Meridian Energy Limited 2022 Full Year Financial Results

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
283-2 9 3 D u r h a m S t r e e t N o r t h , C h r i s t c h u r c h 8 0 1 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 and gains momentum to
deliver renewable growth

24 August 2022
Meridian Energy has reported underlying net profit after tax
1
of $233 million, a slight increase on the
prior year figure of $231 million. EBITDAF
2
for the year was $709 million, up $17 million or 2.5% on the
prior year. Including the benefit of a $214 million gain on the sale of its Australian business and $281
million of positive non-cash movements in the value of hedge instruments, Meridian Energy has reported
$664 million of net profit after tax for the year ended 30 June 2022.
Chief Executive Neal Barclay says, “Meridian has had a challenging, but successful year. We’ve navigated
another significant drought, grown our customer base, built out our development pipeline and
maintained momentum on the construction of our Hawke’s Bay wind farm – Harapaki.
“We’ve also progressed a hydrogen option and believe we’re developing a credible opportunity not only
for our business, but for Southland and our national economy,” adds Barclay.
The Board declared a final ordinary dividend of 11.55 cents per share, 3% higher than the previous year.
This brings the total ordinary dividends declared in FY22 to 17.40 cents per share, also 3% higher than the
previous year.
Customers
Meridian has continued to focus on customers first. Mass market and corporate sales volumes continue
to grow. Overall, sales by our Powershop and Meridian brands have grown by more than 50% in the last
three years.

This month, Powershop won Consumer New Zealand’s People’s Choice award and came top in the power
company satisfaction survey. The Meridian brand also polled above industry average and ahead of its
gentailer peers.

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 4.
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

During the year Meridian launched a new Energy Wellbeing programme for vulnerable customers. The
programme looks to reduce the impact of four key drivers of energy hardship - financial, housing quality,
energy supply and energy efficiency through in house specialists and support from partners.
“Through this pilot we have proven retailers can make a difference beyond the boundaries of energy
supply. We’re looking forward to scaling this project in the new financial year,” adds Barclay.
Meridian also established a new Energy Solutions team to advance options for distributed generation and
demand response. This will build on the company’s commitment to build out the delivery of both
commercial-scale solar and our residential EV offers.
Renewable energy growth

Meridian has made progress building out a development pipeline with options secured across wind, solar
and batteries sites. Meridian’s development pipeline sits at 2.4GW, made up of 1.2GW in secured options
and advanced prospecting of 1.2GW.
At the Ruakᾱkᾱ Energy Park in Northland, Meridian is currently tendering for 100/200MWh Battery
Energy Storage System (BESS). Meridian is also planning a 75MW solar farm at this site.
The BESS will increase South-North Island power transfer, support grid stability and supply electricity
regionally and nationally. Both projects will also improve Northland energy security.
“Our development team is working hard to get consents approved for the battery by the end of
September 2022, with construction projected to start in 2023 and completion in late 2024. We aim to
lodge consents for the solar farm by early 2023, with construction anticipated early 2024 and completion
early 2025,” says Barclay.
Meridian’s Hawke’s Bay wind farm Harapaki, currently under construction, has experienced some cost
escalation due to weather and general inflationary pressures. But pleasingly the project remains on track
with first power scheduled for June 2023 and full power in June 2024.
“The team working at Harapaki have navigated a number of challenges successfully. The impact of these
challenges has meant that we’ve had to spend more money on this project than anticipated to maintain
the construction timeline. The Board has approved an increase in capital expenditure to ensure we
deliver this nationally significant project on time,” adds Barclay.
A full disclosure on the project can be seen here.
Process Heat conversion
Meridian’s programme to support large users of process heat to convert to renewable solutions met its
ambitious target of securing over 300GWh of committed load in the financial year.
“Our proposition here is unique and we’re responding to increasing calls to help customers who have
significant process heat requirements to make the changes they need for their business and the climate,”
says Barclay.
Meridian welcomed the acceleration of investment in the Government Investment in Decarbonising
Industry (GIDI) Fund this year, with a further $650 million being prioritised to support the industry reduce
emissions.

m e r i d i a n e n e r g y . c o . n z
PG 3

“The collective actions of businesses will continue to require the support of Government on this journey.
The package of policy measures released from the Climate Emergency Response Fund this year are
essential if Aotearoa is to gain the momentum required to meet our climate action goals,” says Barclay.
Southern Green Hydrogen
The Southern Green Hydrogen project team, a collaboration between Meridian and Contact Energy, is
nearing a decision on who will be selected as the lead development partner. Two partners have been
shortlisted, Woodside Energy and Fortescue Future Industries. Both partners are developing detailed
proposals and we expect to make a final selection later this year.
The aim of this project is to set a pathway that will see a large new player enter the electricity market and
create immediate scale for a new green hydrogen industry in Aotearoa. Ultimately, we see this project as
being foundational for New Zealand becoming energy independent and insulated from highly volatile
international energy markets.
MEA sale
In late January, Meridian completed the sale of its Australian business to the consortium of Shell Energy
Operations Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell and Infrastructure Capital Group (ICG) with a final
sale price of A$740 million, and a NZ$214 million gain on sale.
Those sale proceeds will support us to go after a number of opportunities that support our renewable
growth strategy and help meet the country’s ambition to decarbonise,” says Barclay.
Climate Action
Half by 30 is Meridian’s ambitious commitment to halve our FY21 baseline emissions by
FY30. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has approved Meridian Energy’s near-
term target to reduce absolute scope 1&2 and scope 3 emissions by 50%. The scope 1&2
target has been classified as 1.5°C aligned by the SBTi. Our Climate action plan lays
out our plan for achieving our Half by 30 commitment. Meridian has also committed
to set long-term emissions reduction targets with the SBTi in line with reaching net-zero by 2050.

People
This year the Board and Management recognised the efforts of our staff against the context of economic
strain, challenges, and pressures. In addition to our ongoing development of leaders and culture,
Meridian’s remuneration increases have reflected the cost of living challenges our people are
experiencing. The Board has also approved a one off $1,000 bonus for non-executive staff.

“The talent and commitment of Meridian people are key to the results we deliver. We’re thankful for
their efforts during this challenging year,” says Barclay.

m e r i d i a n e n e r g y . c o . n z
PG 4


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:
Rheilli Uluilelata
External Communications Advisor
022 589 1052

---

Changing Step.
Together.
Meridian Energy Limited. Integrated Report 2022.

We’ve made good progress.
But frankly, the pace must quicken, actions
must intensify and we need to make more
of the partnerships we have in place to
make decarbonisation happen.

Menu
02
Introduction – Changing Step. Together.
10Stepping forward
12Influencing the future
14What drives us
16Key changes this year
18
Chief Executive and Chair report
20There’s a powerful future ahead
28
Our natural impacts
30Changing conditions apply
31A hot, dry Southland summer
31Keeping a close eye on water
33Managing biodiversity
34No compliance breaches
35Energetically pursuing emission reductions
38Planting out a better future
39Disclosing openly
39Supporting kākāpō through sponsorship
40Adding to public policy discussions
44
Our technology impacts
46Enabling a new energy future
47Demand for Flux continues to increase
47All on the same platform (nearly)
48Challenges for our Generation teams
48Transforming our thinking
49Exciting options emerge
51Harapaki wind farm progressing well
51A good year for developments
52Decarbonising Aotearoa
54Upgrading Scada
54Cyber defence in depth
58
Our human impacts
60Doing right by people
61Energised by great people
61The future of work
62Welcoming new perspectives
63Taking care of our people’s safety and wellbeing
67Belonging is crucial
67Taking a position on gender injustice
70Being good humans
72Relationships in the community
73Partnerships can change the world
74Encouraging energy wellbeing
80
Our commercial impacts
82Real momentum for action
83Extremes: from one half to the other
83Wholesale markets reflect long-term concerns
84Exiting Australia
84Dividend for this year
84Retail pricing under pressure
86Our retail brands made substantial gains
87Nature makes her presence felt
87Better futures
92Our remuneration
94Our approach to remunerating our people
102Preparing this report
114Directors’ statement
122Further disclosures
140Our financial performance
142Group financial statements
191Independent auditors report
195Independent accounts assurance report
197GRI standards content index
201Directory
1
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
COVER: Planting the next phase of coastal forest on the Kaitoke Peninsula with Raglan Area School.

CHANGING STEP. TOGETHER.
2
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
This will
change...
Planting of native trees as part of our Forever Forests programme, West Wind farm, Mākara, Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington.

CHANGING STEP. TOGETHER.
3
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
if we
take
the right
steps.
Our commitment to climate change progress
includes what we are doing for ourselves
and what we are doing with others.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
CHANGING STEP. TOGETHER.
4
This won’t
change...
Traffic congestion in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
CHANGING STEP. TOGETHER.
5
if we
don’t
move fast
enough.
A key barrier to real progress has been a lack of
urgency. Through initiatives like Zero, we’re making
it possible for people to make real changes.

Powerful
collaborations...
CHANGING STEP. TOGETHER.
6
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
Meadow Mushrooms, Ōtautahi Christchurch.

CHANGING STEP. TOGETHER.
7
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
will unlock
a clean
energy
future.
We’re working with our commercial and
industrial customers to electrify their heating
systems, decarbonising industrial processes.

Working
together...
8
CHANGING STEP. TOGETHER.
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
8
Collecting tūna (native eels) in the Ahuriri Valley for our Trap and Transfer programme.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
CHANGING STEP. TOGETHER.
9
will drive
actions
that
matter.
We’re focused on outcomes rather than rhetoric.
Partnerships and coordination will transform
intentions into meaningful actions.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
CHANGING STEP. TOGETHER.
10
The time for talk is over. The world
doesn’t need more plans and intentions.
We need consents, agreed goals and
work plans. We need an electrifying
industrial sector based on a visible
decline in the use of fossil fuels.
We need zero-emission vehicle fleets.
We need a renewable generation
network that continues to expand
as we clean up our legacy.
As Aotearoa’s largest renewable electricity generator,
our goal is to help New Zealand become a vibrant
contributor to a net-zero world. Our contribution will
be our scale and the resources to deliver affordable,
clean, renewable power to households, businesses
and industries. But we won’t get there alone. We
need the energy, experience and influence of
others for transformative things to happen.
A dry period in our Waiau catchment reinforced the
importance of robust risk management. Selling our
presence in Australia has shown us – in more ways than
one – that our efforts to fix what’s going wrong with
the world must focus on where we can have an impact.
Renewable development, industrial and transport
electrification, and diversification into emerging
industries are the keys for us: here in New Zealand with
projects like Harapaki wind farm and Ruakākā Energy
Park; through our Process Heat Electrification Programme
and initiatives like our Zero EV charging network; and
potentially with prospects for green hydrogen.
Meaningful and effective partnerships are the
bridge to step changes.
Stepping forward
West Wind farm, Mākara, Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington.

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
CHANGING STEP. TOGETHER.
11
Clean energy for a fairer and healthier world.
Only by working together will we make the strides needed to deliver what we all want:

We are one of
Aotearoa New Zealand’s
largest organisations.
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
CHANGING STEP. TOGETHER.
12
Influencing
the future
Our Ōtautahi Christchurch office

KIWI
MAJORITY OWNED BY
THE NZ GOVERNMENT
10%
LEGISLATED MAXIMUM
NON-CROWN OWNERSHIP
LISTED ON BOTH THE
NZX + 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.
100%
RENEWABLE ENERGY GENERATOR – FROM WIND, WATER AND SUN
NET
ASSETS
$5.5b
Up
$4b
Down
FY22
REVENUE
FY22
EBITDAF*
$709m
Up
$13b
TOTAL MARKET
CAPITALISATION
Down
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
CHANGING STEP. TOGETHER.
13

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* See page 110 for detail on SDGs.
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
CHANGING STEP. TOGETHER.
14
What drives us
To deliver on our purpose of clean
energy for a fairer and healthier world,
we’ve focused on areas where we can
make a meaningful difference, and
that align with our values and goals
of climate action.
We do this by putting our customers
first, and being a great place to work
and through our role as a responsible
generator. We value ‘being gutsy’,
working together by ‘being in the
waka’ and doing the right thing by
‘being a good human’ to deliver
positive outcomes for New Zealand
and our shareholders.

