades in the wholesale energy

markets and so is exposed to volatility in

forward energy prices.

Being both a generator and a retailer

of energy means that Meridian has a

natural hedge for most of the exposure

to future energy prices.

Meridian also uses derivatives to help

manage its net energy position, some

of which are traded in quoted markets,

and some of which are traded directly

with other energy market participants.

Energy hedges are not placed in hedge

accounting relationships.

D

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MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

Meridian groups its financial instrument into two categories –
Treasury hedges and Energy hedges.

$M

Fair value on the balance sheet

2021 2020

AssetsLiabilitiesAssetsLiabilities

Treasury hedges 106 (145) 223 (238)

Energy hedges 300 (49) 142 (104)

406 (194) 365 (342)

of which

Current 192 (63) 100 (63)

Non Current 214 (131) 265 (279)

406 (194) 365 (342)

Further disclosure and analysis of these two categories are noted on the

following pages.

147

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

Treasury hedges – sensitivity analysis
The table below summarises the impact of changes in significant inputs (assuming

all other variables are held constant) on the valuation of Treasury hedges and

therefore on Meridian’s after tax profit and equity.

Note that changes in the fair value of the CCIRS are fully offset by opposite impacts

from hedge accounting entries and the FX retranslation of the USD debt. Therefore,

the CCIRS P&L sensitivity is nil and is not shown in the below table.

The majority of the FX portfolio are designated in cash flow hedge relationships.

Changes in spot exchanges rates are fully offset by opposite impacts from hedge

accounting entries in the P&L. For these contracts the P&L sensitivity is nil.

Impact on after tax

profit & equity

Sensitivity

2021

$M

2020

$M

Interest rates

New Zealand benchmark bill rate-100 basis points (bps)(38) (40)

+100 bps 38 44

Australian benchmark bill rate-100 bps(3) (4)

+100 bps 3 4

Foreign Exchange Rates

Effect of movement in foreign exchange

rates on foreign exchange contracts

-20%(1) –

+20% 1 –

Treasury hedges

Hedges in the Treasury category generally relate to management of the interest

rate risk and foreign exchange risk that arise from Meridian’s funding activities

and from general Group operations.

The instruments used are CCIRS, IRS and forward exchange contracts (FX).

Treasury hedges

Fair value on the balance sheet

Fair value

movements

in the income

statement

Outstanding

aggregate

notional

principals

34

2021

$M

2020

$M

2021

$M

2020

$M

2021

$M

2020

$M

LevelAssetsLiabilitiesAssetsLiabilities

CCIRS

– Interest Rate Risk

29

62 – 118 –(1) (2)

– Basis and Margin Risk

30

(6) –(4) –––

– Foreign Exchange Risk

31

28 – 80 –––

2 84 – 194 –(1) (2) 602 602

IRS

32

2 16 (145) 29 (238) 80 (46) 1,502 1,427

FX

33

2 6 ––––– 165 16

Treasury hedges 106 (145) 223 (238) 79 (48)

Meridian uses CCIRS to hedge risks involved with long term debt issued in USD. In the above table the CCIRS are separated

into component parts as follows:

29 Interest rate risk: this is the movement in value of the CCIRS due to changes in benchmark interest rates. The other side

of this movement is recorded in the income statement in the “Net change in fair value of treasury instruments”, together

with changes in the fair value hedge adjustments on the designated USD borrowings.

30 Basis and margin risk: this is the movement in the value of the CCIRS due to changes in basis (excluding foreign

exchange) and credit margin. The other side of this movement is recorded in the income statement in the “Net change

in fair value of treasury instruments”, together with cash flow hedge accounting adjustments that transfer effective

hedge portions to the Cash Flow Hedge Reserve within Equity.

31 Foreign Exchange Risk: this is the movement in value of the CCIRS due to changes in spot foreign exchange rates. The

impact of retranslation is recorded in the income statement in “Net change in fair value of treasury instruments” and is

offset by equal and opposite retranslation effects on the related borrowings.

32 Changes in fair value of IRS are recognised in the income statement within “Net change in fair value of treasury

instruments”.

33 Changes in fair value of FX contracts are recognised in the income statement within “Net change in fair value of treasury

instruments”, together with cash flow hedge accounting adjustments that transfer effective hedge portions to the Cash

Flow Hedge Reserve within Equity.

34 These cover multiple legs including offsetting legs and maturities out to 2036.

In the table above, fair value movements in the income statement are shown

net of any related hedge accounting adjustments and retranslation of foreign

currency borrowings.

Refer to the Hedge Accounting section of Note D1 Financial risk management

for further detail on fair value and cash flow hedge relationships.

D

D1 Financial risk management continued

148

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

Energy hedges
Hedges in this category relate to Meridian’s management of risk arising from

the generation, purchase and sale of energy.

Meridian is exposed to changes in the spot price of electricity it receives for

electricity generated, or pays to buy electricity and gas to supply customers.

Additionally, inflows into Meridian’s storage lakes are variable, therefore the

volume of electricity required to supply customers may exceed (or fall short

of) generation production.

Meridian’s hedging strategy focuses on its net exposure by estimating both

expected generation and energy purchases required to support contracted sales.

Execution of this strategy is guided by Board approved parameters. Changes in

the fair value of energy hedges are recognised in the income statement within

“Net change in fair value of energy hedges”. Hedge accounting is not applied to

Energy hedges.

Energy hedges

Fair value on the balance sheet

Fair value movements in

the income statement

Outstanding aggregate

notional volumes

35

2021

$M

2020

$M

2021

$M

2020

$M

20212020

LevelAssetsLiabilitiesAssetsLiabilities

Market traded electricity hedges 1 149 (21) 57 (16) 47 (23) 20,158 GWh 16,982 GWh

Market traded gas hedges 1 – – – (2) 2 (2) 32 2 TJ 5 49 TJ

Other electricity hedges 3 113 (14) 27 (65) 132 (34) 13,734 GWh 21,086 GWh

Other gas hedges 2 3 – – (10) 13 (10) 3,749 TJ 3,678 TJ

Electricity options 3 29 – 50 – (21) (20) 1,722 GWh 2,855 GWh

Large Scale Generation Certificates (LGCs)

LGC – Holdings created from wind farm generation 1 5 – 6 – (1) 1 0.2 million 0.1 million

LGC – Hedges 2 1 (14) 2 (11) (3) (25) 2.2 million 2.1 million

6 (14) 8 (11) (4) (24)

Energy related hedges 300 (49) 142 (104) 169 (113)

The “Market traded electicity hedges” and “Market traded gas hedges” categories

contain instruments that are traded on various exchange-based markets.

The “Other electricity hedges” and “Other gas hedges” categories contain over-the-

counter derivatives, where counterparties include customers, other energy market

participants and financial institutions. These hedges are generally longer-term,

larger volume contracts that manage specific risks that can not be managed

through exchange-based markets.

Meridian trades electricity options with other generators. These are used to

support the management of inflow and storage variability in the catchments

where it generates electricity.

The LGCs category has two sub-components. The first represents the Renewable

Energy Certificates (RECs) that Meridian’s Australian wind farms earn in the form

of LGCs. Additionally, Powershop Australia is required to purchase and surrender

RECs. The second represents the derivatives used to firm prices received for LGCs

generated and consequently reduce the profit volatility of each wind farm. At the

time of generation, LGCs are recognised as income in energy margin at the prevailing

spot price. LGC holdings and hedges are all recognised as financial instruments on

the balance sheet at their fair value.

D

D1 Financial risk management continued

35 These cover multiple legs including offsetting legs and maturities out to 2030

149

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

Energy hedges – sensitivity analysis
The table below summarises the impact of changes in significant inputs

(assuming all other variables are held constant) on the valuation of Energy

hedges and therefore on Meridian’s after tax profit and equity.

Impact on after tax

profit & equity

Sensitivity

2021

$M

2020

$M

Energy hedges

Energy prices-10%(75) (53)

+10% 76 55

Discount rates-100 bps 1 (2)

+100 bps(1) 2

Call volumes-10%(2) (3)

+10% 2 3

LGC prices-10% 2 2

+10%(2) (2)

Settlements of energy hedges

The following provides a summary of the settlements through EBITDAF for Energy hedges:

2021 2020

Market-

traded

electricity

hedges

Market-

traded

gas hedges

Other

electricity

hedges

Other

gas hedges

Electricity

Options

LGC

related Total

Market-

traded

electricity

hedges

Market-

traded

gas hedges

Other

electricity

hedges

Other

gas hedges

Electricity

Options

LGC

related Total

Operating revenue

(47) –(98) –– 19 (126) 24 –(14) –– 38 48

Operating expenses

58 (2) 225 1 75 (16) 341 (50) – 69 – 4 (15) 8

Total settlements

in EBITDAF

11 (2) 127 1 75 3 215 (26) – 55 – 4 23 56

D

D1 Financial risk management continued

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MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021


Financial asset

or liabilityDescription of input

Range of significant

unobservable inputs

Relationship of

input to fair value

Other electricity

hedges, valued

using DCFs

Price, where quoted prices are not available or not relevant

(i.e. for long-dated contracts), Meridian’s best estimate of

long-term forward wholesale electricity price is used. This is

based on a fundamental analysis of expected demand and

the cost of new supply and any other relevant wholesale

market factors.

$26/MWh to $98/MWh

(in real terms), excludes

observable ASX prices.

An increase in the forward

wholesale electricity price

increases the fair value of buy

hedges and decreases the fair

value of sell hedges. A decrease in

the forward wholesale electricity

price has the opposite effect.

LGD forward

contracts & options

valued using DCFs /

Black Scholes

Price, based on a forward LGC price curve from a third party

broker, and benchmarked against market spot prices.

Other factors, include:

• Calibration factor applied to forward price curves as a

consequence of initial recognition differences.

A$8 to A$39An increase in the forward LGC

price decreases the fair value of

sell hedges and increases the fair

value of buy hedges. A decrease

in the forward LGC price has the

opposite effect.

Fair value technique and key inputs

In estimating the fair value of an asset

or liability, Meridian uses market-

observable data to the extent that it is

available. The Audit and Risk Committee

of Meridian determines the overall

appropriateness of key valuation

techniques and inputs for fair value

measurement. The Chief Financial

Officer explains fair value movements in

his report to the Board.

Where the fair value of a financial

instrument is calculated as the present

value of the estimated future cash flows

of the instrument (DCFs), a number of

inputs and assumptions are used by the

valuation technique. These are:

• forward price curves referenced to

the ASX for electricity, published

market data on gas/oil prices,

published market interest rates and

published forward foreign exchange

rates;

• Meridian’s best estimate of electricity

volumes called over the life of

electricity options;

• discount rates based on market

wholesale interest rate curves,

adjusted for counterparty credit risk;

• calibration factor applied to forward

price curves as a consequence of

initial recognition differences;

• NZAS continues to operate; and

• contracts run their full term.

The impact of COVID-19 has been

considered as part of the assumptions

when determining the fair value of our

financial instruments. However, there

was no impact on fair value when taking

this into consideration.

The table below describes any

additional key inputs and techniques

used in the valuation of Level 2 and 3

energy hedges.

D

151

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

Level 3 financial instrument analysis
The following provides a summary of the movements through EBITDAF

and movements in the fair value of level three financial instruments:

Reconciliation of Level 3 fair value movements $M

2021 2020

Other

electricity

hedges

Electricity

options Total

Other

electricity

hedgess

Electricity

options Total

Energy hedges settled in EBITDAF:

Operating revenue(98) –(98) (14) –(14)

Operating expenses 225 75 300 69 4 73

Total settlements in EBITDAF 127 75 202 55 4 59

Net change in fair value of energy hedges:

Remeasurement 264 54 318 21 (16) 5

Hedges settled(127) (75) (202) (55) (4) (59)

Total realised and unrealised losses on energy hedges 137 (21) 116 (34) (20) (54)

Balance at the beginning of the period(38) 50 12 (4) 70 66

Fair value movements 137 (21) 116 (34) (20) (54)

Balance at the end of the year 99 29 128 (38) 50 12

Fair value movements of Level 3 energy hedges in 2021 which are held at balance date total $85 million (30 June 2020: $52 million).

Movements in recalibration differences

arising from energy hedges

2021

$M

2020

$M

Opening difference(1) (3)

Initial differences on new hedges ––

Volumes expired and amortised– 1

Recalibration for future price estimates and time(1) 1

Closing difference(2) (1)

D

D1 Financial risk management continued

Initial recognition difference

An initial recognition difference arises when the modelled value of an energy

hedge differs from the transaction price (which is the best evidence of fair value).

This difference is accounted for by recalibrating the valuation model by a fixed

percentage to result in a value at inception equal to the transaction price. This

recalibration is then applied to future valuations over the life of the contract.

The resulting difference shown in the table reflects potential future gains or losses

yet to be recognised in the income statement over the remaining life of the contract.

152

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

risk on USD borrowings in fair value
hedge accounting relationships.

This means that

• the carrying value of the USD

borrowings are adjusted for changes in

the fair value of the hedged risk – noted

as “hedge accounting adjustments” in

Note C7 Borrowings; and

• the CCIRS are revalued to the

income statement for this same risk.

As long as the hedge accounting

relationships remain effective, the

revaluations of both the hedged item

and hedging instrument should net

to a minimal amount in the income

statement. This residual difference is

referred to as hedge ineffectiveness.

The accumulated life to date hedge

accounting adjustments on the USD

borrowing total $56 million (2020:

$114 million).

Basis and margin risk

The combination of USD borrowings

and CCIRS economically results in

Meridian having floating rate NZD

borrowings. This presents a risk of

variability in future cash flows. As

such, Meridian designates basis risk

(excluding FX) and margin risk into

cash flow hedge relationships.

This means that:

• the CCIRS are revalued to the

income statement for basis risk

and margin risk; and

• the effective portions of the

hedge are moved from the income

statement to the Cash Flow Hedge

Reserve within Equity.

As noted earlier, there may be small

differences between the above entries

which result in hedge ineffectiveness

in the income statement.

Refer to:

• Note C7 Borrowings for the

carrying value of the hedged

items (USD borrowings);

• Note D1 Treasury hedges for

further information on the hedging

instruments (CCIRS), including

notionals and changes in fair

value during the period; and

• the Statement of Changes in

Equity for the balance of the

Cash Flow Hedge Reserve and

movements during the period.

On the balance sheet, USD borrowings

are included within Term Borrowings

and CCIRS are included within Financial

Instruments.

Foreign exchange risk

Meridian has hedged highly

probable forecast capital expenditure

denominated in currencies other than

NZD using forward exchange contracts.

The foreign currency exposures give

rise to the risk of variability to future

cashflows. To mitigate this risk forward

foreign exchange contracts have

been entered into. The cash flows

associated with these contracts are

timed to mature when the payment

for the capital expenditure is made.

For contracts designated as cash flow

hedges for accounting purposes, when

the cash flows occur Meridian adjusts

the carrying value of the asset acquired.

Hedge ineffectiveness

The table below summarises hedge

ineffectiveness. This is included within

“Net change in fair value of Treasury

Hedges” in the income statement.

Impact on income statement

2021

$M

2020

$M

Hedge Ineffectiveness–(2)

Ineffectiveness is primarily caused by

credit counterparty risk on CCIRS. This risk

is part of the CCIRS fair value but is not

included in the hedge accounting entries.

D

D1 Financial risk management continued

Hedge accounting

Meridian makes use of hedge

accounting for USD borrowings, certain

highly probable forecast transactions

and the financial instruments that are

used to economically hedge these

exposures. Refer to the start of the Risk

Management section for a description

of the key risks Meridian manages.

Meridian only designates hedge

accounting relationships where the

underlying exposure and the hedge

are eligible for hedge accounting and

are an economic match, where credit

risk is not expected to dominate the

fair value of the hedge, and where

we expect the hedge relationship

to remain effective over its life.

The USD borrowings (hedged items)

and the CCIRS (hedging instruments)

present Meridian with risks which we

account for in the following ways:

Interest rate risk

The USD borrowings are fixed rate

liabilities and thus present interest

rate risk, should benchmark interest

rates change. This risk is neutralised

by receiving the same fixed rate on

the USD leg of the matching CCIRS.

Meridian designates the interest rate

153

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

Future cash flows
The table below estimates the contractual undiscounted future cash flows that we expect on hedge accounted items. Amounts noted include coupons and repayment/

exchange of notionals on maturity.

Currency as indicated below

2021

$M

2020

$M

Due within

1 year

Due within

1–2 years

Due within

2–5 years

Due after

5 years

Due within

1 year

Due within

1–2 years

Due within

2–5 years

Due after

5 years

USD Borrowings (shown in USD)(56) (16) (47) (454) (17) (56) (47) (469)

CCIRS

– USD leg (coupons and maturity flow – shown in USD) 56 16 47 454 17 56 47 469

– Functional currency leg (coupons and maturity flow – shown in NZD)(58) (13) (53) (638) (11) (57) (34) (627)

Foreign Exchange Contracts

– Foreign currency leg (shown in NZD) 12 95 62 –––––

– Functional currency leg (shown in NZD)(11) (90) (59) –––––

Functional currency coupons are set quarterly based on NZ and AU benchmark rates. They are shown in this table based

on market forward interest rates and translated to NZD equivalent using spot AUD/NZD exchange rates at reporting date.

The foreign currency leg of foreign exchange contracts is translated to NZD using spot exchange rates at reporting date.

Financial instruments which are offset

In certain circumstances Meridian offsets the fair value of financial instruments where it has legal agreements in place

that permit netting of positions and net settlement.

2021

$M

2020

$M

Gross Value Value OffsetCarrying Value Gross Value Value OffsetCarrying Value

Financial instrument assets

– Energy hedges 505 (205) 300 205 (63) 142

– Treasury hedges 106 – 106 223 – 223

Total financial instrument assets 611 (205) 406 428 (63) 365

Financial instrument liabilities

– Energy hedges(254) 205 (49) (167) 63 (104)

– Treasury hedges(145) –(145) (238) –(238)

Total financial instrument liabilities(399) 205 (194) (405) 63 (342)

Net financial instruments 212 – 212 23 – 23

D

D1 Financial risk management continued

154

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS a FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

Group
structure

In this section

This section provides information to

help readers understand the Meridian

Group structure and how it affects

the financial position and performance

of the Group. In this section of the

notes there is information about

Meridian’s Subsidiaries.