FLUXRemote-first workforce
Meridian Aotearoa
Licensing the Flux platform 3Countries125Employees
OPERATIONSGENERATIONCUSTOMERS
Customer connections
Retailing as Meridian Energy & Powershop365K
5
Wind farms
7
Hydro stations
5
Offices
1,007
Employees
(92 at our power stations)
~30% national electricity generation
~15% national retail volume
*
* Excludes Tīwai Point aluminium smelter
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
CHANGING STEP. TOGETHER.
15

Key changes
this year
Nature
• We’re carbon neutral across our
operational emissions
• Refreshed our Climate Action Plan
which includes our roadmap to halve
our operational emissions by 2030
• 85,000 stems planted to date under
our Forever Forests Programme
• Meridian’s 61 EV chargers installed
through Zero programme
• Released our commitment to
biodiversity and deforestation
• Over 80 customers have purchased 660GWh
of our Renewable Energy Certificates
Commercial
• 2.5% increase in EBITDAF
• 6% customer sales volume growth
• $214M gain on sale of Australian business
• 3% increase in ordinary dividend
• 7% increase in operating cash flows
• BBB+/Stable credit rating maintained
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
CHANGING STEP. TOGETHER.
16

Looking ahead
• 1.1 GW of secured development options
• A further 1.2 GW of advanced
development prospects
• Advancing our green hydrogen project
• Doubling the size of our Process Heat
Electrification Programme
• Harapaki wind farm on schedule
for first power in 2023
• A new Energy Solutions team will build
options for distributed generation (solar
and batteries) and demand response
into commercial and residential
customer offerings
People
• Energy wellbeing pilot programme launched
• New Zealand top 25% staff engagement
• New learning management system
launched (People Manager)
• Healthy Minds programme wins
Best Wellbeing initiative
CHANGING STEP. TOGETHER.
17
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022

Chief
Executive
& Chair
report
CHIEF EXECUTIVE & CHAIR REPORT
18
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022

Re-orienting our
strategy has brought
to light opportunities
we literally hadn’t
thought possible.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE & CHAIR REPORT
19
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022

20
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
CHIEF EXECUTIVE & CHAIR REPORT
There’s a powerful
future ahead
The 2021/2022 financial year was challenging, but one that
proved successful in positioning us for growth. We continued
to make good progress in supporting decarbonisation
and doing all we can to bring new reliability and capacity
to the electricity sector as a whole. A prolonged drought,
particularly around Lakes Te Anau and Manapōuri, was a
clear reminder that the ongoing vagaries of the weather
will only become more volatile – and that our response
must blend significant climate action with active and
agile risk management and mitigation.
Tūī Corridor native planting at Christchurch Adventure Park, Ōtautahi.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE & CHAIR REPORT
21
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
We have pushed ahead with our transition to a
more sustainable energy sector, deepening our
partnerships, building our development pipeline,
supporting our commercial and industrial customers
to electrify and making good progress with alternative
use of our Southland resources, particularly in the
area of hydrogen where interest has really gathered
pace in the past year.
A generational opportunity
We continue to plan for an exit of New Zealand’s
Aluminium Smelter (NZAS) from Southland in 2024.
While we note that NZAS has said publicly that it is
reassessing its position in light of stronger aluminium
prices globally, the eventual outcome remains
uncertain. Importantly, the proposed closure of the
smelter created a generational opportunity, in both
senses of the term, to re-energise Aotearoa/New
Zealand and decarbonise our economy. We’ve done
what we can to minimise the disruption to the local
economy, negotiating an ‘extended exit’ deal that
encouraged this large regional employer to stay on
for three years longer than it had proposed. That deal
bought the electricity sector time to enhance the
transmission network in the lower South Island and
enabled us to explore innovative arrangements with
emerging industries that will change where and how
our generation capacity is utilised. It also bought time
for NZAS to work on an environmental mitigation plan
and business model that may see it continue to operate
in New Zealand beyond 2024.
Irrespective of whether a new contract is entered
into with NZAS, re-orienting our strategy in response
to its original exit decision has brought to light
opportunities we literally hadn’t thought possible
just a short time earlier. The feasibility of a large-
scale green hydrogen plant in Southland has
evolved into an opportunity that could well redefine
New Zealand’s energy independence and position
New Zealand as a leader at the heart of an exciting
new global industry. Our goal for FY23 is to choose
the right partner for this hydrogen opportunity and
advance the project to the development stage.
At the same time, we’ve progressed our Process
Heat Electrification Programme and we’re making
a real difference supporting industrial customers
to convert their fossil-fuel-based processes to
electricity. Again, this is an opportunity that was
not even on our radar 18 months ago, and one that
we believe will only gain greater traction given
the recent increase in Government Investment in
Decarbonising Industry (GIDI) Fund support.
Strong customer gains
We continued to make excellent progress in growing
our customer base this year, with both Powershop and
Meridian adding strong sales volumes and, in the case
of Meridian, maintaining the best customer retention
rate of all electricity retailers in New Zealand. The
distinctive nature of our dual-brand strategy enables
us to meet our customers’ quite different needs by
offering them tailored products and services that
resonate and that represent attractive value to them.
Powershop once again proved to be a real winner
with consumers who enjoy the ability to buy their
power, their way, from a retailer with an attractive
personality. At the same time, Meridian’s appeal to
environmentally conscious customers saw another
uplift in customer numbers this year.
We’re well advanced in the digitalisation journey
for most of our customers, which means that all our
household and small business customers are being
served from our Flux customer care and billing
platform. This world-class, integrated platform has
lifted the experiences we can offer New Zealanders
and made it simpler than ever before for us to be
responsive in market. The migration of our more
complex commercial and industrial customers is

CHIEF EXECUTIVE & CHAIR REPORT
22
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
taking a bit longer, but we’re confident
that we’ll have all customers on
the Flux platform by the end of the
calendar year.
Some larger organisations and those
that have exposure to spot market
prices are being affected by continued,
historically high, wholesale electricity
prices. The increased cost of thermal,
including carbon, and some gas
deliverability issues, have been the key
factors driving prices in recent years.
While international energy markets
are experiencing high levels of
volatility, investment in the domestic
upstream gas capacity and the planning
and delivery of further renewable
generation projects will ensure
greater supply is made available.
On that basis, we expect wholesale
prices to trend down over the long
term and we’re doing what we can
to mitigate the near-term effects,
particularly for our commercial and
industrial customers, by encouraging
them to take longer-term contracts.
We remain conscious too that many
customers are facing significant cost-
of-living increases, making it even
harder to make ends meet. While
cost pressures meant we had to raise
residential prices this year, we managed
to keep the average price increase
to around half that of the consumers
price index increase across the whole
economy. And we continue to offer
energy wellbeing support for our most
vulnerable customers and Level Pay for
those wishing to manage their energy
bills evenly throughout the year. This
year we also commenced an Energy
Wellbeing pilot. More details are on
page 74.
Our sponsorship of the amazing work
done by KidsCan now includes both
a cash contribution to its running
costs and direct assistance with its
fundraising activities. Two years ago
we increased the contribution we
make to KidsCan to $1 million per year.
We’re proud of the difference that
this funding support makes to under-
privileged children in Aotearoa.
Tamariki wearing jackets and shoes provided through KidsCan.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE & CHAIR REPORT
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MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
Successful sale in Australia
We successfully completed the sale
of our business in Australia this year
after 10 years building that business.
The original intention was to continue
investing there until at least FY25, but
the market itself has become a lot more
volatile in recent years and our sense
was that our risks there were increasing.
With that in mind, we began looking at
our options mid-2021.
The sale of Meridian Energy Australia
to a consortium of Shell Energy
Operations Pty Ltd and Infrastructure
Capital Group delivered a healthy gain
on sale as well as a sizeable amount of
cash to reinvest in renewable energy
and, potentially, technologies like
hydrogen in New Zealand. Our balance
sheet is healthy and will ensure our
ongoing participation in New Zealand’s
decarbonisation efforts.
Advancing decarbonisation
We were pleased to see the
Government largely adopting the
Climate Change Commission’s
recommendations and setting in
place the country’s first Emissions
Reduction Plan with the first three
carbon budgets. This plan clarifies
the extent of the challenge. Now the
real work must be done. Globally
we see carbon prices lifting and the
expectations of fund managers and
investors changing the business case
for proactive change. We continue
to advocate for an effective and
all-encompassing emissions trading
scheme to support New Zealand’s
decarbonisation journey, but we
also recognise well targeted policy
support will help build momentum.
The 10-fold lift in the GIDI Fund to
$650 million is a powerful catalyst
and a clear signal to the market of
Government endorsement for
industrial decarbonisation. The Clean
Car Discount also seems an effective
policy lever. Early signs are it is driving
consumer behaviour to go electric far
more rapidly than expected.
Clearly, electrification is the key
enabler of a net-zero-carbon economy
in New Zealand. A massive amount of
investment in electricity infrastructure
will need to take place in the next
30 years to support the country
in meeting its climate goals. In that
context, it’s critical that the resource
management framework in Aotearoa
appropriately allows consenting
authorities to balance localised
environmental impacts and mitigations
associated with renewable electricity
projects with the positive climate
benefits those projects bring. We’re not
looking for a free ride for renewable
projects. Responsible developers
must take account of the views of
the communities they affect and also
appropriately mitigate the environmental
impacts they may cause. But balance
is key, and we believe the current
direction of travel for the resource
management reform process may cause
many renewable projects to run into
environmental ‘bottom lines’ that will
materially slow or halt developments.
Renewable developers are presenting
a united view of the issues we see
emerging through that process to
Ministers and Government officials.
We have identified and put forward
pragmatic suggestions that will provide
balance and allow for appropriate trade-
off discussions to occur.
All that said, we’re getting on with it.
Progress in building the Harapaki wind
farm has been very challenging given
the record-setting wet weather the
project team has encountered during
the first year of construction, but overall
the project remains on schedule. We
have experienced some inflationary
cost pressures and have had to make
some changes to the roading design
due to sodden ground conditions,
so the forecast cost to complete has
escalated by $53 million (13%). We still
believe the project represents a sound
investment for Meridian and much-
needed renewable generation for New
Zealand as it will power the equivalent
of 70,000 Kiwi homes when complete.
We’ll start producing that power from
as soon as 2023.
Harapaki is one of a number of
renewables projects started by major
energy companies in the past two
years, as the New Zealand electricity
sector continues to phase out existing
fossil-fuel-based power stations. Again,
we welcome this. We are adamant that
the step changes needed will only be
achieved through engaged parties
acting creatively and together.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE & CHAIR REPORT
24
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
Alongside these new developments,
we’ve been rethinking how we use our
renewable generation assets to best
effect. Aotearoa currently generates
around 80–85% of its electricity from
renewable sources (mostly hydro),
supported by coal- and gas-fired
generation as needed. But as those
fossil-fuel generators are phased
out and replaced by wind, solar and
geothermal we’ll need to flex our
hydro generation capability and
storage differently from how we have
in the past to offset the intermittency
inherent in wind and solar generation.
It’s a new way of using our resources
that requires us to think long and hard
about the way we manage the existing
hydro lakes and the timing of our
maintenance schedules.
Flexible demand will also become
more valuable as a means of managing
renewable intermittency. That’s a key
part of the value proposition of a large-
scale hydrogen production facility in
Southland. Producing hydrogen from
electrolysis is inherently flexible,
1 The SBTi has approved that Meridian’s underlying target to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 50% by FY30 from a FY21 base year is in line with a 1.5°C trajectory, with our further commitment noted to also
reduce absolute scope 3 GHG emissions by 50% within the same timeframe (excluding all one-time construction emissions from major projects and all activities that are capitalised as part of renewable energy projects).
and if the hydrogen producer can
reduce production at times when the
electricity system is stressed, ie during
a calm winter evening when demand
peaks or a seasonal drought, when
hydro fuel availability is limited – the
electricity it would have consumed
can effectively be reallocated to other
energy consumers. We believe this
creates a win-win scenario. The
hydrogen producer benefits by being
recompensed for forgone production,
other electricity consumers benefit
from more reliable, cost-effective
supply, and the environment benefits
as there is less need to produce
carbon emissions from coal or gas.
This type of demand response is part
of wider discussions on how new, and
potentially existing, industry can align
their energy requirements with the
nation’s needs. If we can make such
flexibility commercially viable, that will
deliver a very cost-efficient solution
to renewable intermittency in the
electricity system.
During FY22 we developed a refreshed
Climate Action Plan. The Plan sets out
a roadmap for delivering our Half by 30
and Forever Forests programmes. It
also accounts for the work we’re doing
to support our customers in their
decarbonisation efforts.
Our Half by 30 target means we plan to
halve gross scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions
by FY30 on an FY21 baseline. We were
pleased to recently get approval from
the Science Based Targets initiative
(SBTi) that our near-term emission-
reduction targets are science-aligned
1
.
So far we’ve electrified all our light
passenger vehicles and made good
progress with the rest of our fleet.
There’s still a lot of work to do given
that the majority of the emissions
happen in our supply chain.
We also continue to make good
progress with our Forever Forests
initiative, and are on track to sequester
enough carbon to cover our remaining
gross operational emissions by 2030.
Between our Half by 2030 and Forever
Forests initiatives our overall aim is
to manage the relationship between
Meridian’s operations and climate
change directly and ensure that
Meridian is net zero by 2030.
From a customer perspective, our
Process Heat Electrification Programme
is targeting 600 gigawatt hours (GWh)
of industrial heat. We’re building
our own public electric vehicle (EV)
charging network, with 61 chargers
now installed, as well as establishing
EV charging products for business
and residential customers to make
it as simple as possible for New
Zealanders to drive away from fossil
fuels. Our Certified Renewable Energy
product has also enabled more than
80 customers to purchase more
than 660GWh of Renewable Energy
Certificates this year. Further, we have
made a commitment to reinvest all
the Renewable Energy Certificates
into decarbonisation projects.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE & CHAIR REPORT
25
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
Partnerships are vital
The many changes ahead of us can
seem daunting. New Zealand’s response
to decarbonisation must be nuanced,
sensitive, intelligent and bold. The
needs and priorities of many different
stakeholders must be assessed wisely,
and decisions made that work in the
best interests of the country and the
world collectively. We don’t presume
to tackle such challenges alone.
And we’re determined that our
partnership and stakeholder
relationships will be robust and as
effective as possible. Our approach
stems from a key word in our purpose
– fair. As we work with all stakeholders
around consents for natural resources,
and in particular iwi, we aim to improve
the economic, cultural and biodiversity
impacts of our business. Our overriding
goal is to create fair outcomes for
all. That’s an expectation we have of
ourselves, and that our shareholders
are now demanding of companies
generally.
Our working style
continues to evolve
Our people have continued to
deliver great work. Their responses
to COVID-19 restrictions have helped
reshape how we think about our
working styles, and as a result we’ve
developed a framework for flexible
working that we believe works for
individuals and the company.
We’ve all found that some tasks can
best be done away from the office,
but also teams feel the power of
being in the same space and working
collaboratively to solve issues.
Accordingly we are investing in our
work environments to ensure that
they facilitate the types of work we
do there and we make the most of
the spontaneity and energy that
comes when people gather together.
Flexible working arrangements are a
core part of our strategy to support
diversity and inclusion in our teams,
but it is clear that the stresses and
strains on many of our people living
in this changing world are becoming
more significant, not less. That’s why
we’ve put considerable effort into
supporting our people’s general
wellness and, in particular, their mental
wellbeing. It was pleasing to see our
efforts recognised at the Safeguard
Awards (New Zealand Workplace
Health and Safety Awards), where
Meridian won the Wellbeing award
for our ‘Care Team’ process. Our Care
Teams take a structured approach to
wrapping support around people
who need time to heal and help to
return to work.
We have a comprehensive safety-
improvement plan in play across the
business, and our key lagging safety
measure of total recordable injury
frequency improved this year. More
importantly, we’re confident that our
staff and contractors are as actively
engaged in safety as ever, evidenced
by a noticeable lift in positive safety
observation and incident reporting
in the past year. The Board and
Management recognise that building
a strong and positive safety culture
must continue to be our number one
priority, and we intend to intensify our
focus on keeping our people safe from
harm, particularly as we embark on
more construction projects as part of
our development programme.
We’re emerging from a unique period
in time, and with borders opening
up and the costs of living climbing,
competition to retain and attract
talent is only likely to increase. We
have noted an overall dip in our staff
engagement scores this year, so we
have more work to do. The Board
and Management are committed to
supporting our people and ensuring
our overall employee proposition
remains strong and keeps pace with
market developments. As such our
remuneration-review process this
year was costed to keep pace with
the cost of living. We were pleased
to award to staff an across the board,
special bonus of $1,000 after tax.