E


Interest held

by the group

Name of entityPrincipal activityFunctional Currency20212020

Meridian Energy Limited

36

Powershop New Zealand Limited

37

Electricity retailingNew Zealand dollar–100%

Flux Federation LimitedSoftware developmentNew Zealand dollar100%100%

Flux-UK LimitedLicence holderBritish pounds100%100%

Three River Holdings No. 1 Limited

36

Holding companyNew Zealand dollar100%100%

Three River Holdings No. 2 Limited

36

Holding companyNew Zealand dollar100%100%

Meridian Energy Australia Pty Limited

36

Management servicesAustralian dollar100%100%

GSP Energy Pty LimitedElectricity generationAustralian dollar100%100%

Meridian Finco Pty Limited

36

Financing Australian dollar100%100%

Rangoon Energy Park Pty Limited

38

Wind farm developmentAustralian dollar100%100%

Wandsworth Wind Farm Pty Limited

38

Wind farm developmentAustralian dollar100%100%

Meridian Energy Markets Pty Limited

36

Non-trading entityAustralian dollar100%100%

Meridian Wind Monaro Range Holdings Pty Limited

36

Holding companyAustralian dollar100%100%

Meridian Wind Monaro Range Pty Limited

36

Holding companyAustralian dollar100%100%

Mt Millar Wind Farm Pty Limited

36

Electricity generationAustralian dollar100%100%

Meridian Australia Holdings Pty Limited

36

Holding companyAustralian dollar100%100%

Meridian Wind Australia Holdings Pty Limited

36

Holding companyAustralian dollar100%100%

Mt Mercer Windfarm Pty Limited

36

Electricity generationAustralian dollar100%100%

Powershop Australia Pty LimitedElectricity retailingAustralian dollar100%100%

Dam Safety Intelligence LimitedProfessional servicesNew Zealand dollar100%100%

Meridian LTI Trustee LimitedTrusteeNew Zealand dollar100%100%

Meridian Energy Captive Insurance LimitedInsurance New Zealand dollar100%100%

Meridian LimitedNon-trading entityNew Zealand dollar100%100%

Meridian Energy International LimitedNon-trading entityNew Zealand dollar100%100%

Powershop New Zealand Limited

37

Non-trading entityNew Zealand dollar100%–

36 Members of guaranteeing group.

37 On 30 April 2021, Powershop New Zealand Limited was amalgamated into Meridian Energy Limited. The Powershop entity

was removed from the companies office register and a new entity created (under the same name) for copyright purposes.

38 On 3 March 2020, Meridian Energy Australia Pty Ltd acquired 100% shareholdings in Rangoon Energy Park Pty Limited and

Wandsworth Wind Farm Pty Limited.

E1 Subsidiaries

The consolidated financial statements

include the financial statements of

Meridian Energy Limited and the

subsidiaries listed below.

They all have share capital consisting

solely of ordinary shares that the Group

holds directly, and the proportion of

ownership interests held equals the

Group’s voting rights.

Meridian Energy Limited provides

support to its subsidiaries where

necessary in order to ensure they

meet their obligations as they fall due.

155

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

In this section
This section includes the remaining

information relating to Meridian’s

financial statements which is

required to comply with financial

reporting standards.

F1 Share-based payments

Long term incentive (LTI)

In August 2019, the Board approved

a new LTI plan to replace Meridian’s

previous LTI plan. Set out below is a

summary of the previous LTI Plan which

was last offered in FY19 (for the period

commencing on 1 July 2018 and ending

on 30 June 2021). Also

set out below is a summary of the new

LTI plan which was first offered in FY20

(for the period commencing on 1 July

2019 and ending 30 June 2022).

Previous LTI Plan

The previous LTI is a share loan and

cash bonus scheme, where executives

purchase Meridian shares via an

interest-free loan from the company,

with the shares held on trust by the

LTI plan trustee. Any shares awarded

depend on whether the following

performance hurdles are met over

a three-year period:

• the company’s absolute total

shareholder return (TSR) must

be positive; and

• the company’s TSR compared

to a benchmark peer group.

If the performance hurdles have

been achieved, a progressive vesting

scale is applied to determine how

many shares vest:

• if the company’s TSR over the

three-year period exceeds the 50th

percentile TSR of the benchmark peer

group, at least 50% of an executive’s

shares will vest.

• 100% shares will vest on meeting the

75th percentile TSR of the peer group,

with vesting on a straight-line basis

between these two points.

• no shares will vest if the company’s

TSR is less than the 50th percentile

TSR of the peer group.

Once the vesting level has been

confirmed, a cash amount (after the

deduction of tax), but before other

applicable salary deductions, is used

to repay the executive’s outstanding

loan balance.

For each three-year plan, an independent

external expert measures TSR of

Meridian and the peer group of

companies along with the outcome on

the progressive vesting scale. If TSR is

not positive (i.e. in absolute terms

Other

F

is less than zero), or if TSR does not meet

the peer group relative TSR hurdle of

50th percentile, all of the shares are

forfeited to the trustee and the relevant

executive receives no benefits under the

LTI. Where the TSR is greater than the

50th percentile of the benchmark peer

group, but below the 75th percentile,

shares are allocated on a percentage

basis and any that have not vested will

also be forfeited.

For the LTI plan that vested at the

end of 2021, the level of vesting was

100% (2020: 100%). Therefore, the

outstanding balance of the interest free

loans at 30 June 2021 of $0.7 million has

now been repaid (2020: $0.5 million).

A total amount of 238,724 shares

have been transferred to the eligible

participants (2020: 208,707). In 2020

154,388 shares were forfeited which are

now held in trust by Meridian LTI Trustee

Limited until reallocation.

156

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

New LTI Plan
Under the new LTI plan, the company

issues rights to acquire ordinary shares

in the company (Share Rights) to eligible

participants who accept the offer to

participate in the LTI plan. Each Share

Right entitles the holder to one ordinary

share in the company and an additional

number of shares equal to the value

of gross cash dividends per share

which would have been paid to a

New Zealand tax resident who held a

share for the duration of the vesting

period, calculated using a 10-day

volume weighted average price.

The number of Share Rights that

vest is dependent on:

• Meridian’s total shareholder return

over a three-year performance

period (Performance Period) relative

to Meridian’s cost of equity;

• Meridian’s total shareholder return

over the Performance Period relative

to a defined group of NZX Main

Board and ASX listed peer companies

(Performance Hurdles); and

• if the participant continues to be

employed by Meridian during

the vesting period (Employment

Condition).

F

F1 Share-based payments continued

Performance Hurdles

Share Rights are granted in two tranches:

• Absolute Return Share (ABS) Rights;

and

• Relative Return Share (REL) Rights.

For ABS Rights to vest, the company’s

TSR must be greater than the absolute

TSR benchmark which is set at the

beginning of the vesting period

with regard to the company’s cost of

equity (Absolute TSR Benchmark) on

a compounding annual basis over the

Performance Period. If the company’s

TSR is equal to or lower than the

Absolute TSR Benchmark, no ABS

Rights will vest. If the company’s

TSR is greater than the Absolute TSR

Benchmark, 100% of the ABS Rights

will vest.

The number of REL Rights that vest is

determined by the company’s TSR over

the Performance Period relative to the

peer group. For any of the REL Rights to

vest, the company’s TSR must be greater

than or equal to the 50th percentile /

median TSR of the peer group. 100% of

the REL Rights will vest on meeting the

75th percentile TSR of the peer group,

with vesting on a straight-line basis

between these two points.

For each three-year plan, an

independent external expert measures

the TSR of Meridian and the peer group

of companies along with the outcome

on the progressive vesting scale.

Share Rights will lapse if the Vesting

Conditions are not satisfied (although

this is subject to the Board’s discretion in

relation to the Employment Condition).

In the current financial year, 476,168

share rights were issued to eligible staff,

238,084 being ABS Rights and 238,084

being REL Rights.

157

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

F1 Share-based payments continued
Movement in zero-priced share options

Number of options

Grant dateVesting dateLTI Scheme & Type

Weighted average

fair value of option

Balance at

start of the year

Granted

during the year

Vested

during the year

Forfeited

during the year

Balance at the

end of the year

2021

9/03/2130/06/23New – ABS$3.53 – 238,084 –– 238,084

9/03/2130/06/23New – REL$3.75 – 238,084 –– 238,084

7/10/2019 & 28/2/2030/06/22New – ABS$3.54 204,834 ––– 204,834

7/10/2019 & 28/2/2030/06/22New – REL$3.36 204,834 ––– 204,834

22/08/201830/06/21Previous$1.78 238,724 –(238,724) –

Total 648,392 476,168 (238,724) – 885,836

2020

7/10/2019 & 28/2/2030/06/22New – ABS$3.54 – 204,834 –– 204,834

7/10/2019 & 28/2/2030/06/22New – REL$3.36 – 204,834 –– 204,834

22/08/201830/06/21Previous$1.78 334,897 ––(96,173) 238,724

07/09/201730/06/20Previous$1.61 266,922 –(208,707) (58,215) –

Total 601,819 409,668 (208,707) (154,388) 648,392

F

158

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

F2 Related parties
Meridian transacts with other Government-owned or related entities independently

and on an arm’s-length basis. Transactions cover a variety of services including trading

energy, transmission, postal, travel and tax.

Directors of the Group may be directors or officers of other companies or organisations

with which members of the Group may transact.

Compensation of key management personnel

The remuneration of directors and other members of key management during the

year was as follows:

Group

2021

$M

2020

$M

Directors' Fees 1 1

Chief executive officer, senior management team

and subsidiary chief executives

Salaries and short-term benefits 7 8

Long-term benefits 1 1

8 9

F

F3 Auditors remuneration

Group

Auditors remuneration to Deloitte Limited for:

2021

$M

2020

$M

Audit and review of New Zealand-based

companies’ financial statements 0.6 0.6

Audit of overseas-based companies’ financial statements 0.2 0.2

Total audit fees 0.8 0.8

Other assurance fees 0.1 0.1

Total auditor remuneration 0.9 0.9

The Board has adopted a policy to maintain the independence of the Company’s

external auditor, including a review of all other services performed by Deloitte

Limited and recommending to the Office of the Auditor-General that there be

lead partner rotation after a maximum of five years. The Auditor-General has

appointed Mike Hoshek of Deloitte Limited as auditor of the company.

The audit fee includes Office of the Auditor-General overhead contribution of

$37,000 (30 June 2020: $33,300).

Other assurance services undertaken by Deloitte Limited during the year included

reviews of greenhouse gas inventory and sustainability reporting assurance, review

of the interim financial statements, audit of the securities registers, vesting of the

executive long-term incentive plan, the solvency return of Meridian Energy Captive

Insurance Limited and supervisor reporting.

Meridian has also paid $14,000 (2020: $14,000) to Deloitte Limited for administrative

and other advisory services to the Corporate Taxpayers Group, of which Meridian,

alongside a number of other organisations, is a member. In addition to this, Meridian

has paid $5,000 (2020: nil) to Deloitte Limited for consulting services relating to the

CFO Vantage Programme.

159

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

F
F4 Contingent assets and liabilities

There were no contingent assets or liabilities at 30 June 2021 (2020: Nil).

F5 Subsequent events

In August 2021, the directors of Meridian Energy Limited released an Information

Memorandum to interested parties for the sale of its investment in Meridian Energy

Australia (“MEA”) which is held by Three River Holdings No. 2 Limited (a 100% owned

subsidiary of Meridian Energy Limited). The MEA investment includes the ownership

and operation of wind and hydro assets and retail activities under the Powershop

brand. If we proceed, any potential transaction will likely be confirmed before the end

of December 2021. The financial performance of the MEA business is presented in

the Australia segment in Note A1 Segment performance. The carrying value of the

assets and liabilities of the MEA investment as at 30 June 2021 was $778 million

and $416 million respectively. A significant amount of uncertainty surrounds the

amount of any sale proceeds and therefore it is not possible to accurately estimate

the financial effect of the transaction if it proceeds.

In August 2021, the Electricity Authority (EA) released its final decision on actions

to correct the December 2019 Undesirable Trading Situation. This decision relates

to the floods of December 2019 when hydro generators were managing record

breaking inflows and spill past hydro power stations was inevitable. Meridian’s

financial statements have been prepared on the basis of the final EA decision

which resets prices during the trading periods concerned. The impact on the

financial statements by making this adjustment was insignificant.

There are no other subsequent events other than dividends declared on

24 August 2021 (refer to Note C4 Dividends for further details)

F6 Changes in financial reporting standards

All mandatory amendments and interpretations have been adopted in the current

year. None have had a material impact on these financial statements. Refer to

Significant Matter section for details regarding the 2020 restatement as a result

of the IFRIC Agenda Decision.

Meridian is not aware of any standards issued but not yet effective that would

materially affect the amounts recognised or disclosed in the financial statements.

160

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

NOTES TO THE FINANCIALS — FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2021

The Auditor-General is the auditor
of Meridian Energy Limited and its

subsidiaries (the Group). The Auditor-

General has appointed me, Mike

Hoshek, using the staff and resources

of Deloitte Limited, to carry out the

audit of the consolidated financial

statements on his behalf.

Opinion

We have audited the consolidated

financial statements of the Group on

pages 115 to 160, that comprise the

consolidated balance sheet as at

30 June 2021, the consolidated income

statement, consolidated comprehensive

income statement, consolidated

statement of changes in equity and

consolidated statement of cash flows

for the year ended on that date and

the notes to the consolidated financial

statements including a summary of

significant accounting policies and

other explanatory information.

In our opinion, the consolidated

financial statements present fairly, in

all material respects, the consolidated

financial position of the Group as at

30 June 2021 and its consolidated

financial performance and its

consolidated cash flows for the

year then ended in accordance

with New Zealand equivalents to

International Financial Reporting

Standards and International

Financial Reporting Standards.

Basis for our opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance

with the Auditor-General’s Auditing

Standards, which incorporate the

Professional and Ethical Standards

and the International Standards on

Auditing (New Zealand) issued by

the New Zealand Auditing and

Assurance Standards Board. Our

responsibilities under those standards

are further described in the Auditor’s

responsibilities for the audit of the

consolidated financial statements

section of our report. We are

independent of the Group in

accordance with the Auditor-General’s

Auditing Standards, which incorporate

Professional and Ethical Standard 1:

International Code of Ethics for

Assurance Practitioners issued by the

New Zealand Auditing and Assurance

Standards Board, and we have fulfilled

our other ethical responsibilities in

accordance with these requirements.

We believe that the audit evidence

we have obtained is sufficient and

appropriate to provide a basis for

our opinion.

Other than the audit, our firm carries

out other assurance assignments for

the Group in the areas of greenhouse

gas inventory assurance, limited

assurance of the sustainability content

in the integrated report, review of the

interim financial statements, audit of

the securities registers, vesting of the

executive long-term incentive plan, the

solvency return of Meridian Captive

Insurance Limited and supervisor

reporting. We also carried out non-

assurance assignments for the Group

relating to the Corporate Taxpayers

Group and the CFO Vantage Programme,

which are compatible with those

independence requirements.

In addition, principals and employees

of our firm deal with the Group on

arm’s length terms within the ordinary

course of trading activities of the Group.

These services have not impaired our

independence as auditor of the Group.

Other than these engagements and arm’s

length transactions, and in our capacity as

auditor acting on behalf of the Auditor-

General, we have no relationship with,

or interests in, the Group.

Audit materiality

We consider materiality primarily in terms

of the magnitude of misstatement in the

consolidated financial statements of the

Group that in our judgement would make

it probable that the economic decisions of

a reasonably knowledgeable person

would be changed or influenced (the

‘quantitative’ materiality). In addition, we

also assess whether other matters that

come to our attention during the audit

would in our judgement change or

influence the decisions of such a person

(the ‘qualitative’ materiality). We use

materiality both in planning the scope

of our audit work and in evaluating the

results of our work.

We determined materiality for the

Group consolidated financial statements

as a whole to be $16 million.

Independent auditor’s report

To the shareholders of Meridian Energy Limited

for the year ended 30 June 2021

161

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT

Key audit matters
Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgement, were of most significance in our audit of the consolidated

financial statements of the current period. These matters were addressed in the context of our audit of the consolidated financial

statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion on these matters.

Key audit mattersHow our audit addressed the key audit matters

Valuation of Generation Structures and Plant

As explained in note B1 in the Group financial statements, generation structures and plant are

carried at fair value less any subsequent accumulated depreciation and impairment losses at

balance sheet date.

The net book value of generation structures and plant as reflected in note B1 is $8,297 million

(2020: $8,345 million).

The Group obtains an independent valuation every year to ensure that the carrying value does

not differ significantly from the fair value at balance date.

As a result of this independent valuation, generation structures and plant have been revalued this

year as at 30 June 2021. The revaluation resulted in an increase in value by $202 million. The impact

of the revaluation is recognised as an increase of $202 million in the revaluation reserve with no

income statement impact in the current period (2020: decrease of $21 million in the revaluation

reserve and $57 million impairment in the income statement was recorded).

The valuation methodology determines an enterprise value range by considering a primarily

discounted cashflow (DCF) approach, supported by a capitalisation of earnings approach. This is

with reference to a) a discounted cash flow valuation, which primarily focuses on free cash flows of

business units such as estimated future earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation,

changes in fair value hedges, impairments, and gains or losses on sale of assets (‘EBITDAF’), as well

as capital expenditure, working capital movements and cash tax amounts, as well as the discount

rate used within the model, and b) a capitalisation of earnings approach.The inputs do not fully use

observable market data and require significant judgement and estimates to be made by the valuer.

As outlined in note B1 the valuer has considered the impact of COVID-19 on the valuation.

We include valuation of generation structures as a key audit matter because of the inherent

technical and judgemental complexity associated with determining the fair value. Specifically,

the determination of the expected cashflows, in particular the determination of forward price

paths, as well as the appropriate discount rate.

Our audit procedures focused on:

• The reasonableness of the key assumptions used in the discounted cash flow (DCF) model,

specifically the reasonableness of the WACC rate used, and of the price paths utilised in the

models;

• The reasonableness of other free cash flows inputs such as estimates of EBITDAF and capital

expenditure; and

• The impact of COVID-19 on the estimates used within the valuation.

Our procedures included:

• Evaluating the Group’s processes for the independent valuation of the generation structures

and plant;

• Reviewing the valuation methodology and the reasonableness of the significant underlying

assumptions;

• Assessing the competence, objectivity and integrity of the independent registered valuer. We

assessed their professional qualifications and experience. We also obtained representation from

them regarding their independence and the scope of their work;

• Meeting with the valuer to understand the valuation process adopted to identify and challenge

the critical judgement areas in the valuation;

• Utilising our in-house valuation specialists to assess the appropriateness of the valuation

methodology and the reasonableness of the valuation range determined by the independent

valuer, including WACC rates, forward price path, and reasonableness of earnings multiples

applied;

• Evaluating the adequacy of the Group’s disclosures in respect of the valuation of generation

structures and plant.

Valuation of Level 3 Electricity Derivatives

As explained in note D1, the Group’s activities expose it to commodity price, foreign exchange

and interest rate risks which are managed using derivative financial instruments.

These instruments are carried at their fair value as at 30 June 2021.

At 30 June 2021, level 3 electricity derivative assets totalled $142 million (2020: $77 million) and

level 3 electricity derivative liabilities were $14 million (2020: $65 million).

We include valuation of level 3 electricity derivatives as a key audit matter for the following

reasons:

• The price used in the valuation of electricity hedges is based on the Group’s best estimate

of the long-term forward wholesale electricity price, which involves significant judgement

and estimates regarding discount factors, expected demand, cost of new supply, and other

relevant market factors; and

• The complexity and judgement involved in the valuation techniques and the judgement

involved in evaluating the long-term expected call volumes and discount factor used to

determine the fair value of electricity options and swaps.

Our audit procedures focused on:

• The appropriateness of the valuation techniques ;

• The reasonableness of the wholesale electricity price path;

• The reasonableness of the underlying assumptions and inputs in the valuation models;

• The impact of COVID-19 on the estimates used within the valuation.

Our procedures included:

• In conjunction with our internal experts, evaluating the appropriateness of the methodology

applied in the valuation models for these electricity hedges, options and swaps and ensuring

that the methodology has been consistently applied with the prior year where appropriate;

• Challenging the key assumptions applied, including the long-term forward wholesale

electricity price, long-term expected call volumes, day one adjustments and discount rates;

• Agreeing underlying data to contract terms, specifically the contract term, price and volumes;

and

• Evaluating the adequacy of the Group’s disclosures in respect of the valuation of level 3

electricity derivatives.