Changes at Executive
Team and Board level
Our Board is now more diverse than
it has ever been and has the relevant
capabilities to oversee Meridian’s
strategy and guide the business
through the decisions that lie ahead.
The appointment of Tania Simpson
in particular will help us grow our iwi
relationships.
Graham Cockroft was appointed as
Non-Executive Director on 26 July
2022. Graham brings a strong finance
and energy industry background to the
Board and will add to the Board’s skills
and expertise following the retirement
of longstanding Director Jan Dawson,
whose term will conclude at our next
Annual Shareholders’ Meeting.
This year has also seen important
changes in our Executive Team. Tania
Palmer shifted from Chief People
Officer to head up our Generation
team. Her proven sector experience and
people-leadership skills are well suited
to leading that part of the business and
making strong changes that will future-
proof the business. Meanwhile Jason
Stein, who had been Chief Executive
of our Australian operations, took over
the Chief People Officer role, in which
he will continue to focus on enhancing
our safe and inclusive culture. Finally,
our long-time Chief Information Officer
(CIO) Bharat Ratanpal has joined the
Executive Team, adding his invaluable
technical skills to how we think about
deploying technology to improve our
customer propositions and our business
performance as well as protecting our
technology systems. It’s a sign of the
diversity and breadth of skills in our
leadership ranks that we have been
able to make all these key appointments
from within our existing talent pool.
A strong financial result
Despite challenging hydro conditions in
the Waiau catchment, this year’s financial
result was still strong and exceeded our
expectations. The result was once again
powered by good generation numbers
and a surge in retail sales volumes, with
our customer base up by more than
18,000 on the prior year.
The sale of our Australian operations
bolstered our balance sheet and gave
us the cash to push forward confidently
with our development options. With
Harapaki due to be completed in the
next year, developments like the Ruakākā
Energy Park and Mt Munro wind farm
are well advanced and the prospects
for hydrogen are looking encouraging.
The Board and Management believe
that Meridian is well placed to
make a sizeable contribution to the
decarbonisation of New Zealand.
Meridian has reported $664 million of
net profit after tax for the year ended
30 June 2022, including the benefit
of $214 million gain on the sale of its
Australian business and $281 million
of positive non-cash movements in
the value of hedge instruments.
Meridian has EBITDAF of $709 million,
up $17 million or 2.5% on the prior year
and a reported underlying net profit
after tax for the Group of $233 million,
a slight increase on the prior year.
The Board has declared a final ordinary
dividend of 11.55 cents per share, up 3%
from the previous year. This brings the
total ordinary dividends declared in FY22
to 17.40 cents per share, up 3% from the
previous year. The Dividend Reinvestment
Plan remains available for those investors
wishing to take advantage of it.
S&P Global Ratings has recently
reaffirmed Meridian Energy’s corporate
credit rating as ‘BBB+’/Stable/A-2.
0
$M
200
100
300
400
500
700
600
461
2022
427
2018
635
2019
604
2020
431
2021
Operating cash flow
CHIEF EXECUTIVE & CHAIR REPORT
26
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
CHIEF EXECUTIVE & CHAIR REPORT
27
Developing a better
future, together
Our momentum to contribute to
decarbonising the economy continued
to grow this year as we looked forward
to an exciting future. Building our
partnerships is part of forging a
strong, shared pathway for the future
along with an active development
programme. We’re working with our
customers to make it possible for them
to evolve to a renewable future as well.
The strength of our brands and the
resilience of our people remain key
advantages in our bid to do right by
New Zealand and continue to
deliver value for all our stakeholders.
On behalf of the Board and the
Executive Team, we would like to
thank our customers, our partners,
our investors and everyone in our
teams for your commitment to cleaner
energy for a fairer and healthier world.
Solar installation at Lincoln University, Ōtautahi, Christchurch.
Underlying net profit after tax reconciliation ($M)
Financial year ended 30 June
FY22FY21
Net profit after tax664428
Underlying adjustments
Discontinued operations(213)(13)
Hedging instruments
Net change in fair value of electricity and other hedges(145)(157)
Net change in fair value of treasury instruments(136)(79)
Premiums paid on electricity options net of interest(20)(20)
Assets
(Gain)/loss on sale of assets––
Impairment of assets2–
Total adjustments before tax(512)(269)
Taxation
Tax effect of above adjustments8172
Underlying net profit after tax233231

OUR NATURAL IMPACTS
28
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
Our
natural
impacts
Mill Creek wind farm, Ohariu Valley, Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington.

Our goal is to help
meet Aotearoa’s
decarbonisation
and Net Zero by
2050 targets.
OUR NATURAL IMPACTS
29
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022

OUR NATURAL IMPACTS
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
30
Changing
conditions apply
A changing world demands responses on a range of fronts.
Through our business and with our partners we’re looking
to influence positive change, to protect environments, to
influence industry thinking and to find new uses for valuable
but discarded materials.
In this section:
• Drought conditions
• Water
• Biodiversity
• Breaches
• Half by 2030
• Forever Forests
• Climate-related disclosures
• Our kākāpō sponsorship
• Submissions this year
• Recycling hydraulic hoses
Benmore Hydro Power Station, Otematata.

OUR NATURAL IMPACTS
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
31
A hot, dry Southland summer
Relentlessly dry conditions in our Waiau catchment
from December 2021 through to the end of April 2022
produced the longest sequence of dry months on
record. While we expect volatility around water
levels, and we are well prepared operationally for
significant droughts, this was the second year in a
row with higher temperatures, drier conditions and
significantly reduced inflows in Southland.
Despite the frequency of dry events recently, our
climate data shows that we’ll experience wetter
seasons overall in the longer term.
Such volatility is a reminder both of the urgency to
think through and respond to the immediate and
upcoming challenges of climate change, and also
that risk containment and the ongoing development
of a diversified energy portfolio are key realities.
The completion of the Clutha Upper Waitaki Lines
Project will give us more flexibility in how and
where the energy we generate is used, and our
development programme bodes well for increasing
and diversifying our capacity in the years ahead.
Keeping a close eye on water
Water use in New Zealand continues to be a highly
emotive issue for government, iwi, communities,
businesses and individuals, particularly around
quality and access matters. Water and waterways
are fundamental to what we do, which is why we
continue to work with as many parties as we can
to collaborate on and reach agreements around
water access and purity and water rights.
Hydro generation itself does not change the
chemical composition of water – certainly not
to the extent that land use can. However, we’re
committed to maintaining existing water quality
and to ensuring that standards in our catchments
are defined and adhered to.
Algal growth and weeds in particular can affect
water quality on the Waiau and Waitaki river systems.
We would prefer the waterways to be as clean as
possible, so we regularly release water into these
systems to dilute the potential effects of contaminants
if weed growth becomes problematic. We’ve had
these arrangements for a number of years, but they
are dependent on water availability, and the very
weeds and pests we are looking to minimise are
often associated with drought. This creates tensions.
That said, we’re looking for ways to increase these
flushing flows. Consenting discussions with
stakeholders are currently being planned.
Water use and impacts are managed in accordance
with our existing resource consent conditions, which
outline our ongoing monitoring and reporting
requirements. The overall framework is reviewed in
public resource management planning processes
run by regional councils. Any potential impacts on
freshwater quality that our activities could have are
managed through our resource consent conditions
and stakeholder agreements. We do discharge
fresh water from our Manapōuri Power Station
into Deep Cove, but we do so in accordance with
resource consent conditions and with annual marine
environment monitoring and reporting. We also
manage and report on the quality of the water
entering the lake, including the potential risk of
sediment-laden and turbid water, and report
annually on this to Environment Southland.

on
OUR NATURAL IMPACTS
32
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
528
113
1,465
12,758
525
203
1,244
12,326
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
16,000
FY19*FY20*FY21*FY22**
502
236
1,395
11,297
1,285
12,271
FY19*FY20*FY21*FY22**
201
92.4
416
2,353
416
201
99.2
2,353
201
92.4
416
2,353
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
416
2,353


FY19*FY20*FY21*FY22**
Generation (GWh)Capacity (MW)
Hydro NZ
Wind NZ
Wind AU
Hydro AU
Hydro NZ
Wind NZ
Wind AU
Hydro AU
* Waitaki Power Station total generation capacity updated following restoration.
** Excludes Meridian Energy Australia, sold on 31 January 2022.
* Waitaki Power Station total generation capacity updated following restoration.
** Excludes Meridian Energy Australia, sold on 31 January 2022.

on
OUR NATURAL IMPACTS
33
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
Water consumption*
Mm
3
FY18FY19FY20FY21*** FY22
New Zealand
Fresh surface water (lakes, rivers)65,56274,18385,33966,65976,523
Water returned to the source of
extraction at similar quality53,82361,83272,99454,99465,535
Total net freshwater consumption**11,73912,35112,34511,66510,98 8
Australia
Fresh surface water (lakes, rivers)3,6962,5743,832
Water returned to the source of
extraction at similar quality3,6962,5743,832
* 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 that 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, a marine environment, and is
not altered in terms of water quality.
*** Restated to include Lower Waiau flow data for Q4 in FY21, omitted in error. Additional 225 to both Fresh
surface water and Water returned to the source of extraction. Total net freshwater consumption not affected.
All the fiords in Fiordland have a
low salinity 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.
We also work closely with regional
government to monitor the potential
for erosion in the Lower Waiau and
Lower Waitaki Rivers, to review our
operations in the event of unexpected
impacts and to minimise the risks of any
contaminants from our stations entering
waterways. While there are no defined
water-quality standards for Manapōuri,
and the setting of standards and water-
quality impacts for Waiau hasn’t been
resolved, this is a developing issue for
local government, with changes to the
Resource Management Act 1991 and the
development of new water quality plans
that need to be lodged with the Chief
Freshwater Commissioner by 2024.
Maintaining biodiversity
Aotearoa New Zealand’s unique
biodiversity is nationally and globally
significant. Our goal to increase
renewable energy generation capacity
to meet Aotearoa’s decarbonisation and
Net Zero by 2050 targets means that
we operate and develop renewable
generation in natural environments that
contain or are in ‘close proximity’ to
‘critical biodiversity’ or ‘critical habitats’.
In order to minimise any negative
impacts that our operations have
on biodiversity, we comply with all
environmental legislation, including
resource consent conditions across
our assets. Recognising that potential
impacts extend beyond Meridian’s
own operations, our Supplier Code
of Conduct sets out our expectation
that our suppliers will also comply
with national and international
environmental policy and legislation.
This year we released our commitment
to biodiversity and deforestation,
which outlines our wider biodiversity
commitments and initiatives.
Our co-funding of Project River
Recovery is Aotearoa’s longest-running
conservation/business partnership
and a key part of our long-term goal
of minimising our impacts on water
and biodiversity in our catchments.
Plant availability
%FY18FY19FY20FY21FY22
Hydro New Zealand90.491.688.991.188.9
Wind New Zealand83.983.389.889.086.3
Wind Australia*93.488.689.092.2–
Hydro Australia*85.880.168.070.9–
* Australia was divested in January 2022.
Outages for FY22 – Hydro: planned 9,217 hours, maintenance 15,128 hours, forced 15,404 hours;
Wind: planned (including maintenance)19,565 hours, forced 2,020 hours.

OUR NATURAL IMPACTS
34
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
For more than 30 years, Project River
Recovery, a partnership with the
Department of Conservation, has
been preserving and restoring braided
river habitats in the upper Waitaki
catchment through predator and weed
eradication. This work has helped to
protect the endangered black-fronted
tern/tarapirohe and black stilt/kakī
colonies and increase their populations,
as well as increase wetland areas.
In our Waiau catchment we continue to
work closely with the Waiau Fisheries
and Wildlife Habitat Enhancement Trust
(the Waiau Trust) to enhance stream
and wetland habitats for fisheries and
wildlife. For example, the Trust has
restored and enhanced wetlands at
Rakatu and wetlands on land owned
by Meridian adjacent to the lagoon
at Te Waewae Bay. The Waiau Trust also
funds landowners in the area to fence
and protect waterways and riparian
margins on their land.
Ongoing ‘trap and transfer’ programmes
in both our hydro catchments minimise
our impacts on native fish such as
tuna (eels). We support and fund the
transportation of as many elvers and
migrant eels as possible across the
dam structures every year. Te Waiau
Mahika Kai Trust owns a property
at Te Kōawa Tūroa o Takitimu that is
being restored to provide mahika kai
resources. The Trust also owns a lodge
and accommodation on the site that is
leased and managed by local rūnanga
Oraka Aparima. The Trust has recently
developed a new restoration plan for
the property, working with all four
rūnanga in the area.
Part of the new multi-decadal vision
for Te Kōawa Tūroa o Takitimu involves
developing a carbon forest, and
Meridian is partnering with the Trust to
deliver carbon sequestration. Together,
we made our first application for carbon
credits from existing native regeneration
this year, with new planting planned to
start next year.
A small area of wetlands at our Harapaki
wind farm site was affected due to
the road construction required. We
have offset these impacts by enlarging
and enhancing other wetlands on site
through resource consents obtained
under the new National Policy
Statement for Freshwater Management.
No compliance breaches
There were no significant instances
of non-compliance with laws and
regulations and no fines were paid
during the reporting period. We
determined no significant instances
of non-compliance with reference
to the severity of impact and from
sectoral benchmarks.
Releasing tūna (native eels) as part of our Trap and Transfer programme.

OUR NATURAL IMPACTS
35
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
Energetically pursuing
emission reductions
2 The SBTi has approved that Meridian’s underlying target to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 50% by FY30 from a FY21 base year is in line with a 1.5°C trajectory, with our
further commitment noted to also reduce absolute scope 3 GHG emissions by 50% within the same timeframe (excluding all one-time construction emissions from major projects and all
activities that are capitalised as part of renewable energy projects). A methodology to classify scope 3 targets is under development by the SBTi.
The significant take-out from the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change’s latest report is the need for
action and tangible deliverables. Our
biggest challenges are embedding
climate-action thinking into our
business-as-usual activities, and
increasing accountability, resourcing
and education. We employ or contract
more than 1,000 people.
In FY22 our operational emissions
were 32,708 tCO2eq (including
7 months of Meridian Energy
Australia emissions). Our direct
scope 1 emissions are primarily
driven by combustion emissions
from our Manapōuri ferry and barge
(transporting staff and equipment
to the power station) and vehicle
travel from our own fleet and rented
vehicles. Adopting the market-based
approach for electricity consumption
and scope 2 emissions, our reported
emissions are zero as we have matched
our consumption to renewable energy
production attributes from Meridian’s
assets using Renewable Energy
Certificates issued by the New Zealand
Energy Certificate System (NZ ECS).
Over 95% of our emissions are scope 3
emissions that occur in our supply chain,
predominantly from goods and services
we purchase and emissions associated
with sub-leased farms on our assets.
Local and global suppliers provide our
generation business with the parts and
components to build and maintain our
generation assets. We also work with
general engineering consumable and
specialist parts’ suppliers, and service
providers including ICT and facilities’
management providers. In our retail
business we have a very short supply
chain 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 and corporate
requirements include physical facilities
and ICT, sales and marketing, billing
and governance functions.
Half by 30 is our target to halve gross
scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by FY30 on
an FY21 baseline. We were pleased to
recently receive vapproval from the
Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)
that our near-term emission-reduction
targets are science-aligned
2
. In support
of our SBTi application, we restated
our baseline year from FY19 to FY21
(Meridian Energy Australia emissions
excluded), to ensure a most recent
GHG inventory was used – this has not
decreased the emissions abatement
effort required from here. We look
forward to submitting our net-zero long-
term target to the SBTi for approval soon.
Historically, we’ve focused our
emissions-reduction efforts on
reducing our light vehicle fleet and
electrifying the balance. We now have
a 100% light vehicle fleet and are
making good progress towards our
2025 goal of completely replacing the
internal-combustion-engine utility
vehicles used by our hydro and wind
asset maintenance teams. That in
itself won’t be enough. Achieving Half
by 30 will require a deliberate and
significant effort across the Group,
and in particular through our supply
chain, where more than 95% of our
operational emissions lie.
Two years ago, we started engaging
with our suppliers through a plan
that built on our Supplier Code of
Conduct. The goal was to examine
how our suppliers could undertake
climate actions that would work for their
businesses and enable us to achieve a
net-zero-carbon Aotearoa in 2050. As
a result, specific contracts now include
clear and agreed key performance
indicators (KPIs) for reporting emissions.

OUR NATURAL IMPACTS
36
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
This year we developed a Group Half by
30 roadmap that is now embedded in
our Climate Action Plan. The roadmap
includes six areas of focus, all three
scopes of activity and three horizons,
with targets that together form our
plan to deliver on our Half by 30
commitment. Furthermore, we have
committed to the establishment of an
internal decarbonisation fund, funded
by a voluntary annual contribution
linked to our scope 2 electricity
consumption. In essence, we have
committed to ‘charge ourselves’ the
equivalent net revenue received per
Renewable Energy Certificate that
our customers purchase, for the total
number of Certificates we utilise
annually. This aligns with the intent of
our Certified Renewable Energy offer
to customers
3
, where we reinvest net
proceeds into decarbonisation projects.
To kick-start our efforts, we have
backdated this funding allocation to
when we first used Renewable Energy
Certificates for our scope 2 consumption
in FY20. The purpose of this fund will be
3 meridianenergy.co.nz/business/sustainable-options/certified-renewable-energy
4 meridianenergy.co.nz/about-us/investors/sustainability/greenhouse-gas-emissions
to advance decarbonisation and energy
efficiency projects in our business that
might not have occurred yet. We look
forward to sharing more on our funding
deliverables and, importantly, wider
emission reduction initiatives in FY23.
Further to the emissions within our
operational emissions boundary, we
also account for emissions associated
with the major maintenance and
one-time construction of renewable
generation assets. During FY22 these
emissions were 8,243 tCO2eq and were
largely driven by the construction of
the Harapaki wind farm. We exclude
these one-time emissions from our
Half by 30 boundary because our
emission reduction and minimisation
efforts are different and targeted to
each project’s unique challenges.
These emissions are managed and
minimised through project-specific
focus areas and metrics, as we believe
this enables us to focus our efforts
on the most material sources of
emissions that will be unique to a
large development project. For
example, the Harapaki wind farm
includes a Sustainability Management
Plan with KPIs. All suppliers are required
to report on emissions and have
KPIs on the adoption of continuous
improvement initiatives. Sustainability
audits and regular meetings with
suppliers occur to ensure mutual
learning and the follow-through of
improvement actions. The project
team holds a register of sustainability
initiatives to capture ideas and track
those that have been implemented.
For full detail on our FY22 GHG
inventory including data sources and
quantification methodology, please
refer to our GHG Inventory
4
, which
has been independently assured
to a reasonable level against the
requirements of ISO 14064-1:2018,
the GHG Protocol, and the Corporate
Value Chain Standard.
There is plenty for us to build on.
Our renewable development pipeline,
the land we are acquiring for new
projects, construction at Harapaki
and the advances we are making
industrially with process heat all point
to solid momentum. The significant
increases in GIDI funding will also
form a solid investment basis for
encouraging commercial and industrial
customers to move away from fossil
fuels and for us to deliver additional
renewable capacity.
The take-up of our Certified Renewable
Energy product strongly suggests
that businesses have an appetite
for change. This year, 81 customers
signed up to purchase 662GWh of
Renewable Energy Certificates to
align their electricity consumption
with renewable energy generation
attributes. The net proceeds from
the purchase of these products
have been invested into social and
decarbonisation projects, helping
KidsCan to electrify its fleet and
funding a solar installation for
Rowing NZ.

\
Total operational
GHG by scope (tCO2e)
Scope 1: 792 (2%)
Scope 2 (market based): 35 (0.1%)
Scope 3: 31,881 (98%)
OUR NATURAL IMPACTS
37
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
Meridian Group GHG emissions
tCO2eFY20FY21FY22***
Scope 11,1771,376792
Scope 2171435
Scope 3 operational42,25031,08531,881
Total Group operational emissions*43,44432,47532,708
Scope 3 energy purchased and onsold**
New Zealand electricity000
Australian electricity and gas 813,054881,461521,642
Scope 3 one-time construction and upgrades322858,243
Total Group value chain emissions856,530914,221562,593
* 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 used the National Carbon Offset
Standard (NCOS) administered by the Australian Government.
** Group operational emissions are offset using Gold Standard Voluntary Emission Reductions and credits
purchased by Powershop Australia as part of the NCOS, and taking into account credits cancelled by suppliers
against their own emissions.
*** Meridian Australia was sold in January 2022. Emissions for Australia are included to 31 January 2022 (7 months only).
Meridian does not track a GHG emissions-intensity metric. As a generator of 100% renewable energy, the fuel source
for the electricity generated has no emissions. Therefore, GHG emissions intensity is not the most relevant metric for
Meridian to adopt to track emission reductions.
Progress against our Half by 2030 goal (tCO2e*)
42,447
40,757
29,506
30,944
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

Group emissions
Land Transport
Farms
Fugitive Emissions
Air Travel
Ferry & Barge
Waste
Balance Emissions
Reduction target


* Excludes Meridian Australia emissions.