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MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT

Other information
The Directors on behalf of the Group

are responsible for the other information.

The other information comprises the

information included on pages 1 to 114,

and 167 to 174, but does not include

the consolidated financial statements,

and our auditor’s report thereon.

Our opinion on the consolidated

financial statements does not cover

the other information and we do not

express any form of audit opinion or

assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the

consolidated financial statements,

our responsibility is to read the other

information and in doing so, we

consider whether the other information

is materially inconsistent with the

consolidated financial statements or

our knowledge obtained in the audit,

or otherwise appears to be materially

misstated. If, based on the work we have

performed, we conclude that there is

a material misstatement of this other

information, we are required to report

that fact. We have nothing to report

in this regard.

Directors’ responsibilities

for the consolidated

financial statements

The Directors are responsible on

behalf of the Group for the

preparation and fair presentation of

the consolidated financial statements

in accordance with New Zealand

Equivalents to International Financial

Reporting Standards and International

Financial Reporting Standards and for

such internal control as the Directors

determine is necessary to enable the

preparation of consolidated financial

statements that are free from material

misstatement, whether due to fraud

or error.

In preparing the consolidated

financial statements, the Directors

are responsible on behalf of the

Group for assessing the Group’s

ability to continue as a going concern,

disclosing, as applicable, matters

related to going concern and using

the going concern basis of accounting

unless the Directors either intend

to liquidate the Group or to cease

operations, or have no realistic

alternative but to do so.

The Directors’ responsibilities arise

from the Financial Markets Conduct

Act 2013.

Auditor’s responsibilities for

the audit of the consolidated

financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain

reasonable assurance about whether

the consolidated financial statements,

as a whole, are free from material

misstatement, whether due to fraud

or error, and to issue an auditor’s report

that includes our opinion.

Reasonable assurance is a high level

of assurance, but is not a guarantee

that an audit carried out in accordance

with the Auditor-General’s Auditing

Standards will always detect a

material misstatement when it exists.

Misstatements can arise from fraud

or error and are considered material

if, individually or in the aggregate,

they could reasonably be expected to

influence the economic decisions of

shareholders taken on the basis of

these consolidated financial statements.

As part of an audit in accordance

with the Auditor-General’s Auditing

Standards, we exercise professional

judgement and maintain professional

scepticism throughout the audit.

We also:

• Identify and assess the risks of

material misstatement of the

consolidated financial statements,

whether due to fraud or error, design

and perform audit procedures

responsive to those risks, and obtain

audit evidence that is sufficient and

appropriate to provide a basis for

our opinion. The risk of not detecting

a material misstatement resulting

from fraud is higher than for one

resulting from error, as fraud may

involve collusion, forgery, intentional

omissions, misrepresentations, or

the override of internal control.

• Obtain an understanding of internal

control relevant to the audit in order

to design audit procedures that are

appropriate in the circumstances, but

not for the purpose of expressing an

opinion on the effectiveness of the

Group’s internal control.

• Evaluate the appropriateness of

accounting policies used and the

reasonableness of accounting

estimates and related disclosures

made by management.

163

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT

• Conclude on the appropriateness
of the use of the going concern

basis of accounting by the directors

and, based on the audit evidence

obtained, whether a material

uncertainty exists related to events or

conditions that may cast significant

doubt on the Group’s ability to

continue as a going concern. If we

conclude that a material uncertainty

exists, we are required to draw

attention in our auditor’s report to the

related disclosures in the consolidated

financial statements or, if such

disclosures are inadequate, to modify

our opinion. Our conclusions are

based on the audit evidence obtained

up to the date of our auditor’s report.

However, future events or conditions

may cause the Group to cease to

continue as a going concern.

• Evaluate the overall presentation,

structure and content of the

consolidated financial statements,

including the disclosures, and

whether the consolidated financial

statements represent the underlying

transactions and events in a manner

that achieves fair presentation.

• Obtain sufficient appropriate

audit evidence regarding the

financial information of the entities

or business activities within the

Group to express an opinion on the

consolidated financial statements.

We are responsible for the direction,

supervision and performance of

the group audit. We remain solely

responsible for our audit opinion.

We communicate with the Directors

regarding, among other matters, the

planned scope and timing of the audit

and significant audit findings, including

any significant deficiencies in internal

control that we identify during our audit.

We also provide the Directors with a

statement that we have complied with

relevant ethical requirements regarding

independence, and to communicate

with them all relationships and other

matters that may reasonably be thought

to bear on our independence, and

where applicable, related safeguards.

From the matters communicated

with the Directors, we determine

those matters that were of most

significance in the audit of the

consolidated financial statements of

the current period and are therefore

the key audit matters. We describe

these matters in our auditor’s report

unless law or regulation precludes public

disclosure about the matter or when,

in extremely rare circumstances, we

determine that a matter should not be

communicated in our report because

the adverse consequences of doing

so would reasonably be expected to

outweigh the public interest benefits

of such communication.

Our responsibilities arise from the

Public Audit Act 2001.

Mike Hoshek, Partner

for Deloitte Limited

On behalf of the Auditor-General

Wellington, New Zealand

24 August 2021

164

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT

Report on sustainability content
within the 2021 Integrated Report

Meridian Energy Limited (‘Meridian)

and its subsidiaries’ (the ‘Group’)

Integrated Report for the year ended

30 June 2021 (the ‘Integrated Report’)

includes sustainability content on pages

2 to 81, 111 and 167 to 170 (‘Sustainability

Content’) prepared in accordance

with the Global Reporting Initiative

Sustainability Reporting Standards

(the ‘GRI Standards’): Core option.

The subject of our limited assurance

engagement is the information included

on pages 2 to 81, 111 and 167 to 170 of

the integrated report, prepared in

accordance with Reporting Principles

of the GRI Standard 101 for defining

report content and report quality;

and the disclosures listed in the GRI

index on pages 167 to 170 prepared in

accordance with the GRI standards as

referenced in the GRI index on page

167 to 170. Our report does not cover

forward looking statements or

online supplements.

Independent accountant’s assurance report

To the directors of Meridian Energy Limited

Conclusion

This conclusion has been formed on the

basis of, and is subject to, the inherent

limitations outlined elsewhere in this

independent assurance report.

Based on the evidence obtained from

the procedures we have performed,

nothing has come to our attention

that causes us to believe that:

• the Sustainability Content on

pages 2 to 81, 111 and 167 to 170 of the

Integrated report for the year ended

30 June 2021, has not been prepared,

in all material respects, in accordance

with the Reporting Principles of GRI

Standard 101 for Defining the Report

Content: materiality, stakeholder

inclusiveness, sustainability

context and completeness and for

Defining Report Quality: balance,

comparability, accuracy, timeliness,

clarity and reliability; and

• the disclosures listed on the GRI

index on pages 167 to 170 has not

been prepared, in all material

respects, in accordance with the

GRI Standards referenced in the

GRI index on pages 167 to 170.

Basis for Conclusion

Our engagement has been conducted

in accordance with International

Standard on Assurance Engagements

(New Zealand) 3000 (Revised):

Assurance Engagements Other than

Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial

Information (‘ISAE (NZ) 3000 (Revised)’)

issued by the New Zealand Auditing

and Assurance Standards Board.

We believe that the evidence we have

obtained is sufficient and appropriate

to provide a basis for our conclusion.

Board of Directors’ Responsibility

The Board of Directors is responsible for:

• ensuring that the Sustainability

Content is prepared in accordance

with the GRI Standards: Core option

and specifically those GRI Standards

set out in the GRI Index;

• determining Meridian Energy

Limited’s objectives in respect

of sustainability reporting;

• selecting the material topics; and

• establishing and maintaining

appropriate performance

management and internal control

systems in order to derive the

Sustainability Content.

Our Independence

and Quality Control

We have complied with the

independence and other ethical

requirements of Professional and

Ethical Standard 1 International Code

of Ethics for Assurance Practitioners

(including International Independence

Standards) (New Zealand) issued by the

New Zealand Auditing and Assurance

Standards Board, which is founded on

fundamental principles of integrity,

objectivity, professional competence

and due care, confidentiality and

professional behaviour.

Other than this engagement and our

role as auditor of the statutory financial

statements on behalf of the Auditor-

General, our firm carries out other

assurance assignments for the Group in

the areas of greenhouse gas inventory

assurance, review of the interim financial

statements, audit of the securities

registers, vesting of the executive long-

term incentive plan, the solvency return

of Meridian Captive Insurance Limited

and supervisor reporting. We also

carried out non-assurance assignments

for the Group relating to the Corporate

165

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANT’S ASSURANCE REPORT

Taxpayers Group and the CFO Vantage
Programme, which are compatible with

those independence requirements.

In addition, principals and employees

of our firm deal with the Group on

arm’s length terms within the ordinary

course of trading activities of the Group.

These services have not impaired

our independence for the purposes

of this engagement. Other than

these engagements and arm’s length

transactions, we have no relationship

with, or interests in, the Group.

The firm applies Professional and

Ethical Standard 3 (Amended): Quality

Control for Firms that Perform Audits

and Reviews of Financial Statements,

and Other Assurance Engagements

issued by the New Zealand Auditing

and Assurance Standards Board, and

accordingly maintains a comprehensive

system of quality control including

documented policies and procedures

regarding compliance with ethical

requirements, professional standards

and applicable legal and regulatory

requirements.

Independent Accountant’s

Responsibility

Our responsibility is to conduct a

limited assurance engagement in order

to express an opinion whether, based on

the procedures performed, anything has

come to our attention that causes us to

believe that the Sustainability Content

has not been prepared, in all material

respects, in accordance with the GRI

Standards: Core option.

We did not evaluate the security and

controls over the electronic publication

of the Integrated Report.

In a limited assurance engagement,

the assurance practitioner performs

procedures, primarily consisting

of discussion and enquiries of

management and others within the

entity, as appropriate, and observation

and walk-throughs, and evaluates the

evidence obtained. The procedures

selected depend on our judgement,

including identifying areas where the

risk of material non-compliance with

the GRI Standards is likely to arise.

Our procedures included:

• Obtaining an understanding of the

internal control environment, risk

assessment process and information

systems relevant to the sustainability

reporting process;

• A review of the materiality process

followed to determine the material

topics chosen for inclusion in the

Sustainability Content;

• Analytical review and other test

checks of the information presented;

• Checking whether the appropriate

indicators have been reported in

accordance with the GRI Standards:

Core option; and

• Evaluating whether the information

presented is consistent with our

overall knowledge and experience

of sustainability reporting processes

at Meridian Energy Limited.

The procedures performed in a

limited assurance engagement vary

in nature and timing from, and are

less in extent than for, a reasonable

assurance engagement. Consequently,

the level of assurance obtained in

a limited assurance engagement is

substantially lower than the assurance

that would have been obtained had

a reasonable assurance engagement

been performed. Accordingly, we do

not express a reasonable assurance

opinion about whether Meridian Energy

Limited’s Sustainability Content has

been prepared, in all material respects,

in accordance with the GRI Standards:

Core option.

Inherent Limitations

Because of the inherent limitations of

any limited assurance engagement,

it is possible that fraud, error or

non-compliance may occur and not

be detected. A limited assurance

engagement is not designed to detect

all instances of non-compliance with

the GRI Standards: Core option as it

generally comprises making enquiries,

primarily of the responsible party, and

applying analytical and other review

procedures. The conclusion expressed

in this report has been formed on the

above basis.

A limited assurance engagement

does not provide assurance on whether

compliance with the GRI Standards will

continue in the future.

Use of Report

Our assurance report is made solely to

the directors of the Group in accordance

with the terms of our engagement.

Our work has been undertaken so that

we might state to the directors those

matters we have been engaged to state

in this assurance report and for no other

purpose. To the fullest extent permitted

by law, we do not accept or assume

responsibility to anyone other than the

directors of Meridian Energy Limited for

our work, for this assurance report, or

for the conclusions we have reached.

Chartered Accountants

Auckland, New Zealand

24 August 2021

166

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANT’S ASSURANCE REPORT

167
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

GRI STANDARDS CONTENT INDEX

This report has been prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards:

Core option. The specific GRI Standards reported against are in italics below.

GRI 101: Foundation 2016

GENERAL DISCLOSURESPg #Comment

GRI 102: General Disclosures 2016

ORGANISATIONAL PROFILE

102-1Name of organisationFront cover

102-2Activities, brands, products, and services22–23

102-3Location of headquarters173

102-4Location of operations22–23, 31

102-5Ownership and legal form31

102-6Markets served31

102-7Scale of the organisation21, 23, 31

102-8Information on employees and other workers31, 74No seasonal variation. Data

sourced from Payroll system.

Includes MEL Group.

102-9Supply chain51All our energy retailing brands

have very short supply chains

because the physical assets used

to distribute electricity and meter

its use are managed by national

and local lines and metering

companies. Our retail operations’

requirements are similar to those

of many corporate offices. They

include physical facilities and ICT,

sales and marketing, billing and

governance functions.

102-10Significant changes to the organisation

and supply chain

24–25,

39–45

102-11Precautionary principle or approachRelevant legislation takes a

precautionary principle-based

approach

GENERAL DISCLOSURESPg #Comment

102-12External initiativesClimate Leaders Coalition

NZ Initiative

102-13Membership of associations127

EU1*Installed capacity by primary energy

source and regulatory regime

61

EU2*Net energy output by primary energy

source and regulatory regime

61

EU3*Number of customer accounts across segments23, 67–68

EU4*Transmission and distribution lines (length

of above and underground transmission

and distribution lines by regulatory regime)

n/aLength insignificant

EU5*Allocation of CO2e emissions allowances

or equivalent broken down by carbon

trading framework

n/aNo emissions

allowances received

STRATEGY

102-14Statement from senior decision-maker30–45

ETHICS AND INTEGRITY

102-16Values, principles, standards,

and norms of behaviour

22Also see our

Code of Conduct

Governance

102-18Governance structure32–35Includes MEL Group

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENTS

102-40List of stakeholder groups16

102-41Collective bargaining agreements74

102-42Identifying and selecting stakeholders15–16Also see our Stakeholder

Engagement Guidelines

102-43Approach to stakeholder engagement15–16See throughout report where

relevant. We take a purpose-

driven approach

102-44Key topics and concerns raised15–16

GRI standards content index

* Disclosures starting with “EU” are from the Electric Utilities G4 Sector Disclosure.

168
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

GRI STANDARDS CONTENT INDEX

MATERIAL TOPICS AND ASSOCIATED DISCLOSURESPg #Comment

ECONOMIC

Financial performance**

GRI 103: Management Approach 2016*45

Non-GRI**Various financial measures45

Financial impacts of hydrology**

GRI 103: Management Approach 2016*46, 84

Non-GRI**Financial implications of variability in hydrology45, 60

Financial impacts of climate change

GRI 103: Management Approach 2016*19, 27

See also Taskforce for

Climate-related Financial

Disclosures (TCFD) Report at

www.meridianenergy.co.nz/

who-we-are/sustainability/

climate-disclosures. NZ only.

GRI 201: Economic Performance 2016

201-2Financial implications and other risks and

opportunities due to climate change

19, 27

MATERIAL TOPICS AND ASSOCIATED DISCLOSURESPg #Comment

Pipeline of generation options**

GRI 103: Management Approach 2016*69–70

EU10***Planned capacity against demand**69–70

ENVIRONMENTAL

Action on climate change**

GRI 103: Management Approach 2016*21, 49–51,

58, 70

Non-GRI**Proportion of Meridian Group generation

from renewable resources

21, 58

Non-GRI**Support for customers’ climate actions70

Non-GRI**Support for our people’s climate actions49–51

Non-GRI**Operational emissions reduction target51

Operational carbon emissions

GRI 103: Management Approach 2016*50–51

GRI 305: Emissions 2016

305-1Direct (Scope 1) GHG emissions50–51

See also Meridian GHG

Inventory Report FY20.Includes

MEL Group

305-2Energy indirect (Scope 2) GHG emissions50–51

305-3Other indirect (Scope 3) GHG emissions50–51

Impact on water

GRI 103: Management Approach 2016*59, 63, 64

GRI 303: Water and Effluents 2018

303-1Interactions with water as a shared resource59, 63, 64For both 303-1 and

303-2 and 303-5.

Includes MEL Group

303-2Management of water

discharge-related impacts

59, 63, 64

* Each Disclosure of Management Approach (DMA) includes “103-1 Explanation of the material topic and

its Boundaries”, “103-2 The management approach and its components”, and “103-3 Evaluation of the

management approach”, in accordance with GRI 103: Management Approach 2016

** Non-GRI – some material topics and disclosures listed above are additional or alternatives to those covered in the GRI Standards.

*** Disclosures starting with “EU” are from the Electric Utilities G4 Sector Disclosure.

GENERAL DISCLOSURESPg #Comment

REPORTING PRACTICE

102-45Entities included in the consolidated

financial statements

31, 97, 98,

120, 155

102-46Defining report content and topic Boundaries15, 16, 19, 23,

30–32, 57, 65

102-47

List of material topics16

102-48Restatements of informationDiscussed throughout the

report where relevant

102-49Changes in reporting16

102-50Reporting period30

102-51Date of most recent report26 August 2020

102-52Reporting cycleAnnual

102-53

Contact point for questions

regarding the report

34

102-54Claims of reporting in accordance

with the GRI Standards

32

102-55GRI content index167–170

102-56External assurance165–166

169
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

GRI STANDARDS CONTENT INDEX

MATERIAL TOPICS AND ASSOCIATED DISCLOSURESPg #Comment

303-3Water withdrawal64

Water stress not tested this FY.

For NSW, storage release data

sourced from Water NSW. In NZ,

data is collected by Meridian

and independently audited each

month. There are no priority

substances that are present in

our water discharge. Total then

spilt into water that re-enters the

same river (nonconsumptive)

and water that is consumed

or diverted (consumptive).

Breakdown of total water

withdrawal and discharged not

categorised by </ 1000 mg/L

Total dissolved solids or

>1000 mg/L total dissolved

solids. Includes MEL NZ

and Australia. Excludes Flux

303-4Water discharge

64

303-5Water consumption64

Impact on biodiversity

GRI 103: Management Approach 2016*64

GRI 304: Biodiversity 2016

304-2Significant impacts of activities,

products, and services on biodiversity

64Excludes Australia

and Flux

Environmental compliance

GRI 103: Management Approach 2016*64

GRI 307: Environmental Compliance 2016

307-1Non-compliance with environmental

laws and regulations

64

Excludes Flux and Powership

AU as not generators

SOCIAL

Employee engagement**Includes MEL Group

GRI 103: Management Approach 2016*73 , 74

Non-GRI**Employee engagement surveys74

Occupational health and safetyIncludes MEL Group

GRI 103: Management Approach 2016*76–77

GRI 403: Occupational Health and Safety 2018

MATERIAL TOPICS AND ASSOCIATED DISCLOSURESPg #Comment

403-1Occupational health and safety

management system

77The OHS System is not internally

nor externally audited, however

Meridian adheres to OSHA

standards and guidelines, as well

as adhering to NZS 7901:2014

Electricity and Gas Industries –

Safety management systems for

public safety

403-2Hazard identification, risk assessment,

and incident investigation

76–77

403-3Occupational health services76–77

403-4Worker participation, consultation,

and communication on occupational

health and safety

76

403-5Worker training on occupational

health and safety

76

403-6Promotion of worker health73

403-7Prevention and mitigation of occupational

health and safety impacts directly linked

by business relationships

76–77

403-8Workers covered by an occupational

health and safety management system

100% of NZ employees and

contractors are covered by

the OHS management system.