OUR NATURAL IMPACTS
38
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
Planting out a better future
For some years, Meridian has achieved
carbon neutrality for its operational
emissions by purchasing and
surrendering Gold Standard Verified
Emission Reductions. Over the course
of this decade we’ll look to displace
these Verified Emission Reductions by
creating our own carbon sink through
our Forever Forests programme.
Meridian committed to Forever Forests
in 2019, investing in permanent forests
in Aotearoa that also offer broader
biodiversity and social benefits. A
mixed model of exotics and natives,
planted predominantly on our own
land, will transition to 100% natives
over time. The emission removals from
our Forever Forests are sized to align
with our residual operational emissions
in FY30, after achieving our Half by 30
gross emission-reduction target.
Highlights this year have included:
• securing over 55% of the
land required
• 85,000 trees planted, with a
further 600,000 ordered to
plant in the coming FY23 season
• receiving a first tranche of credits
for our first planting projects from
2020, with other planting projects
now registered
• involving our people and
communities in the plantings.
We have undertaken six native-
only plantings involving Meridian
staff so far, with more to come
including the Tūī Corridor project
in Christchurch. Alongside our
partnership with The Christchurch
Foundation for our Christchurch
plantings, three partnerships are
also in place with private landowners
near our wind farms and with iwi-
based trusts.
We’re glad that we chose to pre-order
hundreds of thousands of seedlings
in 2020 – in advance of land being
available – because the market has
rapidly developed since then and
exotic and native suppliers are now
under tremendous demand pressure.
Tūī Corridor planting, Christchurch Adventure Park, Ōtautahi.

OUR NATURAL IMPACTS
39
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
Disclosing openly
It’s good to see pressure building on
listed companies to publicly disclose
their climate-related issues. Mandatory
climate-related financial disclosure
legislation was passed this year,
making such reporting compulsory
from CY23. We see reporting as a key
part of holding ourselves responsible
and answerable to stakeholders, and
on that basis have been preparing
climate-related disclosures since
2019 (aligned with the Task Force on
Climate-related Financial Disclosures
framework) that address governance,
risk management, strategy and our
climate-related metrics and targets.
We look forward to ensuring alignment
of our FY23 climate-related disclosures
with the incoming Aotearoa New
Zealand Climate Standard 1: Climate-
related Disclosures requirements.
Supporting kākāpō
through sponsorship
In keeping with our philosophy that
actions matter most when it comes
to environmental and conservation
efforts, we have continued our
successful partnership with the
Department of Conservation and
Ngāi Tahu to support the Kākāpō
Recovery Programme, which aims to
get kākāpō off the endangered list
and back to their former natural range.
As things stand, the kākāpō is an
endangered national treasure, with
the current population sitting at fewer
than 200 birds. Our involvement
helps fund research and initiatives
relating to genetics, nutrition, disease
management and finding new
sites, and raising awareness of
this delightful native parrot.
It’s great to be able to report that
the 2022 breeding season has been
successful, with 57 chicks hatched.
We look forward to extending our
involvement with this programme
when arrangements are renewed
next year.

OUR NATURAL IMPACTS
40
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
Adding to public policy discussions
As an engaged and publicly listed
company, we continue to actively
contribute perspectives and ideas to
public policy, legislative and regulatory
developments. We do so to ensure that
decision-makers are fully informed
of the implications of what’s being
mooted, and 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 Electricity Authority (EA), the
Ministry of Business, Innovation
and Employment, the Commerce
Commission and Transpower.
As we observed last year, the New
Zealand electricity market continues
to incentivise the construction of
new renewable electricity generation
and works well because successive
governments and regulators have
supported and encouraged its
operation. It’s vital for the country
that current and future governments
continue to deliver policy stability,
transparency and continuity on
climate change.
The long-running project of the EA
to reform the Transmission Pricing
Methodology (TPM) has concluded
with the Authority deciding in April
2022 to adopt a new TPM that is
expected to be in place from 1 April
2023. This new TPM is expected to
deliver benefits to New Zealanders
of approximately $1.8 billion over the
next 28 years, to encourage more
efficient use of the grid and more
efficient investment in transmission and
generation assets. It is anticipated that it
will reduce the cost of electricity at peak
times and over time lead to lower prices
for all consumers. Meridian supported
the Authority in successfully opposing a
High Court challenge to the new TPM.
Climate policy also directly affects us,
which is why we monitor it closely. As
part of the Emissions Reduction Plan,
the Government has signalled that it
has allocated $350 million for industrial
decarbonisation and vehicle scrapping.
The Plan has the potential to generate
greater electricity demand and, we
believe, will be another incentive to
invest in generation. The Government
also expanded the GIDI fund to $650
million over four years (from $69 million
to date) to provide funding for high-
impact process heat decarbonisation,
network connections and network
upgrades to enable electrification and
committed $220 million to the State
Sector Decarbonisation Fund.
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, and for
us priority actions would include
increasing the number of EVs on our
roads and increasing total renewable
energy use, particularly in heating for
industrial processes. The Government
has taken some important steps in the
right direction with the expansion of
the GIDI fund, the clean car discount
scheme, the EV exemption from Road
User Charges and the Low Emissions
Transport Fund. It‘s also important that
the transition happens in an equitable
and inclusive way.
There is ongoing uncertainty around
the proposed Government investment
in the Onslow Manorburn pumped
hydro project. Such a development
would influence investment decisions
going forward, but it will also take
time to implement, and with that
in mind we’re monitoring decision-
making in that space.
The outcomes of the regulator’s
review of competition in the whole-
sale market were published during
the year. The initial paper looked
at indicators across the wholesale
market. Generally, the review found
that pricing accurately reflects the
wholesale market situation, but the
EA has said there are some things it
will continue to monitor. Wholesale
electricity prices in New Zealand
remain higher than historical averages
primarily because of ongoing concerns
about gas availability and global
events (which have affected energy
prices more broadly). We recognise
these prices are challenging for larger
consumers with direct exposure to
the wholesale market, but they reflect
supply and demand and encourage
further investment in renewable
electricity generation.
In August, the Authority created an
‘urgent code amendment’ temporarily
for 9 months, while it consults on
whether these new rules should be a
permanent feature for the market. The
amendment puts in place some new
rules on industrial electricity contracts
of 150MWs or more. Meridian will
submit on the consultation detail, but
it’s clear Meridian’s current contracts
comply and we will work with the
Authority to ensure all future
contracts also comply.
This year we made submissions
on a range of topics including the
Emissions Reduction Plan, the review
of wholesale market competition, the
electricity industry reform bill and
climate-related disclosures. You’ll
find copies of these submissions
on our website at.meridianenergy.
co.nz/about-us/investors/reports/
submissions

OUR NATURAL IMPACTS
41
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
Our impacts anchored on the natural world
A summary of our nature-based impacts outlined in this section is provided below, including our associated commitments and goals where relevant.
5 meridianenergy.co.nz/power-stations/hydro/project-river-recovery
6 meridian-production-media.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/public/Investors/Governance/Policies/2022/MER0189-Biodiversity-Commitment.pdf
7 meridianenergy.co.nz/power-stations/hydro/elver-trap-and-transfer
8 meridian-preprod-media.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/public/Investors/Governance/Policies/2022/MER0189-Biodiversity-Commitment.pdf
9 meridianenergy.co.nz/community-support/kakapo-recovery-programme
10 meridianenergy.co.nz/community-support/tui-corridor
11 meridian-preprod-media.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/public/Investors/Governance/Policies/2022/MER0189-Biodiversity-Commitment.pdf
12 meridianenergy.co.nz/about-us/investors/sustainability
13 meridianenergy.co.nz/assets/Investors/Governance/Policies/Supplier-Code-of-Conduct.pdf
ImpactDescriptionCommitments and policies (including mitigation and remediation actions)
Diversion and
reduced river
flows and water
quality issues
Our structures and water management can directly affect the health
of river systems, which can become obstructed and have reduced
river flows due to hydro dams and generation activities. Some of these
impacts occur in conjunction with impacts caused by others.
We collaborate with organisations like Guardians of the Lake and fund Project River Recovery
5
to ensure stakeholder
feedback is heard and quality mitigation and management measures are in place. Lake Te Anau water levels are regarded as
well managed. Our biodiversity and deforestation commitments
6
outline wider commitments and initiatives.
Harm to
biodiversity
in water
We have a direct effect on the health of aquatic biodiversity
(particularly native fish species) affected by hydro dams and
restricted river flows.
We’re committed to the Elver Trap and Transfer Programme
7
. An opportunity exists to create greater awareness of this in
local communities. Our biodiversity and deforestation commitments
8
outline wider commitments and initiatives.
Adverse effects
of generation assets
and activities on
cultural values
Our presence directly affects the cultural values of iwi relating
to land, waterways and biodiversity because they are affected
by our operational presence and use of our generation assets.
This creates a negative impact on iwi and their relationships with
the land, water and other taonga.
Our Group Code of Conduct requires genuine engagement with key relationships and a consideration of impacts,
including on iwi, as a result of business decision-making. We are committed to authentic engagement with iwi and
showing genuine respect for the Waitaki and Manapōuri catchments. We’ve committed to supporting the Te Waiau
Mahika Kai Trust.
Improving
biodiversity
on land
We contribute to enhancing natural ecosystems on Meridian-
owned/managed land as well as non-Meridian-owned land by
supporting planting and biodiversity protection programmes.
We are committed to Forever Forests – an emission-removal commitment with biodiversity and social benefits based on
adopting a mixed exotic/native forest model, transitioning to 100% natives over time. A joint venture with Te Waiau Mahika
Kai Trust for a carbon forest will result in tree planting starting in July 2022. We also have related biodiversity investments
and partnerships such as the Kākāpō Recovery Programme
9
and achieve impacts with the Tūī corridor
10
. Our biodiversity and
deforestation commitments
11
outline wider commitments and initiatives.
Disposal of
waste and
other emissions
We cause waste-to-landfill and harmful gaseous emissions
from our corporate and generation activities.
Our Half by 30 commitment is is to halve operational emissions (including waste) by FY30 and against a FY21 baseline.
We publicly disclose on progress annually via the Annual Report, GHG inventory and most recently a new Climate Action
Plan with initiatives and targets by focus area
12
. We are proud to have achieved approval from the Science Based Targets
initiative (SBTi) that our near-term emission reduction targets are science aligned. Outside the Half by 30 boundary, our
Supplier Code of Conduct
13
outlines requirements for suppliers to measure and disclose emissions. Major projects and
developments at Meridian include additional, targeted sustainability KPIs – for example, KPIs for Project Harapaki (wind
farm construction) include waste and emission.
Policy change that
enables the rapid
transition to a low-
carbon-energy future
We contribute to public policy, legislative and regulatory
developments by advocating for, and supporting, a policy
framework that fosters effective action on climate change.
We actively and regularly provide thought leadership, backed by evidence and data where practical, to inform policy change
that enables rapid decarbonisation. Meridian makes submissions to organisations such as the Climate Change Commission,
Ministry for the Environment, Infrastructure Commission, Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment and more. Our
publicly available submissions are available at meridianenergy.co.nz/about-us/investors/reports/submissions.
Leading and
influencing change
and progress on
sustainability issues
Through our leadership and influence, we can contribute
to ambitious commitments and action in collaboration with
other companies and organisations on social and environmental
issues that are most relevant to the business.
Our pace, scale, level of ambition and the partnership approach we adopt to drive progress on sustainability issues is
what defines success in this impact area. Importantly, delivering results and impact is key. Recent success have included:
• the electrification of boilers with customers such as ANZCO
• the Southern Green Hydrogen project
• a commitment to move early on committing to and establishing due diligence processes on issues such as Modern
Slavery risk and Climate-related disclosures
• in FY22 we also played a leadership role in informing the development of the refreshed NZ Climate Leaders Coalition
pledge announced in June 2022, with the contribution of case studies to support technical guidance developed.
There is an opportunity for us to provide even greater leadership, influence and transparency on our sustainability
commitments and views on how to advance greater impacts collectively.