Data sourced from Safety

Manager database

403-9Work-related injuries44, 76–77Excludes Australia and Flux.

Contractors – 109,850.64 hours

Employees – 1,245,374.64 hours

Non-GRI**Total recordable injury frequency rate (TRIFR)76–77

Diversity and equal opportunity

GRI 103: Management Approach 2016*77–80

GRI 405: Diversity and Equal Opportunity 2016

405-1Diversity of governance bodies

and employees

78, 80Includes MEL Group

405-2Ratio of basic salary and

remuneration of women to men

80Includes MEL Group

Non-GRI**Women in people leadership

and senior specialist positions

78

* Each Disclosure of Management Approach (DMA) includes “103-1 Explanation of the material topic and

its Boundaries”, “103-2 The management approach and its components”, and “103-3 Evaluation of the

management approach”, in accordance with GRI 103: Management Approach 2016

** Non-GRI – some material topics and disclosures listed above are additional or alternatives to those

covered in the GRI Standards.

*** Disclosures starting with “EU” are from the Electric Utilities G4 Sector Disclosure.

170
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

GRI STANDARDS CONTENT INDEX

MATERIAL TOPICS AND ASSOCIATED DISCLOSURESPg #Comment

Access to water**

GRI 103: Management Approach 2016* 59–64

Non-GRI**Strength of relationships with

stakeholders interested in water

59–64Includes central government,

local government, Ngāi Tahu

and other iwi, local community

groups and the general public

Contribution to local communities

GRI 103: Management Approach 2016*63

GRI 413: Local Communities 2016

413-1Operations with local community

engagement, impact assessments,

and development programs

55, 62– 63

78

13 out of our 17 power stations

have local community

engagement programmes (Mt

Millar and our Australian power

stations don’t) – 95% by MW

capacity. NZ only

Non-GRI**Contribution to local communities

in New Zealand and Australia

54–55, 62

Dedicated email and 0800 for

community issues

Non-GRI**Number of community fund grants

in New Zealand

62–63

Contribution to public policy

GRI 103: Management Approach 2016*53–54

GRI 415: Public Policy 2016

415-1Political contributionsMeridian does not donate to any

political parties

(as specified in our Code

of Conduct)

Non-GRI**Expenditure on “lobbying” organisations

such as trade associations

127

Non-GRI**Key regulatory issues41, 53

Customer satisfaction**

GRI 103: Management Approach 2016*54–57

Non-GRI**Level of Customer satisfaction – Brand monitor 54–57NZ data only

Non-GRI**Customer retention rates68

* Each Disclosure of Management Approach (DMA) includes “103-1 Explanation of the material topic and

its Boundaries”, “103-2 The management approach and its components”, and “103-3 Evaluation of the

management approach”, in accordance with GRI 103: Management Approach 2016

** Non-GRI – some material topics and disclosures listed above are additional or alternatives to those covered in the GRI Standards.

*** Disclosures starting with “EU” are from the Electric Utilities G4 Sector Disclosure.

MATERIAL TOPICS AND ASSOCIATED DISCLOSURESPg #Comment

Electricity pricing**

GRI 103: Management Approach 2016*53–54, 67–69

Non-GRI**Price of electricity in AU and NZ

compared to other OECD countries

53

Support for vulnerable customers

GRI 103: Management Approach 2016* 53–54

Non-GRI**Disconnections54

Plant performance**

GRI 103: Management Approach 2016*60–61

EU30***Average plant availability factor by

energy source and regulatory regime

60

Process safety**

GRI 103: Management Approach 2016*76–77

Non-GRI**Actions to improve process safety76–77

Dam safety**

GRI 103: Management Approach 2016

TCFD report at

www.meridianenergy.co.nz/

who-we-are/sustainability/

climate-disclosures

Non-GRI**Actions to improve dam safetyCorporate Governance

Statement www.meridianenergy.

co.nz/investors/governance

Information security**

GRI 103: Management Approach 2016*80

Non-GRI**Actions to improve information security80

171

Generating change:
Changing generation

Changeneedsenergy.

Registered office
Meridian Energy Limited

55 Lady Elizabeth Lane

Wellington Central

Wellington 6011

New Zealand

PO Box 10840

The Terrace

Wellington 6143

New Zealand

T +64 4 381 1200

F +64 4 381 1201

Offices

Quad 7, Level 2

6 Leonard Isitt Drive

Auckland Airport

Auckland 2022

New Zealand

PO Box 107174

Auckland Airport

Auckland 2150

New Zealand

T +64 9 477 7800

287-293 Durham Street North

Christchurch Central

Christchurch 8013

New Zealand

PO Box 2146

Christchurch 8140

New Zealand

T +64 3 357 9700

Corner of Market Place

and Mackenzie Drive

Twizel 7901

New Zealand

Private Bag 950

Twizel 7944

New Zealand

T +64 3 435 9393

Australian registered office

Meridian Energy

Australia Pty Limited

Level 15

357 Collins Street

Melbourne VIC 3000

Australia

T +61 3 8370 2100

F +61 3 9620 5235

Flux Federation offices

86 Customhouse Quay

Wellington 6011

PO Box 25-180

Wellington 6140

T +64 4 389 0859

22 Pollen Street

Grey Lynn

Auckland 1021l

New Zealand

5th Floor

125 Colmore Row

Birmingham B3 3SD

United Kingdom

Powershop

55 Lady Elizabeth Lane

Wellington Central

Wellington 6011

New Zealand

PO Box 7651

Newtown

Wellington 6242

New Zealand

427 Queen Street

Masterton 5810

PO Box 392

Masterton 5810

T +64 0800 1000 60

Share Registrar New Zealand

Computershare

Investor Services Limited

Level 2

159 Hurstmere Road

Takapuna

Auckland 0622

New Zealand

Private Bag 92119

Victoria Street West

Auckland 1142

New Zealand

T +64 9 488 8777

F +64 9 488 8787

enquiry@computershare.co.nz

investorcentre.com/nz

Share Registrar Australia

Computershare

Investor Services Pty Limited

Yarra Falls

452 Johnston Street

Abbotsford

VIC 3037

Australia

GPO Box 3329

Melbourne VIC 3001

Australia

T 1800 501 366 (within Australia)

T +61 3 9415 4083 (outside Australia)

F +61 3 9473 2500

enquiry@computershare.co.nz

Auditor

Mike Hoshek, Partner

Financial audit on behalf of

the Office of the Auditor-General

Jason Stachurski

GRI Standards limited assurance

Deloitte Limited

PO Box 1990

Wellington 6140

New Zealand

Banker

Westpac Wellington

New Zealand

Directors

Mark Verbiest, Chair

Peter Wilson, Deputy Chair

Mark Cairns

Jan Dawson

Anake Goodall

Michelle Henderson

Julia Hoare

Nagaja Sanatkumar

Executive Team

Neal Barclay, Chief Executive

Chris Ewers

Lisa Hannifin

Nic Kennedy

Tania Palmer

Mike Roan

Claire Shaw

Jason Stein

Guy Waipara

Jason Woolley

If you have any questions

or comments, please email

investors@meridianenergy.co.nz or

service@meridianenergy.co.nz

Directory

Image pages 4-5: LINZ Data Service and licensed by Invercargill City Council, CC BY 4.0. Image page 171: LINZ Data Service and licensed by Environment Canterbury, CC BY 4.0.

Meridian.co.nz

Integrated Report

for the year ended

30 June 2021.

Printed with mineral-oil-free, soy-based

vegetable inks on paper produced using

FSC

®

certified mixed-source pulp that

complies with environmentally responsible

practices and principles. Please recycle.

ISSN 1173-6275 (print)

ISSN 1173-6305 (online)

---

25 AUGUST 2021
2021 Annual Results Presentation

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION
2

Highlights

171 GWh

1

in MoU’sor

contracted for South

Island process heat

stable ordinary

dividend

7% Australasian

customer growth

construction of $395M

Harapakifarm

commenced

14% New Zealand

sales growth

15% Australian sales

growth

severe 2021 drought

managed

carbon neutral, 27%

total emissions

reduction

increasing gender pay

equity and women in

business

1

157 GWh in Memorandums of Understanding, 14 GWh contracted (annual volumes)

48%
37%

97%

78%

46%

34%

96%

85%

0%

30%

60%

90%

120%

Women in the

business

Women in senior

roles

Gender pay

equity

Engagement

Workforce measures

FY21FY20

3

Our people

18 LTI injuries in FY21, an increase in injury

numbers compared to FY20

Staff engagement normalisingto pre-COVID levels

Increase to 97% gender pay equity

Source: Meridian

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

0.0

1.7

4.2

3.4

7.8

4.5

13.6

15.0

7.4

8.9

0

3

6

9

12

15

18

20172018201920202021

Financial year ended 30 June

Lost time injury frequency rate

Meridian employeesMeridian on-site contractors

Source: Meridian

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION
4

Our strategy

Strategic

initiatives

Champion

Competitive markets

Sustainability

Climate action

Optimise

Trading & asset management

Re-consenting

Financing

Grow

Retail

Generation

Flux

Grow a clear sustainability leadership

position

Use our 5,000 GWh renewable opportunity to

fast-track NZ’s decarbonisation

NZ’s largest and fastest growing retailer

A resilient wellbeing and safety culture

5-year

targets

5

th

in Colmar Brunton Better Futures

Report

1,500 GWh new demand opportunities identified

92% positive staff wellbeing and safety sentiment, deteriorating injury frequency rates

Current

position

NZ’s highest customer satisfaction

Triple AusFY20 customer numbers

3 million ICP’s on Flux

NZ largest fixed price retailer

Powershopmarket leading customer

satisfaction, Meridian a leading gentailer

7% growth in Auscustomer numbers

500,000 ICP’s on Flux

MEA under ownership review

3 buildable options by 2024

1.9GW of sites/opportunities

47,279
44,359

32,475

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

201920202021202220232024202520262027202820292030

tCO2e

Financial Year ended 30 June

2030 emissions target

actualtarget

5

Sustainability at Meridian

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

Source: Meridian

Net Zero

Carbon

across

group

emissions

Halving

2019

emissions

by 2030

Our Material Topics

EnvironmentalSocialGovernance

Action on climate changeElectricity pricingSustainability leadership

Pipeline of generation optionsSupport for vulnerable

customers

Good governance, ethical

behaviourand reporting

Impact on waterDistributed energy resourcesContribution to public policy

Impact on biodiversityFinancial impacts of climate

change

Cyber security

In FY21

Climate Change Commission report releasedsets policy direction for electrification

Launched Process Heat Electrification Programme157 GWh in MOU’s, 14 GWh contracted

Harapakiwind farm construction commencedclean energy for 70,000 homes

Launched AC charging network20 of 250 chargers installed

60,000 stems planted under Forever Forest

programme

1.5 million trees in 5 years for carbon

offset

Launched Future of Work initiativehelp future proof our workforce

Issued our first Modern Slavery Statementour commitment to our workforce and

our supply chain

Issued our second TCFD Reportour climate risks and opportunities

demand

reduction

from Tiwai

closure

market supply

disruption

from a

disorderly

transition to

100%

renewables

changes in

public policy

lead to

changes to

legislation or

regulation

Our three priority risks

Social focus
Local communities

Long term relationships, community relationship

managers

$9M of local project support over 14 years

Iwi

Recognisethe mana whenua of NgāiTa h u

Close association with local rūnaka

Focus on strengthening our iwi partnerships

KidsCan

$1M annual contribution towards supporting

under-privileged children

KākāpōRecovery Programme

Cornerstone partnership with the Department of

Conservation

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

In 2021 Meridian issued its first

Modern Slavery Statement

6

2,600
2,800

3,000

3,200

3,400

3,600

3,800

4,000

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

GWh

National demand

Range (2010-2020)201620172018201920202021

7

New Zealand demand

Underlying demand growth of 0.7% in FY21

Demand recovery from COVID-19 lockdowns

evident in Q4 FY21 demand swing

Normalisingfor 4

th

Tiwai potline (operational from

May 2018 to April 2020) sees FY21 demand

growth of 1.5% over last two years

Source: Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment

Source: Electricity Authority

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

8,000

9,000

10,000

11,000

12,000

Q1Q2Q3Q4

GWh

National demand

FY21FY20FY19

8
New Zealand customers

Sustained sales volume growth across all segments (14% in

total)

Through disciplined execution of multi-brand strategy

Core platform transformation near completion, focus on

remaining C&I solutions

EV charging network launched: installing 250 AC chargers by

end of 2023

Process heat electrification programmegrowing: 171GWh

committed

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

ResSMBAgriLarge busC&I

GWh

New Zealand retail sales volumes

FY20FY21

+4%

+24%

+9%

+12%

+18%

+1%

-3%

-5%

gross

average

price

change

-1%

-2%

sales volume

change

Source: Meridian

Source: ERANZ

9
New Zealand wholesale prices

High June and July 2021 inflows have lifted national storage to 108% by

early August 2021

Forward curves have responded to this reduced hydro fuel scarcity and

recent announcements of contract rearrangements to help alleviate gas

scarcity

Source: Meridian, ASX, Electricity Authority

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Q2

2020

Q3

2020

Q4

2020

Q1

2021

Q2

2021

Q3

2021

Q4

2021

Q1

2022

Q2

2022

Q3

2022

Q4

2022

Q1

2023

Q2

2023

Q3

2023

Q4

2023

Q1

2024

Q2

2024

Q3

2024

Q4

2024

$/MWh

Benmore ASX futures settlement price

30 September 202031 December 202031 March 202130 June 202130 July 2021quarter ending spot

calendar

quarter

78%

92%83%61%91%

108%

national hydro storage (quarter end)

Source: ERANZ

3
5

5

7

5

6

7

8

16

29

9

15

15

19

17

19

26

27

36

74

0

20

40

60

80

FY12FY13FY14FY15FY16FY17FY18FY19FY20FY21

TWh

ASX trading trading volumes

Meridian tradedTotal traded

10

Wholesale market liquidity

ASX total trading volumes has increased 275% in

the last 3 years

Total traded volumes is approaching 2 times the

level of system demand

Meridian is involved in 40% of total traded volume

Meridian trades a volume equivalent to 70% of the

level of system demand

Source: Meridian

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

11
New Zealand policy and regulation

Current Electricity Authority focus

Continuing to implement Electricity Price Review related recommendations

Undertaking a review of wholesale market competition in the wholesale market for the

period 2018 to early 2021

Implemented new trading conduct provisions, in effect on 30 June 2021

Final decision on actions to correct 2019 Undesirable Trading Situation (UTS)

Concluded an investigation finding Meridian and Contact did comply with the high

standard of trading conduct obligations during the 2019 UTS period

Commenced an advisory group project investigating price discovery in the wholesale

electricity market under a 100% renewable electricity supply

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

9 August 2021 power outage reviews

EA review, initially examiningTranspower’s communication and demand processes and then a second, broader review of all roles inthe

sector, including generators

The EA will consider a claim lodged by Electric Kiwi and HaastEnergy Trading that Genesis and Contact breached the new trading

conduct provisions of the Code

The EA will consider a pricing error claim lodged by Electric Kiwi and HaastEnergy Trading

The EA will separately consider whether the events of 9 August 2021 constituted an undesirable trading situation

A wide-ranging review by MBIE on instruction from the Minister of Energy

12
New Zealand policy and regulation

Climate Change Commission Final Advice

Released in June 2021, final advice on 2022-35 emissions budgets

Proposes deeper emissions cuts in first two budget periods than earlier

draft advice

Recommends major expansion in the electricity system needs to start

immediately

Considers replacing 100% renewable electricity target with achieving 95%-

98% by 2030, with gas to provide flexibility until at least 2035

Government has until end of 2021 to set the first three emissions budgets

out to 2035 and release the country’s first emissions reduction plan with

detailed policies

Following the draft final advice, Government has introduced a Clean Car

Discount effective 1 July 2021

And have raised the cost containment reserve price in the ETS from $50 to

$70 and the price floor from $20 to $30 (both from 2022 onwards with

10%/5% plus inflation annual increases thereafter)

And started consultation on reforms to the industrial allocation in the

Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

Source: He Poua RangiClimate Change Commission

116
82

67

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

FY20 actualFY21 actualnew TPM

(FY24)

$M

Meridian's NZ transmission costs

Transmission Pricing Methodology (TPM)

EA published final TPM guidelines in June 2020

Replaces current HVDC and RCPD charges with

benefit-based and residual charges

Transpowerreleased its proposed new TPM in August

2021

EA will consult on the full proposed TPM later in

2021

With the aim for a new TPM to take effect for

prices from 1 April 2023

Trustpower’sjudicial review scheduled to be heard in

the high Court in October 2021

13

New Zealand policy and regulation

Meridian actual

Meridian actual

Transpower

estimate

assuming 1 April 2023

implementation

Source: Meridian, Transpower

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

14
NZAS exit

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

Revised NZAS contract

400MW

172MW

14Jan

2021

1 Jan

2022

1 Jan

2023

1 Jan

2024

31 Dec

2024

no termination right (except terminal force majeure)

NZAS termination right with 6 months notice (terminal FM also applies)

Existing 4

th

potline contract

50MW

15 Aug 21 - 9 Sep 21 conditional recommencement possible

9 Sep 21 – 31 Oct 21 unconditional recommencement possible

31 Oct 21 current suspension period ends

1 Nov 21 – 31 Dec 22 extended suspension/recommencement

31 Dec 22 contract ends

2 month termination right

1,250

1,500

1,750

2,000

2,250

2,500

2,750

Jan

20

Feb

20

Mar

20

Apr

20

May

20

Jun

20

Jul

20

Aug

20

Sep

20

Oct

20

Nov

20

Dec

20

Jan

21

Feb

21

Mar

21

Apr

21

May

21

Jun

21

Jul

21

Aug

21

Sep

21

Oct

21

Nov

21

Dec

21

Jan

22

Feb

22

Mar

22

Apr

22

May

22

USD

LME prices and 12 month forward forecasts

Forecast Jan 21Forecast Jan 20Forecast Jun 20Forecast Jul 21Actual Price

NZAS

Strategic

Review

(Oct 19)

Rio

terminate

NZAS

contract

revised

NZAS

contract

agreed

Source: Meridian, HARBOR Aluminium

15
NZAS exit response

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

NZAS contract

14Jan

2021

1 Jan

2022

1 Jan

2023

1 Jan

2024

31 Dec

2024

Meridian portfolio response

Current swaption

CUWLP

NI battery

Process heat

Data centre

Green hydrogen

on

schedule

exploring

options

31 GWh in

MoU’s

review of

sites

review of

sites

ROI pre

work

May 21

investor

day

Feasibility

and ROI

select

pathway

develop

consortium

design &

consents

FID

completion

go live

design &

consents

site

acquisition

tranche 1

construction,

cable laying

tranche 2

construction

>250 GWh

contracted

ECCA

funded

projects 2

ECCA

funded

projects 1

site

acquisition

design &

consents

construction

NTP

Aug 21

annual

results

171 GWh

MoU’s or

contract

review of

sites

on

schedule

options

discussions

ECCA

funded

projects 3

16
2021 drought

FY21 lacked any significant inflow events until near the end of the year

November 2020 to April 2021 inflows were the 3

rd

lowest November to April inflows on record

With 43% less inflows in that period than in the same period of the previous financial year