OUR NATURAL IMPACTS
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
42
“They then worked out how
to separate out the rubber
and steel to enable them
to be sustainably reused.”
42

OUR NATURAL IMPACTS
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
43
Shredding the impact
of hydraulic hoses
Hydraulic hoses, made of
fluoropolymers and silicone,
elastomers, metal and
thermoplastics, are used
extensively in the energy
sector. Designed to move
liquids at high pressure and
with very high reliability,
they are complex to make,
expensive to buy and difficult
to dispose of once they reach
end-of-life because they
don’t decompose in a landfill.
Each of the Siemens 2.3 megawatt
(mw) wind turbines at West Wind farm
has approximately 50 of these hoses –
which amount to 3,162 hoses (weighing
4,278 kilograms) at this site alone. All
are approaching the end of their life
expectancies. Additionally, our Te Āpiti,
Te Uku and White Hill wind farms have
a number of hoses in a similar situation.
When we started exploring recycling
solutions for these used hoses, it soon
became evident that there was no
way to do this in New Zealand. We
contacted Macaulay Metals, a local
scrap metal recycler in Wellington,
and they agreed to work with us
towards finding an environmentally
friendly way to dispose of the hoses.
Macaulay Metals subsequently
invested in an Italian rasper machine
that cut the hoses into manageable
lengths before grinding them into tiny
pieces. They then worked out how to
separate out the rubber and steel to
enable them to be sustainably reused.
Since then, Macaulay Metals has
arranged for the rubber granules to be
re-manufactured into rubber matting
for playgrounds in New Zealand, and
for the steel to be reused by Hyundai
steel in Korea.
Two years on, we have an innovative
way of recycling hydraulic hoses in
New Zealand. This is a positive step
not only for Meridian’s work towards
sustainability, but for other companies
that previously had no way of recycling
their used hydraulic hoses.

OUR TECHNOLOGY IMPACTS
44
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
Our
technology
impacts
Electric Air plane flying over Te Whanganui-a-tara Wellington.

EV charging headlines
our contribution to
transport electrification.
OUR TECHNOLOGY IMPACTS
45
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022

46
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
OUR TECHNOLOGY IMPACTS
Enabling a new
energy future
Our ability to respond meaningfully to the requirements
of future energy demands lies in our ability to responsibly
evolve the underlying infrastructure. This year we continued
to upgrade and develop our own assets at the same time as
we worked with our customers to future-proof theirs.
In this section:
• Flux
• Project Momentum
• Generation
• Transformation
• Our development programme
• Transport electrification
• Process heat electrification
• Distributed energy
• Scada
• Cyber security
• Turbine technology and grid scale battery

OUR TECHNOLOGY IMPACTS
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
47
Demand for Flux continues to increase
Flux’s flexible, innovative software helps energy
retailers in New Zealand, Australia and the UK to
achieve best practice, operational improvements,
cost savings, risk reductions, digital transformations
and change management, and data insights. The
products, which include an industry-leading complex
billing engine, enable energy retailers to offer more
pricing options and integrate with a wide range of
chosen partners. Indeed, the Flux platform underpins
our own Group activities, enabling us to continue
to grow customer numbers using a scalable and
modern platform.
This year, Flux has focused on developing a
commercial and industrial product that will enable
retailers working with enterprise-level clients to
offer flexible services and bring responsive products
to market. It hasn’t been easy. Many retailers have
difficult and complex underlying systems that have
evolved over many years. What’s more, the segment
itself is grossly under-served by quality software.
Flux sees real opportunities here to assist retailers
that are under significant pressure from shifts in
wholesale markets and the pressures of increasing
regulation. The goal is to provide them with quality
technology solutions that are flexible and that enable
them to take up decarbonising opportunities such as
virtual power plants and power purchase agreements.
A healthy sales pipeline clearly signals the need.
Flux’s focus now is on choosing the right customers
going forward – retailers who are ambitious, growing,
ready to make a difference in the world and insistent
on new things.
Finding and securing the talented people needed
to make this happen remains the greatest challenge.
A global shortage of tech talent has seen salaries rise
exponentially. Fortunately, the people we’re looking
for are attracted to Flux’s pioneering remote-first way
of working, which continues to evolve.
All on the same platform (nearly)
Our three-year Project Momentum has involved
migrating our previously diverse customer bases to
the Flux platform. We have now successfully moved
90% of our customers, including all our residential
customers. Currently, we’re migrating our most
complex customers – our commercial and industrial
clients – and we expect that to be complete in the
first quarter of the new financial year. While on
the face of it Project Momentum may look like a
technology change, it has in fact been a business-led
project that had people, process and platform impacts.
The project itself is already delivering significant
benefits. Customer orientation across our culture has
improved for all segments, leveraging the strengths
of our multi-brand strategy. We’ve adopted more
agile, self-determined ways of working. We’ve
achieved significant growth throughout the project
period despite the major business change, and
this has given the business confidence that it can
continue to scale as required. Finally, we now have
one platform for both our brands, and this has
increased speed to competency, raising service
levels and lowering costs, because we now require
fewer resources to provide better customer service.

OUR TECHNOLOGY IMPACTS
48
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
Challenges for
our Generation teams
Omicron brought more than its
fair share of disruptions and work-
rounds to a busy maintenance and
upgrade programme this year for
our Generation teams and contractor
partners. Despite significant challenges
around staffing and capacity, scheduled
works were completed without any
major impacts on production. Ageing
turbines at our White Hill wind farm
near Mossburn in Southland will
mean that asset will need a major
refurbishment during the next year.
Our ongoing challenge is finding
experienced people with the technical
skills we need. Historically, we’ve always
been able to rely on sourcing such
talent from within New Zealand and
overseas (where wind technology is
well established), but with very low
unemployment in New Zealand, along
with immigration constraints (those
people have not been coming here
because of COVID-19), we’ve found it
harder to source talent than previously.
Domestic and global competition for
such skills is now intense.
Transforming our thinking
Our Asset Management excellence
approach to our Generation business
has proven robust. For many years, it
has enabled us to develop systematic
ways of working that manage risks
very well. New considerations are
emerging that will require us to re-
examine how that approach will work
in the future. Extreme weather events
are becoming more frequent because
of climate change, and they can affect
our ability to produce megawatts at our
wind farms and hydro assets. We plan
for these risks so we’re able to continue
to produce the power our customers
need – through actions like arranging
cover from other generators or buying
power on the spot market. These
alternatives can become expensive
because of wholesale price volatility,
so, as we’re a virtually integrated
company, it makes sense that we
try to generate as much as we can
of the power our customers need.
At the same time, as weather
patterns are changing, demand on
plant availability is rising, and it will
increase in the longer term as we
shift to fully renewable generation
nationally. A lesser reliance on thermal
will mean New Zealand becomes
more dependent on solar and wind.
But because neither wind nor solar is
storable, we need flexible and highly
reliable hydro generation. The challenge
we have set ourselves, as more of our
wind and solar assets come online, is
to shift our emphasis to wind and solar
first, backed by hydro – rather than
the other way round.
That shift will see us steadily run
hydro, but more flexibly than we do
right now. Such a shift will have big
implications. For example, it could
mean that it becomes harder for us
to get access to plant for projects
and maintenance and this will require
a rethink of our maintenance and
replacement programmes. Technology
and data will play a key role in our
future decision-making, and we’re
introducing a dedicated team to
accelerate that.
The transformation programme that
we have underway in Generation
right now is about encouraging our
people to take up these challenges.
A new structure will also help us to
move more quickly towards where
we need to be: more data driven with
more emphasis on different time
horizons; scoping projects earlier than
we do now; resourcing our pipeline
of activities in new ways based on a
new approach; and really looking at
how we can achieve our Half by 2030
objectives within the Generation part
of the business. Key for us is removing
complexity and duplication, increasing
speed to execution and increasing the
visibility of the changes underway.

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Exciting options emerge
NZAS consumes the equivalent of
around 40% of Meridian’s generation
output, and 12% of the national load,
at its aluminium smelter at Tīwai Point.
Its contract with Meridian expires at
the end of 2024. The expiry of that
contract and the potential exit of NZAS
from New Zealand could enable us to
rethink how we utilise that load.
With aluminium prices currently
higher than they have been, and NZAS’s
major shareholder Rio Tinto indicating
that, globally, it’s on a journey to low
carbon and net zero, a lasting presence
at Tīwai for NZAS is no longer off the
table, however, as we have publicly
stated, we would only be interested in
signing a new contract with NZAS if:
• it addressed with key stakeholders
the need for environmental
remediation of the Tīwai site
• it made a long-term commitment
to New Zealand
• it committed to paying a sustainable
price for the electricity it consumes
• it was prepared to reduce its
consumption in dry years for the
benefit of the wider electricity system
and other consumers of electricity.
In recent years we’ve been working
closely with Transpower on the
Clutha Upper Waitaki Lines Project.
The completion of this project ahead
of schedule has greatly improved
Meridian’s options for redistributing
5,000GWh currently consumed by
the smelter to other uses in or beyond
Southland. For example, we could
shift the electricity load used to better
address national and even international
decarbonisation via green hydrogen,
or large-scale data centres. We could
also allocate the power to our drive
for net carbon-zero through a scaled
electrification of process heat.
A lot can happen in 12 months –
and while long-term certainty on
any future NZAS contract remains
desirable, it’s fair to say we have a
new mix of options to consider as we
power up our development pipeline
and look for ways to allocate load
that will deliver the best returns for
investors and for the country.
The development of green hydrogen
has the potential to significantly
decarbonise global industries like steel
manufacturing, fertiliser manufacturing
and heavy transport (trucks, trains and
shipping). Our green hydrogen plans
have attracted a lot of interest globally.
We have opened discussions with four
providers and have since short-listed
two developers, Woodside Energy
Group and Fortescue Future Industries.
A year ago, when we first suggested
hydrogen production as a meaningful
way forward, some thought our plans
ambitious. Since then, and particularly
in this calendar year, interest in green
alternatives has taken off as the search
for energy security accelerates in
Europe and beyond. Take-up at all
levels of the value chain can only work
to our benefit, so we welcome the
increasing interest domestically and
internationally in what we’re planning.
One of the advantages of hydrogen
is that it could add another option
in the event of dry-year challenges.
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 off during a dry year
could really benefit New Zealand in
managing the security of our energy
supply at much less cost than other
dry-year options currently being
considered.
Green data projects are also in the
pipeline, but progress here is slower
and steadier and on a smaller scale.
While we still regard green data as a
potential step-change in connectivity
for New Zealand, Australia and
South East Asia, where New Zealand
continues to enjoy an advantage away
from geo-political hotspots, there’s
more work needed.

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OUR TECHNOLOGY IMPACTS
Construction underway at Harapaki wind farm, northern Te Matau-a-Māui, Hawke’s Bay.

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Harapaki wind farm
progressing well
Construction is underway and
we’re making good progress at our
Harapaki site in Hawke’s Bay, despite
the complexities of building our
sixth wind farm at elevation, bitter
easterlies, cyclones and the challenges
of COVID-19. Once completed, New
Zealand’s second-largest wind farm
will have 41 turbines generating up
to 176MW of renewable energy and
will increase our wind assets by 40%.
It’s been a pleasure to work with local
iwi Maungaharuru Tangitū and Ngāti
Hineuru, who, among other things,
have been helping us with cultural
monitoring on site.
A good year for developments
New Zealand’s long-term challenge
is the sheer rate of decarbonisation
required. By 2050 it is expected that
New Zealand needed to have created
at least 20,000 GWh and potentially
as much as 60,000 GWh of new
generation. This equates to between
$14 billion and $44 billion in today’s
costs, though technological advances
are expected to bring those costs down.
For the market as a whole, this implies
an average run-rate of building the
equivalent of between 1 to 4 medium
sized wind farms every year for the
next 29 years. The speed at which new
generation needs to be delivered will
depend on the shape New Zealand’s
decarbonisation trajectory.
For Meridian, this could mean the
equivalent of a new $400 million
wind farm every three years through
to 2050. Our current development
pipeline amounts to 2.3 gigawatts
(GW) (5,500GWh), (made up of
secured options of 1GW and advanced
prospecting of 1.2GW), which means
we’re having to work hard to find,
develop, consent, build and generate
the energy needed to keep up with
projected demand.
While we continue to look for new
wind and solar sites, there are
additional uncertainties. New resource-
management legislation is proposed
to be more restrictive because of the
requirements for environmental bottom
lines, and with transmission load and
connections growing, more capacity
will be needed. Talk of 100% renewable
energy nationally is also optimistic,
because although there will be no new
gas baseload, gas still has a role to
play in keeping peak load running as a
firming agent for some time yet.
This has, however, been a good year
for developments, with options secured
for future development across wind,
solar and batteries. At Ruakākā Energy
Park, we’re currently tendering for a
Stage 1 100/200MW battery energy
storage system. This system will increase
South-North Island power transfer,
support grid stability and supply
electricity regionally and nationally.
We’re also planning a 75MW solar
farm that will be connected to
the national grid and also supply
electricity regionally and nationally.
Both projects will improve Northland’s
energy security.
We expect to have consents approved
for the battery by the end of September
2022, with construction expected to
start in 2023 and be complete late 2024.
Consents for solar will be lodged in early
2023, with construction anticipated early
in 2024 and completion by early 2025.
In addition: we’re progressing studies
for a potential wind farm at Mt Munro
in Wairarapa, where we’re looking to
consent a 90MW site; we’ve secured an
additional battery site at Bunnythorpe,
near Palmerston North; we’ve secured
land for a potential wind and solar farm
in Taranaki; and we’re prospecting for
solar and wind sites in the North Island
and targeted South Island locations.
At Ruakākā, we have engaged with
local iwi Patuharakeke and look
forward to involving them as an
important partner. Our hope is that
we can establish a partnership like the
one we have at Harapaki, where local
iwi have acted as cultural monitors
during the development phase,
and pursue other opportunities for
collaboration and mutual benefit.
A key consideration for us at
Ruakākā Energy Park is that shipping
and material costs are rising, meaning
we’ll need to look carefully at costs
and timelines as we push the project
forward. Lithium costs, for example,
have risen 400–450% in the past year.
We’re also committed to engaging with
suppliers to ensure that sustainability
goals are enshrined in how they work
and that they’re meeting anti-modern
slavery considerations.

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Decarbonising Aotearoa
As climate change awareness increases,
the ways customers want to use energy
are changing. In addition to seeking
out new generation opportunities
and getting smarter with our existing
assets, we’re investing in changes at
both commercial and industrial levels
and at the household level that will
support decarbonisation of the New
Zealand energy system and protect
and grow value for Meridian.
EV charging headlines our contribution
to transport electrification. We’re
continuing to roll this out nationally
with our new Zero network, which
will offer comprehensive access to
public chargers, fleet charging and
home charging through the Zero app
to support the network. To date we
have over 180 chargers contracted
for installation.
We were selected by the Energy
Efficiency and Conservation Authority
to expand the public fast-charging
network in the South Island with 10
new DC fast chargers. The chargers
will use technology never used before
in Aotearoa to transform access for
EV owners. A battery energy storage
system will use recycled batteries from
EVs to charge batteries overnight and
supply energy to the chargers during
the day. Solar panels will be added
later to increase capacity.
We’ll also install chargers at Kohatu,
Haast, Hari Hari and St Arnaud, largely
completing the task of providing public
fast charging every 75km along our
country’s State Highways.
Meanwhile, we’ve partnered with
Hutt and Wellington City Councils on
New Zealand’s largest public charging
partnership, to deliver 80+ chargers
for the region.
We’ve seen good progress with our
commercial solar business this year,
having signed contracts that will more
than double our installed capacity from
750 kilowatts peak to more than 1.8MW.
Our Certified Renewable Energy
product allows our corporate
customers to match the amount of
electricity they use on an annual basis
with an equivalent amount of electricity
from one of our hydro stations or wind
farms – which have been certified as
producing 100% renewable energy.
It also means that customers who are
part of the Electric Island initiative no
longer have to pay to offset their
scope 2 electricity emissions.
Process heat accounts for 34% of
New Zealand’s total energy consumption
and generates 8.5 million tonnes of
carbon emissions every year, making
it the second-largest source of energy-
related GHG emissions.
ANZCO Foods, Ōtautahi, Christchurch.

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MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
We’re working with South Island
industrial customers to decarbonise
and electrify their industrial plant. Our
Process Heat Electrification Programme
offers companies 10-year contracts,
highly competitive electricity pricing
and a capital contribution towards
conversion costs. We’re currently
supporting fuel-switching projects
that will reduce carbon emissions
by over 100,000 tonnes each year
in sectors like food manufacturing,
dairy and wool processing.
Among our success stories:
• we’ve partnered with Meadow
Mushrooms to decommission an
existing diesel-fired boiler and
replace it with an electric boiler – a
project that will reduce its carbon
emissions by 1,300 tonnes per year
• we’ve been working with ANZCO
Foods Canterbury to reduce its coal
use by reinstating electric boilers
at its Ashburton facility that had
previously been retired
• we’re working with Alliance Group
to support the decommissioning of
a coal-fired boiler at its Lorneville
plant, near Invercargill
• we’re working with Mataura Valley
Milk to support the decommissioning
of a coal-fired boiler
• we’re working with Woolworks
in Timaru to replace its coal-fired
boiler with an electric boiler.
We’ve also been working with all of
these industrial customers to explore
how they can sell any surplus energy
back to the grid. Demand flexibility is
the flipside of decarbonising transport
and process heat, enabling more
companies to participate in ongoing
electrification and in doing so helping
our energy systems to evolve. The
flexibility to do this is something
we’ve been working with customers
to develop.
We’ve also been investigating a
new future for our retail business
incorporating demand flexibility. Our
goal is to see energy retailing move
from a one-way supply arrangement
to a fully flexible ecosystem in which
our customers participate, rather than
just being energy receivers.
Our significant customer base, and
the volumes of energy we generate
and retail, mean we’re in a strong
position to contribute to demand
flexibility – helping our customers
to get the most out of their energy
consumption and generation capacity
while providing relief to the grid.

OUR TECHNOLOGY IMPACTS
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MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
Upgrading Scada
We use SCADA (System Control and
Data Acquisition) software to run and
control our generation network. Our
existing SCADA is nearing the end of
its life, so we’re looking at options for a
new system with modern architecture
and upgraded capabilities, including
more advanced security.
We also want the new system to be
flexible enough to work with our
emerging solar, battery and other
assets as well as for distributed energy
arrangements. This will be a significant,
multi-year upgrade. We’ve started
the tendering process and expect
to complete that by June 2023.
Cyber defence in depth
Increasing digitisation is key to the
profitable and personalised operation
of our business and our relationships.
But that reliance on ICT systems requires
protecting our technology systems,
information and people from cyber
threats that could have adverse impacts
on 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’ve 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.
This year we progressed our network
segmentation project that enables us to
segregate sites if they’re compromised
and contain intrusions. This reduces
opportunities for enterprise-wide
compromises and minimises the
chances of further transmission
and damage.
We’ve also introduced active 24/7
monitoring of our network by PwC to
check behaviours, traffic and security
alerts. This world-class monitoring
system, which has recently gone live,
will provide us with the intelligence
to know what to act on.
Together, network segmentation,
active monitoring and our other
cybersecurity controls amount to
‘defence in depth’. They ensure we
don’t need to rely on only one control;
rather we have a series of controls
available in case one is breached.
This year we’ve also accelerated our
use of data to make better business
decisions. We’ve been doing this to
enhance predictive maintenance
on our wind assets, and we’re now
expanding that to include our hydro
assets. Elsewhere in the business, we’ve
automated our trading reports and our
performance reporting to give people
direct access to the data they need for
granular investigations. These changes
mean more people have simpler and
faster access to meaningful data to
support decisions.

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Our generation control centre, Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington.

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MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
A summary of our impacts anchored on technology
A summary of our technology-related impacts outlined in this section is provided below, including our associated commitments and goals where relevant.
ImpactDescriptionCommitments and policies (including mitigation and remediation actions)
100% renewable energy generationWe generate 100% renewable energy from our
generation assets, representing approximately
30% of Aotearoa’s total electricity.
We operate and maintain hydro and wind farm electricity generation and are committed
to 100% renewable energy generation for any relevant future investments.
Reducing the emissions of othersWe can contribute to decarbonising commercial
and residential energy use by increasing the use
of electricity to replace fossil fuels and through
better energy efficiency.
We have a range of commitments and active work programmes to achieve decarbonisation beyond
renewable energy generation, including:
• the electrification of industrial plant through a process heat electrification offer
14

• the development of green hydrogen for global industries like steel manufacturing,
fertiliser manufacturing and heavy vehicles
14

• engaging with developers on a green data hub in Southland
• promoting and supporting a shift to EVs through an EV pricing offer, a commitment
to installing EV chargers across Aotearoa and more
15

• supporting the Mevo car-sharing scheme
15

• encouraging reduced energy use in homes
15

• providing a certified Renewable Energy offer to customers with an associated decarbonisation fund
15

• commercial-scale solar power.
15
The majority of these commitments include targets and good results being achieved.
For more details, refer to the Metrics and targets section of our FY22 Climate-related disclosure
15
.
Increasing the supply
of renewable energy
We can increase the amount of renewable energy
available in Aotearoa having a clear development
pathways for investments in new sources of renewable
generation that aligns with future demand projections
and includes securing land, consents, financing and
appropriate connections to the grid.
We established a Renewable Development team in late 2019, which has continued to grow to align with
a target of securing three buildable options by 2024.
Associated commitments include:
• a commitment to invest in a 100MW/200MWh battery and a 75MW+ solar farm announced during FY22
• wind farm development ~60MW (Mt Munro) in planning to consent
• further development projects under evaluation – 950MW of secured options and 1,305MW of
opportunities being investigated.
There are opportunities to communicate more widely about our investments in further renewable generation.
For more details, refer to the Metrics and targets section of our FY22 Climate-related disclosure
15
.
Emissions from products soldMeridian sells a portion of non-renewable grid energy
in Aotearoa.
Meridian established a Certified Renewable Energy product to match renewable energy generation
attributes to electricity consumption for customers. In FY22 a new Certified Renewable Energy
decarbonisation fund was launched to reinvest all net proceeds into a mix of business- and community-
related decarbonisation projects. Meridian’s commitment to the delivery of new renewable energy
generation also serves to contribute to a further decarbonisation of Aotearoa’s grid energy mix. For
more details, refer to the Metrics and targets section of Meridian’s FY22 Climate-related disclosure
15
.
Maximising the potential of
distributed generation and storage
We can contribute to increasing renewable energy use by
identifying and responding to the risks and opportunities that
distributed generation (rooftop and small-scale solar), storage
(batteries) and EVs will have in the electricity system, and market.
In FY22 we established a new Energy Solutions team to advance options for distributed generation and
demand response. We have made a commitment to complete a pilot of demand response through the
use of EVs, This will build on existing commitments to support the delivery of commercial-scale solar
16

and residential solar
16
offers.
14 southerngreenhydrogen.co.nz
15 meridianenergy.co.nz/about-us/investors/sustainability/climate-disclosures
16 meridianenergy.co.nz/power-stations/solar

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Machine hall floor, Benmore Hydro Power Station, Otematata.

OUR HUMAN IMPACTS
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
58
Our
human
impacts
Our team at Benmore Hydro Power Station, Otematata.

OUR HUMAN IMPACTS
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
Diversified teams
perform well when
everyone feels
included, welcomed
and valued.
59

MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
OUR HUMAN IMPACTS
60
Doing right
by people
Human effort underpins our ability to move forward cohesively
and constructively. A cleaner world must also be a fairer world.
This year we continued to address the impacts on our people
at the same time as we sought to work with others to ensure
energy acts as a force for good in our communities.
In this section:
• Energised by great people
• The future of work programme
• Succession planning
• Safety and wellbeing
• Belonging
• Gender
• Human rights and anti-modern slavery
• Our KidsCan sponsorship
• Power Up
• Key stakeholder relationships
• Energy wellbeing
• Creating employment opportunities for youth
Our team representing Meridian at a Pride Parade in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington.

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61
Energised by great people
Finding, acquiring and retaining highly talented
people remains central to our ability to succeed.
Closed borders and increasing competition for
great contributors have brought new urgency to
our bid to have an engaged culture, one that
welcomes people and offers them rewarding
opportunities and meaningful career pathways.
Recognising that our future plans depend on a
reliable, future-focused workforce, we continue to
plan for and develop a workplace that is stimulating,
inclusive, balanced, fair and values based.
The future of work
Getting different expectations right across
different generations requires really thinking
through how skilled people will best work together,
and embracing hybrid ways of working.
We continue to redefine ways of work for people
post-pandemic, a number of factors inform
this. The recent decision that our Wellington
corporate building was not safe for use because
of its earthquake rating was a direct challenge
to returning to a set place of work, of course, but
the considerations went well beyond that. When
planning our ways of working, we did so recognising
that work at a large gentailer would not revert to
what was once considered business as usual.
About 650 of our people have now amended their
employment agreements to work at least one day
a week at home. So, we’ve been experimenting
with how different working arrangements benefit
our business, people and teams. Our lessons will
no doubt influence how we operate going forward.
The days of concentrating on the office have given
way to thinking laterally about the total employee
experience and actively looking for ways to maintain
and grow the next generations of corporate culture.
We definitely want to be at the forefront of that.
We have been making sure our leaders are prepared
to support their people in an ever-changing world
by upskilling and offering tailored support when
needed. A focus on growth and open mindsets is
our foundation for maintaining the workforce stability
needed to balancing short- and long-term needs.
We are encouraging collaboration no matter where
people are based on any given day and factoring in
a plethora of shifting factors such as psychological
safety, new technology and ongoing digitisation and
automation. Accurately tracking and adjusting how
people perform is critical to doing right by them.
Our new learning management system (People Hub),
established this year, has enabled us to put everything
to do with learning and development in one place,
meaning we can directly and easily access and align
learning content and records.
Our team representing Meridian at a Pride Parade in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington.