FY21 hydro generation 12% lower than last year

High June and July inflows have lifted storage levels

Source: Meridian

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

01-Jul15-Jul29-Jul12-Aug26-Aug09-Sep23-Sep07-Oct21-Oct04-Nov18-Nov02-Dec16-Dec30-Dec13-Jan27-Jan10-Feb24-Feb10-Mar24-Mar07-Apr21-Apr05-

May

19-

May

02-Jun16-Jun30-Ju

GWh

Meridian's daily combined catchment inflows

FY21FY20FY19

17
Australian ownership review

Ownership review announced in May 2021

Information Memorandum released to

interested parties in August 2021

The review process is expected to take several

more months

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

Meridian Energy Australia

Owns and operates 300MW of wind (201 MW)and hydro (99

MW) assets

Has contracted another 127 MW of wind energy through

P PA’s

Developing 108 MW Rangoon Wind Farm and 20 MW Hume

Battery Storage System

With 185,000 Powershopretail electricity and gas

connections

Offering electricity into residential and SME markets in VIC,

NSW, SA and south-east QLD

Offering gas into residential and SME markets in VIC

(currently) and NSW (from Sep 2021)

RANGOON

18
Financial performance

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

19
EBITDAF

1

FY21 EBITDAF -15% on FY20

Strong retail sales performance in New Zealand

Severe 2021 drought conditions have only eased

recently

Lowest Australian wholesale spot prices since

2015/16

Lower New Zealand transmission charges with the

new regulatory control period

Source: Meridian

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

729

853

-128

-25

+2

+36

-3

-6

500

600

700

800

900

EBITDAF 30 Jun

20

NZ energy

margin

Aus energy

margin

Other revenueTransmission

expenses

Metering

expenses

Operating

expenses

EBITDAF 30 Jun

21

$M

Group EBITDAF movement

470

427

635

604

431

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

20172018201920202021

$M

Financial Year ended 30 June

Cash flow from operating activities

1

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation, changes in fair value

of hedges, impairments and gains or losses on sale of assets

14.03
14.32

16.42

16.90

4.88

4.88

4.88

2.44

0

5

10

15

20

25

20172018201920202021

CPS

Financial Year ended 30 June

Dividends declared

Ordinary dividendsSpecial dividends

20

Dividends

Final ordinary dividend declared of 11.20 cps, 86%

imputed

Brings FY20 full year ordinary dividend declared to

16.90 cps, 86% imputed

Represents 89.5% payout of free cash flow

FY21 full year ordinary dividend unchanged from

FY20

Dividend reinvestment plan now launched, a 2.0%

discount will apply to the FY21 final ordinary

dividend

DividendsdeclaredFY21FY20

centsper shareimputationcentsper shareimputation

Total ordinarydividends16.9086%16.9086%

Capitalmanagement special dividends--2.440%

To t a l16.9019.34

21.30

To t a l

19.20

18.91

Source: Meridian

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

19.34

16.90

Dividend Reinvestment Plan Dates

Elections open25 Aug

Ex dividend date29 Sep

Record date30 Sep

Elections close1 Oct

Strike price announced6 Oct

Dividend paid/shares issued15 Oct

16.90

994
1,122

+94

+55

-67

+927

-1,306

+479

-299

-12

+1

700

900

1,100

1,300

1,500

1,700

1,900

2,100

2,300

Energy Margin

30 Jun 20

Res, SMB, Agi

sales

C&I salesNZAS salesGeneration

spot revenue

Cost to supply

customers

Derivative

sales and

purchases

Cost of

derivative

sales and

purchases

Net VASOtherEnergy Margin

30 Jun 21

$M

New Zealand energy margin movement

Customer and sales volume growth across all

segments

Higher average mass market and stable corporate

pricing supported higher sales

Generation length in 2H FY21 impacted by

drought; 2H FY21 generation volumes were 15%

lower than 2H FY20

Fuel scarcity saw elevated wholesale market

prices, reflected in higher financial contract, spot

generation and hedging revenues

Those higher prices also increased costs in the

portfolio, along with higher hedging volumes

needed to manage lower physical generation

21

New Zealand energy margin

Refer to page 44 for a further breakdown of New Zealand energy margin

Source: Meridian

Physical

-$297M

Financial

+$168M

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

97
122

+9

+4

-39

0

-32

+33

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Energy Margin

30 Jun 20

Electricity salesGas salesGeneration

spot revenue

Cost to supply

customers

Derivative sales

and purchases

Cost of

derivative sales

and purchases

Energy Margin

30 Jun 21

$NZ M

Australian energy margin movement

22

Australian energy margin

Electricity and gas sales volumes have lifted

physical margin, despite residential price pressure

from lower wholesale market prices

Respite from prior year drought conditions lifted

physical generation by 15% above FY20

The low wholesale market prices drove a 44%

reduction in generation revenue

Significantly lower wholesale prices in 2H FY21

impacted generation revenue

A balanced net financial position, despite a

negative outcome on LGC hedging

Physical

-$26M

Financial

+$1M

Refer to page 45 for a further breakdown of Australian energy margin

Source: Meridian

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

23
Cost to supply customers

NZ Retail segment cost to supply customers:

Residential, business and industrial fixed price variable volume customers at an average annual fixed price

of $88/MWh (FY20 $81/MWh)

Corporate and industrial customers on spot agreements at prevailing wholesale spot prices

NZ Retail segment FPVV supply cost is based on medium term price modelling

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

259
265

258

1

2

1

1

1

2

-1

240

250

260

270

FY20 reportedSaaS adjustmentFY20 restatedDevelopment

Team expansion

additional

Holidays Act

provision

annual leave

increases

higher insuranceSaaS

Adjustment

savings, mainly

travel

FY21 reported

$M

FY20 to FY21 operating cost movement

24

Operating costs

$6M (2%) increase in FY21 operating costs

$1M increase to provision taken on Holidays Act

payroll remediation

Expansion of Renewable Development team

Lower level of annual leave taken

Further insurance cost increases

Reduced business travel spend

Expecting FY22 Group operating costs

1

of between

$275M and $280M, including $6M of SaaS cost

reclassification

Source: Meridian

1

Costs incurred to configure or customiseand the ongoing access to cloud providers’

application software are now recognisedas operating expenses (previously recognisedas

intangible assets and amortised)

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

Operating costsFY19FY20

restated

FY21

reported

FY22

estimate

Employee & other operating costs$244M$259M$265M$275M-

$280M

Software as a Service component

1

$1M$2M$6M

221
206

333

316

232

0

100

200

300

400

20172018201920202021

$M

Financial Year ended 30 June

Underlying net profit after tax

200

203

339

175

428

0

100

200

300

400

500

20172018201920202021

$M

Financial Year ended 30 June

Net profit after tax

25

Below EBITDAF

1

Net profit before tax

2

Net profit before tax adjusted for the effects of changes in fair value of hedges and other non-cash items

A reconciliation of NPAT to Underlying NPAT is on page 49

3% decrease in depreciation following small June

2020 devaluation

$202M June 2021 revaluation

$6M gain from changes in Australian generation

asset remediation assessments

$169M increase in NPBT

1

from fair value of

electricity hedges from higher forward electricity

prices ($113M decrease in FY20)

$79M increase in NPBT from fair value of treasury

instruments from higher forward interest rates

($48M decrease in FY20)

Resulting 145% increase in FY21 net profit after

tax

Adjusting for fair value movements, Underlying

N PAT

2

decrease of 27% in FY21

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

Source: Meridian

Source: Meridian

48
47

48

4545

7

188

16

19

72

0

50

100

150

200

250

20172018201920202021

$M

Financial Year ended 30 June

Capital expenditure

Stay in businessInvestment

26

Capital expenditure

Consistent level of stay in business capex

Largely consists of system and generation asset

enhancement spend

Harapakiinvestment spend of $42M in FY21

FY21 investment capex includes commencement

works at the Harapakiwind farm and the first

payment to Siemens Gamesa under the contract

Currently expecting FY22 Group capex of between

$205M and $215M

$55M to $60M of stay in business capex

$150M to $155M of currently approved

investment spend

64

To t a l

235

55

Source: Meridian

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

64

117

157
415

242

210

10

556

125

90

168

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

FY22FY23FY24FY25FY26FY27+

$M

Financial Year ended 30 June

Debt maturity profile as at 30 June 2021

Drawn debt maturing (face value)Available facilities maturing

35%

2%

23%

2%

27%

10%

Sources of Funding - 30 June 2021

NZ$ bank facilities

drawn/undrawn

EKF - Danish export credit

Retail Bonds

Floating rate notes

US private placement

Commercial paper

27

Debt and funding

June 2021 total borrowings of $1,676M

Total funding facilities of $2,198M, of which $609M

were undrawn

All facilities classified under Meridian’s Green

Finance Programme

Net debt of $1,648M, up 9% from FY20

Net debt to EBITDAF at 2.3x (FY20: 1.8x)

Credit rating revised up to

to BBB+/Stable

Source: Meridian

Source: Meridian

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

28
Closing comments

Portfolio response to NZAS exit is gaining traction

The Government’s first carbon budgets and

emissions plans will further firm up this country’s

electrification opportunity

Australian ownership review expected to take

several more months

Momentum in Meridian’s retail businesses is

strong

FY22 will absorb the first full year of NZAS exit

pricing

Reasonable July 2021 operating result with

improved hydro storage

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

29
Questions

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

30
Additional information

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

31
Segment results

Flux Federation and PowershopUK included in ‘other and unallocated’ segment

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

32
Six monthly results

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

33
New Zealand retail

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

CustomersalesAverage price

($/MWh)

Total sales

volume (GWh)

North Island

sales volume

(GWh)

South Island

sales volume

(GWh)

FY21

Residential1,605860745

Small medium business1,294785509

Agricultural1,3763631,013

Large business544335209

Total mass market$1234,8192,3532,466

Corporate$983,5862,4321,154

FY20

Residential1,547825722

Small medium business1,046602444

Agricultural1,265333932

Large business484313171

Total mass market$1154,3422,0742,268

Corporate$983,0342,125909

Retail cost to serveFY19FY20FY21

Retail costs excl. metering$66M$66M$65M

Other segment cost allocation$16M$19M$22M

Year end customer numbers302,277324,253346,830

Cost to serve per customer$273$261$250

3,710
3,823

3,902

4,342

4,819

2,017

2,158

2,338

3,034

3,586

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

20172018201920202021

GWh

Financial Year ended 30 June

New Zealand retail sales volumes

Residential, SMB, AgriCorporate

103

106

109

115

119

115

119

119

120

122

59

66

74

89

106

0

100

200

300

400

Jun-17Jun-18Jun-19Jun-20Jun-21

ICP (000)

Financial Year ended 30 June

New Zealand customer connections

Meridian North IslandMeridian South IslandPowershop

34

New Zealand retail

Customers

7% increase in customers since June 2020

Residential, business, agrisegment

4% increase in residential volumes

24% increase in small business volumes

9% increase in agri volumes

12% increase in large business volumes

8% increase in average sales price

Corporate segment

18% increase in volumes

1% decrease in average sales price

Total

277

291

302

Total

5,727

5,981

6,240

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

324

7,376

347

8,405

35
New Zealand hydrology

Inflows

FY21 inflows were 97% of average

July 2021 inflows were 156% of average

Storage

Meridian’s Waitaki storage at 30 June 2021 was

82% of average

By 31 July 2021, this position was 111% of average

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021

GWh

Financial

year

Meridian's combined catchment inflows

June YTD87 year average

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

1-Jan1-Feb1-Mar1-Apr1-May1-Jun1-Jul1-Aug1-Sep1-Oct1-Nov1-Dec

GWh

Meridian's Waitaki storage

Average 1979-201620172018201920202021

36
New Zealand generation

Volume

FY21 generation was 11% lower than FY20, with

lower hydro and wind generation

Price

FY21 average price Meridian received for its

generation was 94% higher than FY20

FY21 average price Meridian paid to supply

customers was 94% higher than FY20

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

11,974

11,265

12,326

12,758

11,297

1,341

1,263

1,244

1,465

1,395

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

20172018201920202021

GWh

Financial Year ended 30 June

New Zealand generation

HydroWind

51

83

123

89

173

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

20172018201920202021

$/MWh

Financial Year ended 30 June

NZ average generation price

37
Australian retail

Customers

4% growth in electricity customers since June

2020

16% growth in gas customers since June 2020

Sales volume

15% growth in electricity sales volume in FY20

15% growth in gas sales volume in FY20

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

97

97

110

136

142

23

38

44

0

50

100

150

200

20172018201920202021

Financial Year ended 30 June

Australian customer connections

ElectricityGas

493

549

553

683

785

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

20172018201920202021

GWh

Financial Year ended 30 June

Australian retail electricity sales volume

38
Australian generation

Volume

FY21 generation was 15% higher than FY20

Lower wind and higher hydro generation

344GWh of PPA offtake in FY21

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

96

110

156

138

71

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

20172018201920202021

$NZ/MWh

Financial Year ended 30 June

Australian average wind generation price

510

553

525

528

502

28

203

113

236

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

20172018201920202021

GWh

Financial Year ended 30 June

Australian generation

WindHydro

729
853

+148

-42

+927

-1,410

+260

-12

+1

-25

+2

+36

-3

-6

300

500

700

900

1,100

1,300

1,500

1,700

1,900

EBITDAF 30 Jun

2020

Retail contracted

sales

Wholesale

contracted sales

Generation spot

revenue

Cost to supply

customers

Net cost of hedgesVirtual asset

swaps

Other market

costs

Australian energy

margin

Other revenueTransmission

expenses

Metering

expenses

Other operating

expenses

EBITDAF 30 Jun

2021

$M

Movement in EBITDAF

39

FY21 EBITDAF

New Zealand energy margin -$128M

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

40
EBITDAF to NPAT

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

232

428

729

-303

-20

-84

-90

+248

+5

+20

-77

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

EBITDAFDepreciation and

amortisation

Premiums paid on

electricity options net

of interest

Net finance costsTaxUnderlying

NPAT

Net change in fair

value of

hedges/instruments

Loss on sale of

assets/impairments

Premiums paid on

electricity options net

of interest

TaxNPAT

$M

FY21 EBITDAF TO NPAT RECONCILIATION

41
Energy margin

A non-GAAP financial measure representing

energy sales revenue less energy related

expenses and energy distribution expenses

Used to measure the vertically integrated

performance of the retail and wholesale

businesses

Used in place of statutory reporting which

requires gross sales and costs to be reported

separately, therefore not accounting for the

variability of the wholesale spot market and

the broadly offsetting impact of wholesale

prices on the cost of retail electricity purchases

Defined as

Revenues received from sales to customers net of distribution

costs (fees to distribution network companies that cover the costs

of distribution of electricity to customers), sales to large industrial

customers and fixed price revenues from financial contracts sold

(contract sales revenue)

The volume of electricity purchased to cover contracted customer

sales and financial contracts sold (cost to supply customers)

The fixed cost of derivatives used to manage market risks, net of

spot revenue received from those derivatives (net cost hedging)

Revenue from the volume of electricity that Meridian generates

(generation spot revenue)

The net margin position of virtual asset swaps with Genesis Energy

and Mercury New Zealand

Other associated market revenues and costs including Electricity

Authority levies and ancillary generation revenues, such as

frequency keeping

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

42
New Zealand energy margin

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

994

593

352

489

2,193

-2,574

-323

-421

706

-14

-3

-4

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

Res, SMB, Agi

sales

C&I salesFinancial

contract sales

(incl NZAS)

Generation

spot revenue

Cost to supply

customers

Cost to supply

financial

contracts

Hedging fixed

costs

Hedging spot

revenue

Contract close

outs

VAS marginsMarket costsEnergy Margin

$M

New Zealand energy margin

43
New Zealand energy margin

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

994

1,122

+94

+55

-42

+927

-1,306

-105

-194

+454

0

-12

+1

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

2,000

2,200

Energy

Margin 30 Jun

20

Res, SMB, Agi

sales

C&I salesFinancial

contract sales

(incl NZAS)

Generation

spot revenue

Cost to supply

customers

Cost to supply

financial

contracts

Hedging fixed

costs

Hedging spot

revenue

Contract close

outs

VAS marginsMarket costsEnergy

Margin 30 Jun

21

$M

New Zealand energy margin movement

44
New Zealand energy margin

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

45
25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

Australian energy margin

46
Funding metrics

Net debt/EBITDAF is the principal metric underpinning S&P credit rating

S&P calculation of net debt/EBITDAF includes numerous adjustments to reported numbers;

Borrowings adjusted for the impact of leases

Cash balances adjusted for restricted cash

A cash buffer at 25% of unrestricted cash and cash equivalents

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

47
Fair value movements

Meridian uses derivative instruments to manage

interest rate, foreign exchange and electricity

price risk

As forward prices and rates on these instruments

move, non-cash changes to their carrying value

are reflected in NPAT

Accounting standards only allow hedge accounting

if specific conditions are met, which creates NPAT

volatility

$169M increase in NPBT from fair value of

electricity hedges from higher forward electricity

prices ($113M decrease in FY20)

$79M increase in NPBT from fair value of treasury

instruments from higher forward interest rates

($48M decrease in FY20)

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

-21

-26

-5

-161

248

-300

-200

-100

0

100

200

300

20172018201920202021

$M

Financial Year ended 30 June

Change in fair value of financial instruments

48
Income statement

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

49
Underlying NPAT reconciliation

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

50
Cash flow statement

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

51
Balance sheet

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

52
Glossary

Hedging volumesbuy-side electricity derivativesexcludingthe buy-side of virtual asset swaps

Average generation pricethe volume weighted average price received for Meridian’s physical generation

Average retail contracted sales pricevolume weighted average electricity price received from retail customers, less distribution costs

Average wholesale contracted sales pricevolume weighted average electricity price received from wholesale customers(including NZAS) and financial contracts

Combined catchment inflowscombined water inflows into Meridian’s Waitaki and Waiau hydro storage lakes

Cost of hedgesvolume weighted average price Meridian pays for derivatives acquired

Cost to supply contracted salesvolume weighted average price Meridian pays to supply contracted customer sales and financial contracts

Contracts for Difference (CFDs)an agreement betweenparties to pay the difference between the wholesale electricity price and an agreed fixed price for a specified volume of

electricity. CFDs do not result in the physical supply of electricity

Customer connections (NZ)number of installation control points, excluding vacants

FRMPfinancially responsible market participant

GWhgigawatt hour. Enough electricity for 125 average New Zealand households for one year

Historic average inflowsthe historic average combined water inflows into Meridian’s Waitaki and Waiau hydro storage lakes over the last 84 years

Historic average storagethe historic average level of storage in Meridian’s Waitaki catchment since 1979

HVDChigh voltage direct current link between the North and South Islands of New Zealand

ICPNew Zealand installation control points, excluding vacants

ICP switchingthe number of installation control points changing retailer supplier in New Zealand, recorded in the month the switch was initiated

MWhmegawatt hour. Enough electricity for one average New Zealand household for 46 days

National demandElectricity Authority’s reconciled grid demand

www.emi.ea.govt.nz

NZASNew Zealand Aluminium SmeltersLimited

Retail sales volumescontract sales volumes to retail customers, including both non half hourly and half hourly metered customers

Financial contract salessell-side electricity derivatives excluding thesell-side of virtual asset swaps

TJTerajoules

Virtual Asset Swaps(VAS)CFDs Meridian has with Genesis Energy and Mercury New Zealand. They do not result in the physical supply of electricity

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

53
Disclaimer

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 2021 and is available

at:

www.meridianenergy.co.nz/investors

All currency amounts are in New Zealand dollars unless stated otherwise.

25 AUGUST 20212021 ANNUAL RESULTS PRESENTATION

---

Meridian Energy Limited.
Investor Letter.

Change

needs

energy.

Pushing forward
with change

This has been perhaps the most

challenging year for Meridian

since the Company was listed.

The announcement very early in

the year of the planned closure of

New Zealand Aluminium Smelters

(NZAS) at Tiwai Point in Southland,

the prolonged drought through

the second half of the year and

of course from COVID-19, all

required close and careful

management. Despite the

challenges we were very pleased

that our underlying business

performance remained strong.

And the opportunities for the

future that are starting to take

shape appear promising.

An exit becomes

an opportunity

NZAS accounts for 13% of our

country’s electricity demand

and they are a large employer

in Southland. So, the quick exit

of the smelter by August of 2021,

originally proposed by the owners,

would have been very disruptive

for the Southland community and

the electricity sector. Consequently,

we negotiated a discounted price

with the Smelter’s owners in

exchange for an extension to

our contract to December 2024.

The expiry of the supply contract

to NZAS in late 2024 has created a

‘once in a generation’ opportunity to

help grow Aotearoa and decarbonise

our economy. Meridian’s strategy to

take advantage of the 5,000 GWhs

per annum of energy that becomes

available when NZAS closes, is multi-

faceted and can be summarised

as follows:

• We have supported and appreciate

that Transpower agreed to speed

up the upgrade of the lower

South Island grid to ensure any

surplus energy in the region can

be exported to the rest of

New Zealand. That work should

be complete by May 2022.

• We are exploring the feasibility

of a grid scale battery, located

in the North Island. The battery

will provide reserve energy and

therefore increase the effective

capacity over the Cook Straight

Cable and allow a greater flow

of power from the South Island

to the North Island.

• We continue to grow our retail

customer base to, in part, offset the

loss of our largest customer, NZAS.

• We have developed and launched

a Process Heat Electrification

Programme to support industrial

customers to convert their fossil

fuel based processes to renewable

electricity.

• We are exploring new demand

opportunities that will grow

economic value and jobs for the

country including green data

centres and the production of

green hydrogen for both export

and domestic use.

Focusing on
our customers

Our focus on delivering great value

for our customers continued to pay

off this year and at a headline level

we saw strong growth in our customer

numbers on both sides of the Tasman.

In New Zealand, our dual brand

strategy and focus on customer

satisfaction is resonating, reaching

a wide group of New Zealanders

by offering products for different

market segments and making it easier

to work with us.  Powershop led the

industry engaging with customers and

evidenced by the wining the Canstar

and Consumer New Zealand awards

for customer satisfaction and trust.

In Australia we continue to set the

benchmark for a great customer

proposition. Powershop Australia

was once again recognised by Canstar

Blue, Finder and Roy Morgan for

customer satisfaction and market

leading products and service.

We have made very good progress on

our digitalisation journey and around

95% of customers’ accounts have been

successfully migrated onto our Flux

customer care and billing platform.

Difficult operating

conditions in Australia

While our retail sales volume

increased, wholesale prices in the

Australian market fell to unsustainably

low levels and this impacted the

performance of our generation assets.

Overall, the Meridian Energy Australia

group result was down on the prior

year even though we had more hydro

generation available as the drought

conditions, that had been a feature

for the last few years, began to ease.

Recently, Australian wholesale prices

have lifted from the low levels during

the 2021 financial year.

Towards year end, we announced

we are revisiting our growth strategy

and our ownership of Meridian

Energy Australia (MEA). This review

will consider a full range of options

including accelerated growth as

well as partial or full divestment.

The ownership review is expected

to take a number of months and no

decision will be made on the future

direction or options for MEA until

the completion of that process.

The road to

decarbonisation

We are supportive of the direction

of travel in the Climate Change

Commission’s final advice to

Government. If adopted, these

measures can help enable Aotearoa

to change course with sufficient

pace and scale to set us on a path to

achieve our climate commitments.

Aotearoa currently generates

around 80–85% of it’s energy from

renewable sources and as we move

toward a fully renewable future and

we reduce the amount of coal and

gas fired generation available, we will

need to find alternate ways to meet

New Zealand’s demand for electricity

when the hydro lakes run low. The

work that Meridian and Contact are

jointly leading on the opportunity

to establish a large-scale green

hydrogen production facility based in

Southland is a good example of one

of these. If the hydrogen producer

is willing to reduce production and

their demand on the electricity

system at times when the hydro lakes

are low, then it helps balance supply

and demand across the whole system

without introducing carbon emissions

from coal or gas. We believe this

kind of demand response is likely to

be commercially viable for flexible

processes like hydrogen production

and would deliver a very cost-efficient

outcome for the system as a whole

and ultimately the end consumers

of electricity.

Our people have
done great work

We want to pay tribute to the hard

work and successes of all of our

people this year. Our teams responded

positively and quickly to the demands

of working with COVID-19 restriction

and our business never missed a beat.

We’d like to particularly acknowledge

our teams based in Victoria who have

endured more than a year of COVID-

related restrictions – their commitment

and resilience has been amazing.

Our Team’s overall engagement scores

have remained high, and we know we

have a committed, resilient team who

are up for seizing opportunities, looking

after our customers, and doing right

by each other.

Disappointingly, our health and safety

stats slipped, with an increase in our

reportable injuries, more injuries

overall and more time off work due

to injuries. Whilst none of the injuries

suffered by our people were serious or

long lasting in nature, the Board and

Management are not accepting of our

level of performance and we continue

to be have an absolute focus on

keeping our people safe from harm.

Changes at Executive

and Board level

During the year there was one

change announced to our Executive

Team. Jason Stein has signalled his

intention to step away from the role

of CEO of Meridian Energy Australia

and Powershop Australia in December

2021. Jason has done an exceptional

job of steering our Melbourne based

team through a prolonged lockdown

and difficult trading conditions.

The Board too has worked hard this

year to oversee our strategy and

provide guidance in testing times.

Two members of our Board will be

retiring at our Annual Shareholder

Meeting in October. Peter Wilson,

Deputy Chair, and Anake Goodall,

have both served on the Board

since 2011. Peter and Anake have

been strong supporters of our

sustainability leadership position

and we thank them for their

significant contribution and

guidance over the past decade.

The Board will appoint Tania Simpson

as an independent director effective

from the date the Electricity Authority’s

approval is Gazetted. Tania will bring

extensive governance experience

across many industries, including

Tainui Group Holdings, Ngāi Tahu

Tourism and Auckland International

Airport. She will be standing for

election in October along with

Mark Cairns who will stand for

re-election.

Financial results
Our previous two years saw record

results powered by strong generation

and growing retail sales volumes.

This year the company maintained

that strong retail sales growth with

New Zealand volumes up 14% on the

prior year. Drought conditions during

the second half of the financial year

dampened our cash earnings by

reducing generation and increasing

hedge costs – that is just the nature

of our business and the variable

New Zealand weather. The price we

negotiated with the owners of Tiwai

Point Aluminum Smelter to extend

operations to 2024 reduced during

the second half of the year. Whilst

both events impacted financial

performance, the underlying drivers

of future business value remained

strong, in particular growth in

customer sales and our commitment

to build the Harapaki wind farm.

Noting that the last financial year

was a record year for earnings

generated through generation,

Group EBITDAF decreased by 15%

to $729 million. Net profit after tax

was impacted by fair value movements

on its hedge instruments, increasing

to $428 million. Underlying net profit

after tax decreased 27% to $232 million.

Our balance sheet is resilient. Last

year the smelter decision saw rating

agency Standard & Poor’s change

Meridian’s credit rating outlook from

stable to negative. However, on the

first day of the new 2022 financial

year, S&P Global Ratings reaffirmed

Meridian Energy’s corporate credit

rating as BBB+/Stable/A-2.

The Board has declared a final

ordinary dividend of 11.20 cents

per share, unchanged from the

previous year. This brings the total

ordinary dividends declared in

FY21 to 16.90 cents per share, also

unchanged from the previous year.

This year, for the first time, we are

introducing a dividend reinvestment

programme and the Board has

determined that shares issued under

the Plan in respect of the 2021 final

ordinary dividend will be issued at

a discount of 2.0% to the market

price. The programme will enable

investors to invest effortlessly in

our future at the same time as it will

enable us to reduce our debt position

and manage our debt more prudently.

145%

Net profit after tax

16.9cps

Ordinary Dividend

EBITDAF

15%

Underlying net profit after tax

27%

NZ energy margin

11%

Underlying net profit after tax reconciliation ($M)

Financial year ended 30 June

FY21FY20

Net profit after tax428175

Underlying adjustments

Hedging instruments

Net change in fair value of electricity and other hedges(169)113

Net change in fair value of treasury instruments(79)48

Premiums paid on electricity options net of interest(20)(20)

Assets

(Gain)/loss on sale of assets1–

Impairment of assets(6)58

Total adjustments before tax(276)199

Taxation

Tax effect of above adjustments77(58)

Underlying net profit after tax232316

Visit meridian.co.nz/investors
to download the full Meridian Integrated Report

for the year ended 30 June 2021.

An exciting new context

Aotearoa’s imperative to decarbonise

the economy and the expiry of our

contract to supply the aluminium

smelter at Tiwai Point in late 2024

have reset the playing field for

Meridian and the electricity sector as

a whole. We believe our brands; our

people and our renewable asset base

serve as strong sources of competitive

advantage for Meridian. Leveraging

these advantages, whilst staying true

to our sustainability values means

Meridian can execute on our customer

and renewables generation growth

strategies and continue to deliver

value for all our stakeholders.   

Finally, a sincere thank you, on behalf

of the Board and the Executive Team,

to everyone we work with and are our

customers, those who invest in us and

everyone in our teams for helping us

to continue delivering cleaner energy

for a fairer and healthier world.

---

Results announcement



Results for announcement to the market

Name of issuer Meridian Energy Limited

Reporting Period 12 months to 30 June 2021

Previous Reporting Period 12 months to 30 June 2020

Currency NZD

Amount (NZ$m) Percentage change

Revenue from continuing

operations

$4,296 +26%

Total Revenue $4,296 +26%

Net profit/(loss) from

continuing operations

$428 +145%

Total net profit/(loss) $428 +145%

Interim/Final Dividend

Amount per Quoted Equity

Security

NZ $0.11200000 Final Ordinary Dividend

Imputed amount per Quoted

Equity Security

NZ $0.03745778

Record Date 30/09/2021

Dividend Payment Date 15/10/2021

Current period Prior comparable period

Net tangible assets per

Quoted Equity Security

$1.89 $1.85

A brief explanation of any of

the figures above necessary

to enable the figures to be

understood

For commentary on the operational results please refer to the

media announcement and final results presentation.

This announcement should be read in conjunction with the

attached Annual Financial Statements for the year ended 30

June 2021.

Authority for this announcement

Name of person


authorised

to make this announcement

Jason Woolley

Contact person for this

announcement

Jason Woolley

Contact phone number +64 4 381 1206

Contact email address Jason.Woolley@meridianenergy.co.nz

Date of release through MAP


25/08/2021


Audited financial statements accompany this announcement.

---

Distribution Notice


Section 1: Issuer information

Name of issuer Meridian Energy Limited

Financial product name/description Ordinary Shares

NZX ticker code MEL

ISIN (If unknown, check on NZX

website)

NZMELE0002S7

Type of distribution

(Please mark with an X in the

relevant box/es)

Full Year X Quarterly

Half Year Special

DRP applies X

Record date Close of trading on 30/9/2021

Ex-Date (one business day before the

Record Date)

29/09/2021

Payment date (and allotment date for

DRP)

15/10/2021

Total monies associated with the

distribution

1


$287,056,000

Source of distribution (for example,

retained earnings)

Retained Earnings

Currency NZD

Section 2: Distribution amounts per financial product

Gross distribution

2

$0.14945778

Gross taxable amount

3

$0.14945778

Total cash distribution

4

$0.11200000

Excluded amount (applicable to listed

PIEs)

$0.00000000

Supplementary distribution amount $0.01699765

Section 3: Imputation credits and Resident Withholding Tax

5


Is the distribution imputed Partial imputation

If fully or partially imputed, please

state imputation rate as % applied

6


86%

Imputation tax credits per financial

product

$0.03745778


1

Continuous issuers should indicate that this is based on the number of units on issue at the date of the form

2

“Gross distribution” is the total cash distribution plus the amount of imputation credits, per financial product, before the deduction of

Resident Withholding Tax (RWT).

3

“Gross taxable amount” is the gross distribution minus any excluded income.

4

“Total cash distribution” is the cash distribution excluding imputation credits, per financial product, before the deduction of RWT.

This should include any excluded amounts, where applicable to listed PIEs.

5

The imputation credits plus the RWT amount is 33% of the gross taxable amount for the purposes of this form. If the distribution is

fully imputed the imputation credits will be 28% of the gross taxable amount with remaining 5% being RWT. This does not constitute

advice as to whether or not RWT needs to be withheld.

6

Calculated as (imputation credits/gross taxable amount) x 100. Fully imputed dividends will be 28% as a % rate applied.

Resident Withholding Tax per
financial product

$0.01186329

Section 4: Distribution re-investment plan (if applicable)

DRP % discount (if any)

2.0%

Start date and end date for

determining market price for DRP

Close of trading on:

29/09/21

Close of trading on:

05/10/21

Date strike price to be announced (if

not available at this time)

06/10/21

Specify source of financial products to

be issued under DRP programme

(new issue or to be bought on market)

New issue

DRP strike price per financial product

$TBC

Last date to submit a participation

notice for this distribution in

accordance with DRP participation

terms

01/10/21

Section 5: Authority for this announcement

Name of person


authorised to make

this announcement

Jason Woolley

Contact person for this

announcement

Jason Woolley

Contact phone number +64 4 381 1206

Contact email address jason.woolley@meridianenergy.co.nz

Date of release through MAP


25/08/2021

=== IR PAGE TRANSCRIPT: Annual Results Announcement Transcript (PDF) ===

Meridian Energy Financial Results Announcement – 25 August 2021 – LIVE TRANSCRIPT
>> NEAL BARCLAY: Welcome to the 2021 Annual Result briefing. I'm Neal Barclay, Meridians Chief

Executive and I have on my virtual left Mike Roan, our CFO. I'll make a few opening remarks before

we get into the guts of the presentation. Most obviously, we saw quite a shift in financial

performance in FY21 compared to the previous two years.

FY19 and FY20 saw successive record results powered by strong generation and growth in retail

sales. This year, we maintained our customer growth momentum. However, we ran into tough

drought conditions that reduced our generation capability and increased our hedge cost.

That's just the nature of the business and the variable New Zealand weather. In January we also

completed negotiations with the owners of the Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter to extend our

electricity supply contract until the end of 2024. That extension was done at a significant discount to

the existing contract. Both of these events impacted financial performance with EBITDAF and

Underlying NPAT down of prior year by 15% and 27% respectively. But we do believe the underlying

drivers of future business value are strong.

In particular: Since 2018, it’s worth noting we have grown the size of the combined New Zealand

Meridian and Powershop customer bases by 20% and the volume of energy sold through retail

channels by 40%, and our sales momentum has not wavered this year. We believe there is still

plenty of scope for further growth and enough liquidity in hedge markets to allow us to manage the

risk.

Our Harapkai wind farm construction is underway in Hawkes Bay, and our development pipeline is

rejuvenating. We’re also buoyed by future opportunities that are starting to take shape beyond the

smelter’s exit in 2024.

Ultimately the outlook for growth in the sector is huge as Aotearoa embarks on a path to Net Zero

emissions by 2050. But there are some challenges our industry must manage on the decarbonisation

journey. The ‘own goal’ the electricity sector managed to score on 9th August by causing widespread

customer outages, is just a symptom of a broader contextual issue that the industry must address.

The industry is emerging from a period of around 13 years where we have seen no discernible

growth in demand.

Accordingly, the system hasn’t been under real pressure to accommodate new levels of peak

demand as occurred on 9th August.

It has also become crystal clear over the last three years that the flexibility and reliability of the gas

supply chain, from gas field through to generation, has eroded considerably.

And whilst there is investment going into the upstream gas assets, the situation may be exacerbated

by the inevitable growth in renewables that are displacing base load thermal generation at a rate of

knots. Waipipi, Turitea, Tauhara and Harapaki combined equate to 8% of current demand despite

muted demand growth.

I don’t think anyone doubts the importance of reaching a zero emissions economy, ideally sooner

than 2050. But the introduction of the 100% renewable electricity target by 2030, has rapidly

upended the wider industry’s long-standing plans to use gas, in particular fast-start gas peakers, to

provide renewable firming capacity, and to efficiently transition away from coal.

Now I doubt there will be one silver bullet solution to enable a seamless transition and some of the
renewable firming initiatives being mooted presently are still well over a decade away. So, we do

need Government policy that is more sympathetic to and accepting of some gas generation. Also,

what happens to the load currently contracted by NZAS through to 2024 is a relevant consideration

to any package of options to enable a seamless transition, as are efforts to enable large scale

demand response from existing and new industrial energy users.

I think the future is bright, but we do need to be smart in tackling the transition to a renewable grid

to ensure the continued affordability and reliability of electricity to New Zealand consumers. I’ll talk

more in this presentation about some of the actions Meridian is taking to invest in the

decarbonisation challenge.

The New Zealand customer growth momentum was mirrored in our Australian Powershop business

and we are super proud of these results. Succeeding in Retail is down to the proverbial ‘battle of

inches’ and there is no single ingredient that I will point out in our secret sauce. It is really about

getting every aspect of the customer offer and service experience just right. And to do that you need

great people and a culture that cares. The really good news is we know where we are now, and we

know we have plenty of potential to improve.

While lower cash earnings reflected the impacts of the drought and NZAS renegotiations, the Board

was comfortable maintaining the ordinary dividend at the FY20 level, albeit at a higher pay-out ratio.

To help accelerate decarbonisation, we kicked off our Process Heat Electrification Programme in

February. And it is super encouraging to see the growing commitment from businesses wanting to

decarbonise their industrial processes. We already have 171GWh of annual load under MoU and we

are close to having a further 100GWh signed up. Meridian can bring to the table sharp long-term

pricing but an emerging barrier to getting more of these projects up, particularly as it relates to the

financials, is the cost of transmission and distribution upgrades.

Businesses are clearly trying hard to decarbonise and this infrastructure is critical to support a timely

transition to cleaner process heat for New Zealand. Accordingly, many conversion opportunities are

dependent on the timing of funding awarded from the Government’s $69m decarbonisation fund.

Process heat electrification opportunities typically deliver a low cents per tonne of carbon abated

equation, and if appropriately supported, will deliver a great outcome for customers and our

country.

As an example, the coal boiler replacement at WoolWorks in Timaru will reduce emissions by 11,000

tonnes a year. This is the equivalent of taking around 3,000 cars and their emissions off the road.

With very small operational emissions, the bulk of Meridian’s footprint is in our supply chain and its

pleasing to see our partners making improvements in the quality of the measurement, reporting and

the quantity of their emissions.

We continue to make positive progress in our gender equity measures but as you can see from the

chart, we clearly have more work to do.

Last year’s Covid lock down coincided with our staff engagement survey so we saw a natural lift at

that time. I guess our people were thankful to have our support and the job security we promised.

This year’s survey results have returned to pre COVID levels, we did expect that and these results are

still sector leading.

I’d like to call out the great work our people continue to do in this Covid affected world. They have
been positive and flexible, and as a business we haven’t missed a beat. I’d particularly like to

acknowledge our teams based in Victoria; they’ve endured more than a year of COVID related

restrictions, and their commitment and resilience is amazing.

I’ve talked before about my concerns around our annual rate of injuries. While none of the 18 LTI’s

resulted in serious harm this year, our people do operate in challenging work environments and we

have a lot more work to do to ensure they can continue to do that safely. Safety leadership and

safety culture are the focus of a new programme of work being led by Tania Palmer (our Chief

People Officer).

We showed investors our refreshed strategy at our May Investor Day. We also indicated the start of

an ownership review of Meridian Energy Australia. Mike will update you on that process later. We

have evolved some targets since May. For example, Mercury’s acquisition of Trustpower’s mass

market book gives us the opportunity to focus on a more appropriate medium-term target for our

retail business around fixed price growth.

And as we deepen our development pipeline to accelerate decarbonisation of this country, we’re

now aiming to have 3 options ready to build by the end of 2024. I’ve talked previously about the

roadblocks the industry faces getting potential sites through consenting, so this will be a real

challenge and does require support though the Government’s RMA reform process.

We’ll touch on progress against most of the targets through the course of this presentation.

Work with stakeholders has helped us distil our sustainability focus down to the 10 material topics

presented here. Those topics inform our activities and I’ll call out a few successes over the last year.

It’s easy to forget Meridian is already net zero carbon and we are now planting forests to create our

own carbon offsets.

By the end of 2021 we will have doubled the number of trees currently in the ground, but we do

need to seriously pick up the pace. Pleasingly, we recently acquired two additional parcels of land to

accelerate our planting programme.

Meridian’s own EV charging network was launched earlier this year. We are deploying mostly AC

chargers that integrate well into existing electricity networks. They are ideally suited to shopping

malls, retail and business parks and community facilities. International experience shows AC

charging offers an efficient complement to fast DC chargers.

We published our first modern slavery statement. The statement sets out our actions to assess and

address modern slavery risks in our operations and supply chains. And we have now just presented

our third TCFD report.

Where Meridian puts its social focus is well established. We have long term commitments to our

generation communities, supporting local projects that are important to them. KidsCan, Kākāpō

Recovery and Project River Recovery are amazing causes that I am personally honoured to be part

of.

We specifically acknowledge iwi rights under the Treaty of Waitangi. It is important for us, as a large

user of natural resources, to partner with iwi in finding ways to deliver improved environmental,

commercial, and cultural outcomes. This isn’t just corporate speak - we are working actively with

many iwi groups to make a real difference.

We’ve been talking about the green shoots of demand growth for a few years now.
The impacts of Covid and Tiwai’s 4th potline consumption skews things a bit from prior periods. But

if we normalise for those, we see demand uplift in the last two years. And that is despite near record

temperatures taking the top off winter demand.

Whilst the return to a Nationwide lockdown must have an economic impact, we have not seen

anywhere near the same level of negative impact on demand that was evident last March. But it’s

early days.

As I mentioned earlier, the customer growth we have achieved in retail volume and customer

numbers has been a standout in the last few years. And we have achieved this without big

movements in headline prices.

The project to move Meridian’s customers across to the Flux Platform is in its final stages and focus

is now on the remaining complex Corporate and Industrial customers. I’d like to acknowledge the

Meridian Retail and Flux Teams for doing an amazing job. They have reimagined and rebuilt our

customer service operating model and migrated 95% of our customers to the new platform. The

truly amazing bit is they have done that whilst losing no momentum in sales and creating close to

zero disruption for our customers.

There is no doubt electricity pricing is an emotive topic full stop. And high wholesale prices have

been exercising many in the market and in the media over recent times. But there is still plenty of

evidence to show the sector overall is delivering great outcomes for New Zealanders across the

Energy Trilemma.

The price graph here, which is MBIE published data, tells quite a story. Historically there has been a

significant rebalancing of electricity prices across sectors – I think that is well understood. It also

shows though, that in real terms, overall market prices have not really increased since the 1980s and

during the last 10 years, other than the industrial sector, most customers have experienced real

price decreases.

And lastly, the hedging strategies adopted by most retailers have meant the vast majority of

customers have been insulated from these higher wholesale prices, that we’ve seen of late.

Also, the price for electricity in New Zealand compares favourably with other OECD countries and in

particular, as of last year, large C&I customers, paid the seventh-lowest price in the OECD.

But that is of little comfort if you are a large business trying to recontract supply in this market and

the high wholesale prices we are seeing are certainly cause for concern.

Meridian has not stepped away from any customer and have provided pricing solutions including

terms of 5 and 10 years to help moderate the impact of current pricing on those customers.

We have clearly seen prices moderate as hydro storage has recovered; they still remain relatively

high however. But that doesn’t mean we are seeing inefficient price signals or a broken market.

I will touch on the drought shortly, but it’s worth noting that both Meridian’s Waitaki storage and

the national hydro storage only just got above average for the first time this year in the 3rd week of

July. Droughts cause high prices and we have seen that many times before.

Underlying the variable weather is the well documented degradation in gas deliverability that

emerged in 2018. The outlook may be on the improve as investment programmes at major

producing gas fields are underway or are better defined. But simply put - right now - the system has

less fuel storage and capacity available for it to meet demand than we have enjoyed over most of
the last decade.

We’re seeing the industry respond with several new renewable projects, that will deliver around 8%

of electricity demand at a cost of $2bn. These projects are in construction or nearing full

commissioning right now and more new developments are also being signalled.

But these stabilising initiatives take time to turn up and given hydro water values reflect scarcity, we

believe supply risk is still being priced into the spot and electricity futures markets.

My view is the long-term trend in prices is likely to be down as new renewables become cheaper to

build. But we are also likely to continue to see considerable short and medium term price volatility

(both up and down) as the percentage of renewable energy increases. The risk management

strategies adopted by businesses will need to account for that volatility.

I mentioned earlier that there is sufficient liquidity in wholesale hedge markets to enable us to

manage the portfolio risk of further retail growth.

This chart shows just how successful the reform of the electricity hedge market in 2009 have been.

The volume of Exchange traded ASX Futures has trended up to be similar in size to the physical

market and FY21 volumes far exceeded the physical energy traded. As you can see Meridian has put

significant capital at risk and continues to do the heavy lifting in supporting the ASX growth.

ASX is only part of the story. There is also a strong Over the Counter market in New Zealand and a

growing market for long term Power Purchasing Agreements as new developments are being kicked

off.

So I think there’s plenty of liquidity and opportunity for parties to manage risk and their exposure to

wholesale prices should they chose to do so. But of course, there is also no point in waiting until

your house catches fire before attempting to buy insurance.

The Electricity Authority has an extensive market improvement programme in play. Of late we’ve

seen the implementation of many of the Electricity Price Review recommendations and we’ve had

an overhaul of the trading conduct provisions that was needed.

The final decision on corrective actions for the December 2019 UTS has been published. As

expected, the cost to Meridian was within the $5m (before tax) amount we provided for in last

year’s accounts.

More recently the events on the evening of 9th August created a very poor outcome for affected

customers. I can assure you that the Industry’s collective failure is felt most acutely by those of us

who have a responsibility toward our customers. I’m certain all parties will want to ensure learnings

are taken on board and we avoid a similar outcome occurring again.

As I mentioned at the start, the industry is moving quickly into a decarbonisation phase that will

have bumps along the way. So there is a broader contextual conversation that also needs to take

place.

2021 saw the landmark final advice from the Climate Change Commission to Government on its first

three carbon budgets. The Government now has until the end of the year to set these budgets and

release the country’s first emissions reduction plan.

Already there is movement on Government policy. The Clean Car Discount has been launched. And

Government have implemented further reforms of the Emissions Trading Scheme.

From my point of view, this sets New Zealand on the path to its low carbon future and the electricity
sector is the biggest enabler of this future.

Notably the Climate Change Commission have recommended consideration of a 95%-98% renewable

electricity target, which would allow for a longer runway for gas to support system flexibility.

And this month, Transpower published its new Transmission Pricing Methodology. This offers an

updated estimate of what Meridian could pay in transmission costs once reforms are implemented.

However, we understand that The Electricity Authority has asked Transpower to rethink some

aspects of their proposed methodology and further consultation will take place later this year.

The TPM saga continues.

Back in January we reached agreement with Rio to extend our contract with the Smelter to the end

of 2024. And it is fair to say that since then, we have enjoyed plenty of constructive feedback about

the extent to which we were taken to the cleaners. Looking at where LME prices have gone since, it

certainly would appear Rio got the best of that deal. But at the same time, they have lost any option

of a guaranteed electricity supply agreement beyond 2024.

I think most people understand the revised NZAS agreement is a cents in the dollar type

arrangement, designed to buy time. Time for the Southland Region, the Electricity Sector and

Meridian to transition away from a significant employer and user of energy, and to do that in an

orderly fashion.

I guess this would be a far more interesting results briefing for all concerned, if we were

contemplating the smelter turning off all their Pots next week as could have been the case.

The key thing is we are making the most of the time we have to mitigate the impact of the smelter

closure. You’ll be familiar with the plan as described on this page, and I’ll just quickly go through the

latest on some of the options.

The swaption replacement discussions continue with various parties. We think a portfolio of options

is emerging and as part of that, the Smelter Demand Response, within the existing agreement with

NZAS, will likely take on a greater degree of importance.

The Clutha to Upper Waitaki Lines Project continues to track well and Transpower do not envision

any significant time delays.

We aim to secure a North Island battery site by the end of September. Whilst the battery concept

grew out of a desire to create greater effective capacity on the HVDC, an asset like this would have

also made a big difference during an event like 9th August. So, we’ve upped the priority on this

project and are looking at ways to bring forward deployment to late 22 or early 23.

Earlier this month Hawaiki Submarine Cable Ltd (owned by the founders of Datagrid) was sold to a

large Singaporean private company, BW Group Ltd. We view this as a positive development, both for

getting the subsea cables required for Datagrid installed in Southland, and more broadly for Datagrid

itself. We expect to see significant focus on the Datagrid opportunity over the coming months.

The Hydrogen Registration of Interest jointly prepared by Contact and Meridian was issued to the

market on the 22nd July which coincided with the public release of the McKinsey report and the

launch of the Southern Green Hydrogen website. Counterparties have until the 10th September to

submit their responses. We’ll evaluate the responses by early October, then enter into more

detailed commercial and technical discussions with shortlisted counterparties.

In parallel we are progressing engineering prefeasibility work that will support future counterparty
discussions. I think we’re making really good progress, across a range of options.

I’ll finish with some comments on the severity of this year’s drought. Our analysis shows it was the

third worst drought we have seen in the Waitaki catchment. The amount of water that didn’t turn up

in FY21 compared to FY20 was the equivalent of the entire Lake Pukaki operating range.

Twice over.

Our catchments are generally fed by a small number of significant rainfall events each year and there

was clearly a lack of those between November and June. That’s part of what we deal with and I think

we managed our portfolio well through that prolonged dry period. Mike will add more colour to that

shortly.

The good news is inflows in the last two months have now alleviated our fuel squeeze and we’ve

started the new financial year in reasonably good shape. I’ll now hand to Mike who is Leading our

MEA Ownership Review. And he’ll also drill into the numbers with a little more detail. Over to you

Mike.


>> MIKE ROAN: Thanks Neal, and thanks everyone for joining the call this morning.

I am going to talk very quickly to the review of our Australian business before cracking into the

financials. As always, I will try to provide a little more insight than you might see on the slides

directly so showing up is worth your time.

Right, we announced that we were considering an ownership review of the Australian business

during our investor day back in May. We followed this up with an NZX announcement early June and

following our Board endorsement.

We released a flyer during July and last week followed this up with an information memorandum to

parties who have entered into a non-disclosure agreement with us which created a bit of media and

speculation on both bidders and proceeds.

All I’d would say is don’t count your chickens yet as it won’t be until later this year, all going well,

that we decide whether ongoing ownership offers the most value to shareholders or alternately a

partial or full sale. And to get ahead of any questions, the reason we are looking closely at our

business in Australia is twofold.

First, we noted that investors seem particularly interested in entities like Meridian Australia. And

second, the increasingly fragmented and interventionist electricity policy at state and federal levels

in Australia concerns us.

That said we do like Australia’s long run prospects as it must also transition to renewables and the

challenge there is larger than it is in New Zealand. So time will tell but retaining an organic

proposition in Australia remains an option for us.

But back to FY21 financial results. It was an interesting and challenging year for us.

In terms of the year itself, I think my comments at Interims are a good place to start. If you recall, we

had a decent first half with EBITDAF of $422m which was down by about $43m on FY20 but still

represented the second best first half performance ever for Meridian.

However, my key point from February was that we had run into a dry patch by November and had
started using hydro storage to deliver revenue while we waited for summer inflows to arrive.

I didn’t know it at the time, but those inflows wouldn’t arrive until mid-May and the lack of rain

would put a material dent in both storage and our opportunities.

By late April, Lake Pukaki was approximately 700GWh or 53% below average for that time of year.

So that drought, alongside the renegotiated Tiwai agreement that kicked in on 14 January, meant

that second half EBITDAF was well down the prior year, $81m to be precise.

As a result, full year EBITDAF fell by 15% from $853m last year to $729m this year. At the same time

underlying net profit after tax fell by 27% from $316m last year to $232m in FY21.

Now both EBITDAF and underlying NPAT are non-GAAP measures and if you look at our net profit

after tax you could be fooled into thinking we had a bumper year. The reality is that the majority of

the difference between underlying NPAT and NPAT itself was driven by unrealised gains on

electricity and treasury instruments which do not translate into cash.

So don’t be fooled.

And the best way to measure how the year went, at least from my perspective is by tracking

operating cashflows. They fell by 29% from $604m last year to $431m in FY21.

Now don’t get me wrong, our performance remained sound during the challenges we faced, we just

didn’t do as well as we did last financial year, so let’s move on to dividend before diving into a bit of

detail.

As Neal mentioned, there are no surprises in the dividend space either.

We are rolling the FY20 ordinary dividend through to FY21. That means that a final ordinary dividend

of 11.20 cps will be paid on 15 October and in turn, the full year ordinary dividend will remain at

16.90 cps imputed to 86%.

One thing I do want to pick up here is that the Board has approved implementation of a Dividend

reinvestment plan. We had signalled this a couple of times this year and as result, shareholders will

have the option to participate in that plan.

Those that do will be able to buy shares in Meridian with their final ordinary dividend proceeds at a

2% discount to the market value of those shares. Documentation that describes how the dividend

reinvestment plan works is being sent out as we speak.

Simply put, performance in New Zealand was sound in some areas and outstanding in others and

there are a few things to reference on this slide.

First, Energy Margin was $128m lower in FY21 than it was last year.

As mentioned above, there was good reason for this as while wholesale prices soared, we faced a

pretty sizeable drought in the second half. And while some uninformed commentators think we do

well in these circumstances, the more nuanced know that it tends to create challenges for us. And

those challenges are pretty simple, without an adequate supply of fuel we could end up short to

those wholesale prices.

Now, we’re fortunate that our wholesale team puts a lot of thought and effort into managing our
portfolio in these circumstances. As a result, we did not end up with spot price exposure but the

hedges we bought, and the lack of fuel weighed on energy margin delivery.

For a drought as substantial as it was, the wholesale team did a superb job.

And as I have said before, we also have a pretty decent Retail team – in my view they are the best

out there – and they did a stellar job lifting contracted revenue by $149m as shown on the waterfall.

Now I know that some of you might be thinking that if we hadn’t been focussed on developing

customer relationships that we would have had stronger Energy Margin.

That is possibly true, but it is short-term thinking and what really matters is long term success. And if

you pick up any business textbook, it will tell you that’s only possible if you have strong relationships

with those who use your product.

And whether you are an electricity business, a lust filled teenager or Amazon, relationships take time

to develop. You might be wondering how teenagers fit into that category, well they don’t.

My current lockdown experience cooped up with a couple of them suggests that they are too

focussed on short term goals to think about longer term relationships.

Anyways, I’m off message and getting into dangerous territory particularly as one of them might

bound down the stairs if they are listening to this.

What I am trying to say is that we have been really clear over the past few years that our focus has

been centred around customers first and while that might cost us a little in the short run, we are

confident that in the long run it will serve our investors well.

And I know that there are folk out there that will think that we are simply looking to extract more

coin from them. But that is a cynical view.

The reality is that if someone values what you do, they will gladly pay you for your services and

possibly stick with you through the tough times. And that is what we are trying to build. So far, the

data shows that we are doing a reasonable job of it.

But since I mentioned cynicism, this also feels like the right place to focus a little on commentary on

the wholesale market, particularly commentary that suggests it is broken.

My only request to you is that you ask yourself why folk might be saying that.

Yesterday provides a useful example, as yesterday a group of large New Zealand businesses attacked

another, us, for making too much money......with the sole motivation of lifting their own profitability.

Go figure.

Now this was both surprising and disappointing but given the underlying motivation, you have to be

sceptical of the claim.... particularly as the government looked into excess profit as part of its

electricity price review in 2018 and found nothing and our own independent analysis, completed by

PWC, aligns with the government’s findings.

We have released those PWC conclusions, but I want to come back to my key point......consider the

motivation for claims before deciding whether they are credible, as opposed to buying into the

rhetoric directly. Where you see business attacking business, there will be an economic motivation

And we know that some MEUG members were exposed to the high wholesale prices seen in 2021
and that they want those prices to fall.

We get that, but I would point out that in this case the electricity industry has responded ahead of

them by committing to approximately $2b worth of new generation development in response to

those prices.

And those investing are not just incumbents; we are seeing new entrants step into the electricity

market and invest as well.

This is the exact response you would expect from an effective market. This is a complex industry and

silver bullet fixes do not exist. And while kicking off in the media might make you feel better, it tends

to distract from managing the challenges we face.

The good news is that over the past 20 years that the market has been in effect, there has been

substantial progress in terms of market design and levels of competition even if over that same

period we have had a few moments that we wish we could have back. We are always striving to get

it right but perfect does not exist unfortunately.

But the progress has been substantial enough for residential customers to see pricing, security of

supply, sustainability, and product choice benefits.

That might seem like a strange thing to say following the events of 9 August, but as I said this is a

complex industry and when things are complex, they don’t go right all of the time.

The industry actually has a pretty decent track record – at least compared to the period before the

market existed – and we need to give folk time to work through how such situations might be

avoided in future.

In the meantime, the data that I see and Neal referenced, suggests that residential customer costs

per unit are lower today in real terms than they were in 2013.

I should point out that Industrial customer per unit costs are rising but they are still approximately

half of the cost that residential customers pay. That is pretty decent empirical evidence as it means

that for residential consumers, electricity is a smaller part of peoples cost base than it was back in

2013 at least in inflationary terms.

And to top it off, the International Energy Agency last ranked NZ’s electricity market as the 10th best

in the OECD and New Zealand is the only non-European country in that top 10.

We also get the International Energy Agency’s highest rating of AAA and a pretty solid sound bite in

that “New Zealand....is a world leading example of a well-functioning electricity market, which

continues to work effectively”.

We know that the IEA will update its rankings in October so we will get to see if that view changes,

but that is where my security of supply comment came from.

Anyways, the facts suggest that residential customers are benefitting from what has played out

within the electricity sector and our team will continue to work out how we attract more of those

customers to Meridian.

Right let’s talk about Australia.

The key feature on this slide is the fall in generation spot revenue.

As I have noted in the second and third bullets, generation volumes were sound but wholesale prices
fell materially, and this drove the $39m reduction in Energy Margin.

In turn, this flowed through to EBITDAF which fell from $66m in FY20 to $38m in FY21.

The good news is that wholesale prices lifted towards the end of the financial year and if you have

seen our operating stats for July, financial performance has improved materially.

That said the customer story in Australia is similar to how I presented it at Interims – since lockdown

the growth in customer numbers has slowed even though customer revenue has grown on the back

of a 20% lift in household consumption due to lockdowns in the lucky country.

So, growth in customer numbers slowed but the team in Australia remain committed and they once

again lifted the Roy Morgan Electricity provider of the Year and Canstars most trusted energy

provider award so the opportunity for growth remains.

Now I always like to say something about large generation certificates or LGCs, largely as we do not

have or need such certificates in NZ.

But the team in Australia both create and then sell LGC’s from our renewable generation assets.

Unlike previous years, where hedging of LGCs added value to the business, this year mark to market

losses from them were $3.3m and hence derivative sales and purchases were well off FY20 levels.

And I will finish with my other favourite when talking about Australia, hydro storage.

Good news.

Storage at both Burrinjuck and Keepit hydro power stations is full and at Hume, storage is higher

than at any time Meridian has owned that asset – I suggest you look at the Hume graph on the

Goulburn-Murray website so you can see what I mean. So, it looks like we will get decent generation

volumes from those facilities this year.

This is a new slide, but we added it as we think it provides some useful insight.

First it sets out that we, like all retailers, pay the spot price for electricity consumed by our

customers.

It doesn’t matter whether a company is vertically integrated or not, the New Zealand Electricity

Market ensures a level playing field for retailers.

This slide also builds on the New Zealand Energy Margin slide that showed that the cost to supply

customers has grown massively, and here we show that, at $184/MWh, the price paid to support

our customer base in FY21 was about $89/MWh higher than in FY20.

And finally, it highlights the internal transfer price that our Retail team buys electricity from our

wholesale team at.

As stated on this slide, it was $81/MWh in FY20 and it lifted to $88/MWh in FY21.

What isn’t as clear from this slide is how we calculate that price. But that isn’t complex either. I’ll

summarise it here.

We simply assume that a Retail business would hedge its risk progressively over a 3-year period and

the FY20 and FY21 ITPs reflect that – the average of the previous 3 years ASX prices for the relevant

financial year, shaped on a volume weighted basis based on our consumption profile.

Of course, there are more important issues than internal transfer price, but we thought it was useful
to capture this information.

So, on to operating costs.

There is always a bit more in this one than I think is necessary so long story short, we showed

discipline again in FY21 in relation to costs.

At this time last year, I stated that we expected to spend between $261m and $266m. And we spent

$265m.

And while that is a lift of $6m on last year, by the time you strip out the accounting adjustment for

Software as a Service (SaaS) and the holidays act provision then underlying operating costs lifted by

$3m during FY21 and that increase was directed towards our development activities where we

continue to ramp up effort to ensure we have sites available to meet expected decarbonisation

growth.

For those not versed in the SaaS adjustment referenced here, in April IFRIC – the International

Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee - revised its policy in relation to costs incurred

implementing SaaS arrangements.

Long story short, and following that policy revision, all costs related to SaaS should flow through the

P&L as operating costs as opposed to recognising those costs as intangible assets on the balance

sheet and amortising them over time.

Given this decision, we have presented a small restatement for FY20 and in FY21 SaaS costs

amounted to $2m as you’ll see on this graph. For those that would like more detail, see page 122 of

our annual report.

Second to last comment. While it isn’t captured as a cost item here, we have retained an elevated

provision for doubtful debts from in FY21. At $9m, it is lower than the $15.7m provision held in FY20

but it is approximately $4m higher than levels held before COVID showed up. How it moves in time,

will depend on how the economy navigates this virus.

With that in mind and during the first week of lockdown, electricity consumption looks like it is down

by 7% which isn’t substantial compared to lockdowns in 2020 where consumption fell by between

16 and 19%. That could change of course, so we will see how things progress.

And finally, we estimate that operating costs will fall in the $275m to $280m range this financial

year, largely driven by $6m of SaaS costs flowing through the P&L with the remainder driven by

ongoing focus on development and lifts in insurance and employee costs.

I talked about NPAT and Underlying NPAT at the start, so I won’t dive into it too much here.

As the two graphs show, our preferred measure of performance, underlying NPAT fell by 27% from

FY20. I am sure that this makes sense to most of you given explanations provided earlier in this

presentation. And it shows that year on year our cash performance was impacted by the drought.

And while NPAT lifted by 145% the key difference between the two measures is fair value

movements in both electricity and interest rate derivatives. These are non-cash items that can move

materially year on year.

For example, in FY20, electricity derivatives reduced NPAT by $113m but this year lifted it by $169m

so they can move around considerably.

My simple message is that FY21 was not the record year that FY20 was.
Other than for that, in Australia we saw a gain from changes to Australian generation asset

remediation costs and while it isn’t shown here, the value of Mt Millar and Mt Mercer Wind Farms

were stable and the GSP asset values lifted by $55m.

I don’t have too much to add to the statements captured on this slide

Stay In Business (SIB) capex remains stable at approx. $50m but the decision to move forward with

Harapaki and the ongoing work to cut over our customer platform to Flux meant that investment

capex was $72m which is well up on prior years - Harapaki consumed $41m of cash and the cutover

to Flux - much of the remainder.

And while I am on the customer platform cutover, the customer team delivered the impressive

results while this was in progress and there haven’t been any material issues for customers or our

business in completing this 3-year project.

We are pretty sure that customers are going to love what they see in the coming months as we finish

the migration of C&I customers onto the Flux platform and then start optimising it.

I will leave you with our forecast capex range for FY22 which is $205m to $215m, where I expect SIB

capex to be similar to FY21, with the residual largely attributed to Harapaki and Australian

development activities.

Obviously, we will revisit this when we have determined the outcome of the ownership review.

And our balance sheet remains a straightforward read.

Net debt lifted by 9% over the year to $1648m and while net debt to EBITDAF lifted from 1.8 to 2.3x,

S&P removed the negative outlook from our BBB+ credit rating following completion of the NZAS

transaction.

So, I will finish as I started. It has been an interesting and challenging year for investors in Meridian.

Our team is focussed on working through the transition away from aluminium as directly as it is

focussed on the economy wide transition away from fossil fuels.

We need to put our best feet forward if we are to make that transition a successful one for both our

shareholders and NZ.

Neal, back to you.

>> NEAL BARCLAY: Thanks Mike, I think you summed things up quite nicely there. I’ll just make a few

concluding comments myself.

I think what you see in Meridian is a high performing business with a culture that is values based.

And our customers understand that about us.

You can expect us to be very focussed on mitigating the loss of the aluminium smelter, but in doing

so, we will not lose sight of the big picture and we will continue to focus on our customers and

supporting New Zealand’s decarbonisation goals.

What you see in the Electricity Sector is an industry that, whilst not perfect, does deliver world

leading outcomes for New Zealanders across the trilemma of reliability, sustainability and cost. Most

importantly the market is delivering clear investment signals and the Industry is responding.

I think we'll wrap it up there. And we'll move to questions. Obviously, there's none on the floor
today so we'll be going online.

>> Thank you very much, Sir. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question-and-answer

session. As a reminder, if you wish to queue for a question, please press 0 followed by 1 on your

telephone keypad and wait for your name to be announced. That is 0, followed by 1 on your

telephone keypad. Thank you.

Your first question is from Andrew Harvey. Please go ahead. Thank you.

>> ANDREW HARVEY Good morning, guys. A couple of questions from me. First of all, just around

sort of understanding some of the optics and the increase there, guess from my perspective, I'd

expect a little bit of debt coming through from the Flux and some benefit coming through from that.

Is that still expected? Or has anything changed there?

>> NEAL BARCLAY: Mike, it’s talking about the benefits from Project Momentum. Do you want to

cover that?

>> MIKE ROAN: Andrew, what you've seen is customers servicing costs have held flat. In fact,

decreased slightly over time. We'd expect that to continue in the coming years. Where we're really

focused on making sure we've got the right cost base is in the development space, which is why I

pointed it out as part of the fin year 22 forecast.

>> ANDREW HARVEY: And what about down-the-line cost? They'll probably be flat and deliver on

the other side?

>> MIKE ROAN: Sorry, Andrew, I missed that. I think I got the gist of it, but I missed some of it. I said

it last year, at our announcement results as well. That the delivery of that programme is delivering

real cost benefit. But what you see is the growth in customers, and that's growth associated with

growing that customer base so every time you pick up a customer there are metering and field

service costs alongside internal costs.

The Flux platform, what it's allowed the customer team to do is manage and gain efficiencies in our

internal cost base, even while we’ve added a material volume of customers to our business and we

expect that to continue over time. So it's well and truly delivered business case benefits and the

efficiency outcomes that we expected from it and we're actually pretty proud of the fact that we're

holding those customer costs flat to falling slightly while we're growing our customers base as

materially as we have.

>> ANDREW HARVEY: OK. Second question is (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY). I'm looking at the slide about

CAPEX and: (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY). Is that the kind of thing for the long-term going forward?

>> NEAL BARCLAY: Andrew, I think you're really breaking up, but I think you're talking about stay in

business CAPEX. So we might give a bit of flavour on how that looks going forward.

>> MIKE ROAN: Andrew, I think if I picked it up, I expect Stay In Business (SIB) to stay reasonably at

fin year 21 levels. As you say, I mentioned approximately $50 million and in the slide, it's got $45

million and you can see the trajectory over the past few years. I think that's a reasonable frame for

Stay In Business CAPEX moving forward. Where I was trying to get people to pay attention is the

growth CAPEX as it related to Harapaki and possibly development in Australia if we continue the

owners of that business. Does that give you enough?

>> ANDREW HARVEY: Yeah. That's OK. Thanks. The last question may be hard for you to hear again.
But just around the Swaption Contract. You talked about the smelter perhaps getting involved. Am I

right in saying that's the first time that they have even been talking about (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY)

>> NEAL BARCLAY: I'm sorry, Andrew. I didn't get the gist of that at all. It was something about the

smelter. Mike, did you...?

>> MIKE ROAN: Andrew, I'll try and paraphrase it. Is you talking about swaption replacement and

Neal's comment in replacement to the SDR, the Smelter Demand Response.

>> ANDREW HARVEY: Yeah, that's right.

>> MIKE ROAN: And I think you were wondering whether we had had any sort of conversation with

Rio in relation to demand response following the conversations last year and the answer to that is

no, we haven't had any engagement with Rio Tinto on their activities since the conversations we had

with them last year. What Neal was referencing is we're looking more wholly at a package of supply

and demand options to manage the underlying hydro in-flow risk and we can see, is the smelter

demand response component of the Rio agreement in FY23 and 24 could form part of that package.

So, it's an existing arrangement we have with them rather than anything new.

>> NEAL BARCLAY: I'll add to that. It's an existing arrangement. We can envision better

arrangements that would work for both parties. While we haven't had any conversations with them

about those since the extended exit deal was put in place, we made it very, very clear to Rio

leadership that if they ever wanted to entertain any thought of remaining in this country beyond

2024, they'd have to bring something to the table that made them operate in a far more

sympathetic way with the overall industry as opposed to just being a taker of energy.

>> Thank you, Sir. Your next question is from Steven Hudson. Go ahead.

>> STEVEN HUDSON: Good morning, guys. You can hear me OK?

>> NEAL BARCLAY: Yes.

>> MIKE ROAN: Yes, we're good.

>> STEVEN HUDSON: OK. I just have four questions. You've had a PPE fair value change. I wondered

if you could give us some idea around the assumptions around the volume and pricing post 2024 in

the fair value change and PPE.

Secondly, maybe one for Neal. Is the gas fuel swaption option acceptable to you post 2022 and then

maybe back to Mike. Could you give us an idea of the book value of the Australian assets under

review and then just lastly Harapaki, could you confirm you're fully at risk on your civils and if so,

what are you seeing in these early days for civil works?

>> NEAL BARCLAY: I'll cover off 2 and 4, Mike and you cover off 1 and 3.

>> MIKE ROAN: Yeah. Hey, so Steve you picked up the fair value movement, you know, PPE lifted by

a couple of hundred million bucks. So, the assumption that we're using for NZAS is that it is not

connected to the system as part of that valuation. That's the simple assumption is there is no

consumption from Rio Tinto so therefore no price, no contract.

And, hey, I'll pick up number three while we're on it which I think was book value of the Australian

assets which doesn’t come out through our accounts. I'll be wrong on it because I've got last year's

value in mind, but the book value is about $470 million net assets.

>> NEAL BARCLAY: Steven, on your second question, would we entertain a gas fuel swaption?
Absolutely. We are in conversations with parties around such a sort of transaction. I would say,

though, that the economics have got a lot tougher of late and they need some sort of confidence

they can get a return on that investment within a relatively short space of time. That's the sort of

issue I'm alluding to. We're certainly looking to work with parties, in the industry to support those

sorts of investments because we're going to need them, no doubt about it.

Harapaki, yes, we are at risk at civils. So, we manage the project ourselves and the project has gone

into abeyance with the lockdown. There will be some cost of that. But because we're in the early

stages of gearing up into the project, the costs are not significant. If we go through further COVID

delays through the construction period, those costs will build but we have built in a reasonable

amount of contingency for that eventuality to the economic projections before we signed up to the

deal.

>> STEVEN HUDSON: That's really useful. Thanks, guys.

>> MIKE ROAN: Thanks, Steve. I just got a text from Andrew who said our call quality isn't the

greatest either and he wondered if while the questions are on whether we have both -- whether we

both go on mute so we can hear him a bit better. That's a good suggestion.

>> NEAL BARCLAY: You go on mute and I'll throw it to you.

>> Thank you, Sir. Your next question is from the Grant Swanepole. Please go ahead. Thank you.

>>GRANT SWANEPOLE: Good morning. I hope my voice is not double up. Just from Andrew Harvey

Green, the latest CAPEX. Mike said $50 million. But the presentation said $55 million to $60 million.

Which is it, Mike?

>> MIKE ROAN: Grant, I think if you use $50mil you'll be fine. The forecast we've got for FY22 is

captured in the business CAPEX of $55 million to $60 million. We've tended to find our forecasts

have exceeded actual capacity to deliver stay in business CAPEX so the number you're seeing, the

actual numbers in the preso, tend to be a reasonable forecast for you.

>>GRANT SWANEPOLE: Thanks. Next, data opportunities, exclusivity, have we bought land yet? And

when does that exclusivity fall away if he doesn't buy soon?

>> NEAL BARCLAY: Sorry, Grant. Which opportunity are you referring to?

>>GRANT SWANEPOLE: The data centre.

>> NEAL BARCLAY: The Datagrid. I understand they've got conditional offers in on a range of

properties, but they haven't gone in conditional yet.

>>GRANT SWANEPOLE: Does exclusivity expire if he doesn't?

>> NEAL BARCLAY: Yes. Our exclusivity expired about - well, up on the original terms about a month

ago. We pushed it out based on the progress that we saw Datagrid making. So we gave them

another couple of months to land something, Grant.

>>GRANT SWANEPOLE: Thanks. Final question. The 171GWh contracts with a 250 target - does that

seem a bit like it lacks opportunistic intent?

>> NEAL BARCLAY: You're talking about the process heat electrification target? Look, we've already

MoUs with companies who are actively moving to electrify their fossil fuel use. We've got a couple of

MoUs that I hope to have floating around on my desk in the next day or two, so we'll push 250 to
300 as we sit here today. We've actually increased that target internally.

We think there's the opportunity to go for about 600 and if we can get support from government,

particularly around the transmission and distribution cost which is the main hurdle getting

economics over the line, then I think that sort of level of growth is achievable and will obviously be a

great outcome for the country in terms of reduction of emissions.

>>GRANT SWANEPOLE: That's great news. Thanks.

>> Thank you very much, Sir. Your next question is from the line of Jeremy Kincaid. Please go ahead.

>> JEREMY KINCAID: Hi, team. Hopefully this is clear. First question around buildable options by

2024, can you give some colour on what they are and the potential size.

>> NEAL BARCLAY: I mean we're still fine tuning the portfolio, but there will be certainly one wind

farm in there and we'll be pushing through to consent on one of our wind farm opportunities in the

not too distant future.

We've got a couple of really promising solar sites coming up that we think we should be able to get

to a consensus stage in the not too distant future and we've also got the battery in play and we've

got a conditional offering on a parcel of land on that at the moment.

And we think that the progress we've made on the design, we can probably get that deployed some

time late last year or early the following year. But I'd say it will be a portfolio of probably battery,

solar opportunity and at least one wind farm, possibly two

>> JEREMY KINCAID: And the potential size of the solar and the wind farm?

>> NEAL BARCLAY: The next best option for us is our Mount Monroe option which is in the

Wairarapa. I think it's circa 50 megawatts. Is that right, Mike?

>> MIKE ROAN: Yeah.

>> NEAL BARCLAY: Yeah. So, we'll look at big options as well but we think medium-size chunks are

ones that are easy to deploy and we can do them more rapidly, more flexibly and the economics are

looking pretty compelling for them.

>> JEREMY KINCAID: Cool. Second question. Just on the process heat MoUs. You've made good

progress there, but I suppose you're looking to greater than 250 gigawatt hours over the next three

years. That seems a bit conservative. Can you talk to that? Relative to the things you've had?

>> NEAL BARCLAY: Yeah, yeah, as I was just saying to Graham, we've internally lifted our sights to

600 gigawatt hours. The opportunity is greater than that, but you know some of those parties are

competing... we're competing with biomass as well.

One of the exciting things with this opportunity is, we’re starting to work through options to enable

these customers to provide demand response back into the system, so that they can for keep some

element of their existing infrastructure in place and can either run it on biofuel or coal if need be.

You're making a step by moving the bulk of their usage off those fuel types onto electric in the first

place. We think we can do it in a way that provides quite a lot of flexibility back into the system. But

you're right. 250 is soft and we're revising our internal view as to what's possible.

>> MIKE ROAN: Jeremy, I might just add a touch to that. There is a massive opportunity out there for
fuel conversion, as you know if you've seen any of the reports floating around. The biggest

constraint we've got is network Transmission Pricing. We'll need some form of breakthrough if we're

going to see numbers bigger than what Neal has mentioned in the way that Transmission

distribution charges is allocated to new customers cutting across. That's an area that will challenge

not only what we're trying to do but will form the plank of what the Government is doing to try to

decarbonise the economy. That’s what will limit opportunity. The economics are lining up probably

better than we expected but that one there is a bit of a challenge.

>> JEREMY KINCAID: Great. Thank you. That's all from me.

>> Thank you, Sir. There are no further questions at this time. I'd like to hand the floor back to the

speakers for any closing. Please go ahead. Thank you.

>> NEAL BARCLAY: OK. Well, there's no further questions so we'll call an end to it there. Thank you,

all for attending. Sorry the call quality was obviously a bit average when we were doing questions

but there'll be plenty of opportunity in the coming days to talk to most of you and field any other

questions you have. Anyway, have a good rest of your lockdown. Enjoy the rest of the day. Thank

you.

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