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OUR HUMAN IMPACTS
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MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
Welcoming new perspectives
Another vital aspect of future-
proofing is succession planning.
This takes place throughout our
organisation. This year several of
our long-serving Board members
exited and new people with new
skills have taken their place. There
has also been significant movement
within our Executive Team, with
Tania Palmer taking over as General
Manager Generation, Jason Stein
shifting from Chief Executive of
Meridian Australia and Powershop
Australia to Chief People Officer,
and CIO Bharat Ratanpal joining
the Team, adding his invaluable
technical skills to how we think
about deploying technology.
In the context of wider workplace
changes and the onus on us to lead
significant changes in climate thinking,
having the right people available
today and tomorrow to make the step
changes needed is critical. So we have
been reinvigorating our approach to
leadership development to ready the
next wave of executives.
We also continue to plan for changes
in our Generation and Wholesale
teams as experienced staff get closer
to retirement age. Their skills and
knowledge are invaluable assets,
which is why we’re encouraging young
professionals to join our business and
offering opportunities for people to
complete their trade apprenticeships
with us. Our goal is to support those
who do choose to retire to transition
smoothly out of their current work
arrangements at the same time as
we ensure there are clear succession
plans for their areas of expertise.
Meridian Group Workforce
New Zealand**
Permanent employeesFemaleMaleTotal
Permanent full time*426 499 925
Permanent part time28331
Temp/fixed-term employees***
Temp/fixed-term full time171431
Temp/fixed-term part time 8 1220
Total4795281,007
* 3 of these employees are based in the UK (all male).
** 125 of these employees work for Flux Federation New Zealand.
*** Temp/Fixed Term includes casual employees.
Generation and Wholesale staff turning age 65
FY18FY19FY20FY21FY22
In five years9.1%10.9%12.5%13.3%15.3%
In 10 years20.3%22.5%23.9%24.3%28.7%
The common retirement age in New Zealand is 65. In both tables, the region is defined as New Zealand.
Generation and Wholesale staff turning 65 by role
5 years10 years
Admin / Support2%11%
Analyst / Planning19%11%
Engineer23%16%
GC / Traders5%5%
Health & Safety / Environment7%5%
Maintenance / Operator 33%29%
Manager12%13%
Project Management–11%
The region is defined as New Zealand.

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MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
Taking care of our people’s
safety and wellbeing
Safety remains our strongest priority.
Our environments include sizeable
electrical and mechanical assets that
are technically challenging, and our
people work in locations that range
from working at home to underground,
inside large structures, on tall wind
and hydro structures and close to large
volumes of water. Our risks range from
slips and trips around the home to a
suite of critical risks such as working
at height, lifting and loading etc, and
include a broad range of psychosocial
risks with mental wellbeing impacts. In
addition, with construction underway at
Harapaki, there are now significant civil
construction safety issues to include in
evolving our health and safety culture,
keeping our people as safe as possible
and managing wellbeing.
Our comprehensive Safety and
Wellbeing Management System,
which is accredited NZS 7901 to meet
the requirements of the Electricity Act,
ensures a layered response to these
changing safety needs with a particular
focus on the management of critical
risks. The response includes carefully
structured health and safety training
plans that are role specific and delivered
where possible within the New Zealand
Qualifications Authority framework, site-
specific Health and Safety Committees
to ensure two-way dialogue, daily
prestart meetings in all operational
areas and comprehensive work-
control procedures to ensure hazard
identification processes are thorough.
We have embedded the Learning Team
process to help us understand how to
improve when things don’t go so well.
As the name suggests, the focus of this
process is on learning and improving,
not blaming and punishing. By involving
those doing the work in understanding
how issues occur and developing
safety improvements we’ve created an
environment where reporting is a safe
and natural process and participation
is part of our culture. In all cases our
contractors are integrated with our
safety programmes.
Our site committees meet every month
to identify hazards and review incidents.
Committee representatives are
elected by their colleagues and receive
regular training in risk identification
and controls. They are supported by
dedicated business unit safety specialists
who provide extensive technical
expertise and support. Any incidents
and near misses are logged directly
into our Safety Manager system. We’re
also an active member of StayLive, an
electricity industry forum focusing on
working together across the sector to
improve safety. You’ll find more detail
on how we organise ourselves to
stay safe at meridianenergy.co.nz/
investors/governance/policies.
We take high consequence, low
probability hazards seriously, for
example structural asset failures, high
voltage electricity incidents, or exposure
to hazardous materials. All have controls
and procedures in place to reduce the
likelihood of such events occurring,
and to mitigate their consequences
should they occur. For example, our
Dam Safety Assurance Programme
(DSAP), is enabled by our in-house
Dam Safety and Civil Team (supported
by Dam Safety Intelligence for dam
condition monitoring services) and is
recognised as best practice in Dam
Safety Management, in New Zealand.
Should a significant Dam Safety
event occur, our emergency response
planning and processes ensure we
identify and respond appropriately
to the developing event. If necessary,
we work closely with Civil Defence
and Emergency Response to mitigate
hazards to downstream communities.
Every 5 years, independent expert
reviews are completed for each asset
structure and its associated DSAP.
We’re focused on developing and
maintaining an empathetic, caring
culture overall, putting less emphasis on
prescription and encouraging instead
working environments where employees
choose to proactively engage with our
systems and own their own safety. The
culture of caring is also well supported
by our approach to wellbeing. We’ve
implemented a number of initiatives
in the past year to support both the
physical and mental wellbeing of
our people throughout their time at
Meridian. These have included the
engagement of WOHC, an occupational
health provider, to deliver all aspects of
our occupational health programme,
including pre-employment medical
assessments, ergonomic assessments
and occupational health monitoring,
as well as pastoral care and health
education. In the area of mental health,
we’ve built on our pioneering Healthy
Minds programme, which provides
support, guidance and understanding
so that conversations about mental
wellbeing are normalised, and have
implemented a Care Team approach
for people who need assistance before
they enter a crisis. The Care Team was
co-designed with our people and
leaders to ensure the best possible
outcomes for our people and their
wider whānau during times when they
are struggling. Since we implemented
this concept in July 2021 we have
supported a number of people through
periods of poor mental wellbeing and

OUR HUMAN IMPACTS
64
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
helped others incapacitated by physical
injury or illness. The programme itself
won the Best Wellbeing Initiative
section of the 2022 Safeguard
Workplace Health and Safety Awards.
Our Wellbeing Business Partner, Trish
Allen, was a finalist for the Mental
Health Champion category.
Flux
17
also has a strong health and
safety and wellbeing programme,
driven by a core set of principles and
legal responsibilities. The information
and policies are available for all staff
to access at any time. All aspects of
health and safety are managed by
the Flux people team, with a clearly
defined escalation process if required.
Flux is a remote first organisation
where staff predominantly work from
home reducing our overall health and
safety risk profile. We have mitigations
in place for an ergonomic hazard.
While Flux also has a team of trained
Mental Health first aiders, access
is available to EAP services to all
permanent employees. Information
and how to access these services is
provided in on boarding activities
and available in the Flux wiki.
17 Flux permanent employees and contractors are fully covered by Flux’s health and safety management system.
We saw a reduction in our reportable
injuries this year, with fewer injuries
overall and less time off work due
to injuries recorded. In FY22, our
calculated total recordable injury
frequency rate for employees and
contractors per 200,000 hours
worked (TRIFR) was 1.01 (compared
with 2.80 in FY21), with 13 people hurt
(six contractors and seven employees).
The main types of injury were once
again sprains, strains and superficial
injuries. There were no serious injuries
reported; however, we’re still not
comfortable with the number of
incidents within our activities.
We have a comprehensive
programme of work in place for FY23
to deliver improvements in critical risk
management, safety leadership and
system simplification while building on
our key foundations of engagement
with and caring for our people.
Planting the next phase of coastal on the Kaitoke Peninsula with Raglan Area School.

OUR HUMAN IMPACTS
65
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
Meridian employees
Meridian onsite contractors
Meridian onsite (employees

and contractors combined)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
15.0
FY19
FY20FY21FY22**
4
.
2
3.4
4.3
11.8
7.4
9.1
8.0
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
FY19
FY20FY21FY22**
1
.
7
2
3
.
9
9
1
.
3
4
1
.
0
3
2
.
9
4
1
.
2
3
2.41
5.46
2.66
1.01
4.71
1.58
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.
** FY22 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.
** FY22 data excludes Meridian Australia, Flux and offsite contractors.

Employee engagement*
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
78.0%
80.0%
85.0%85.0%
79.5%
76.0%
74.0%
72.0%
FY19
FY20FY21May-FY22**Nov-FY22**
Meridian NZ
Meridian Australia*
Global top 25%
NZ top 25%
* 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.
** Australia is not included as we divested from there in 2022.
OUR HUMAN IMPACTS
66
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
Diversity by ethnicity
Māori
Pacific
PeoplesAsian
Middle
Eastern/
Latin
American/
AfricanEuropeanOtherUnknown
Board14%–14%–71%––
Executive9%–9%–82%––
Corporate Centre3%3%5%–77%–13%
Information &
Comms Technology
2%–15%2%67%–15%
Generation,
Development & DSI
5%1%7%3%64%3%17%
Wholesale3%3%–6%74%–14%
NZ Retail*5%3%8%2%58%1%23%
Flux Federation NZ**–1%10%3%22%1%64%
* Covers NZ Retail & Masterton Service Centre (as per FY21 Annual Report)
** Includes Flux-UK staff

OUR HUMAN IMPACTS
67
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2022
Taking a position
on gender injustice
We remain an accredited member of
the Gender Tick programme and our
ongoing goal is to achieve gender
balance in leadership and senior roles.
We believe that increasing gender
diversity will help bring diversity of
thought and better outcomes overall.
Despite nearly half our employees
and Board Directors and 40% of
our Executive Team being women,
women remain under-represented
at senior management levels below
this, and some parts of our business,
particularly our Generation business,
are still predominantly male.
To improve our gender balance, our
target is for 45% of new employees
to be men, 45% women and the
remaining 10% of any gender. We’re
also closely monitoring the retention
of women currently in leadership
roles. We’re pleased to see our
graduate and apprentice programmes
successfully attracting a good balance
of candidates, with more women
choosing technical careers. We hope
that the appointment of Tania Palmer
to the role of General Manager of
Generation sends a clear signal that
we welcome talented women to lead
across the business.
We continue to make steady progress
toward minimising the gender pay
gaps in similar-sized roles. In most of
our pay bands, the gap between the
average male salary and the average
female salary is less than 5%.
As part of the 2022 Mind the Gap
initiative across New Zealand, we have
committed to disclosing our overall
gender pay gap. As a gentailer, we have
a large number of people working in
call centres (traditionally low paid and
more likely to attract females), and a
high proportion of engineering and
electrical roles (traditionally male and
higher paid). This demographic spread
means that the overall median salary for
women, resulting in a gap of 35%. We
expect this to reduce as we achieve a
more-balanced gender representation
at every level of the business, and
increase the proportion of women in
senior higher-paying roles.
Belonging is crucial
Belonging is a powerful motivation for
everyone, and we continue to develop
ways to further positive experiences
in accessibility (including gaining the
Accessibility Tick), Rainbow choices
and ethnicity. We recognise that
helping diversified teams to perform
well depends on making sure everyone
feels included, welcomed and valued
for their experiences and perspectives,
and that we do all we can to encourage
diversity and accelerate cultural
understanding.
Our diversity and inclusion programme
centres on five aspects – inclusion and
respect; gender; ethnicity; accessibility;
and flexibility. The Board believe
Meridian has more work to do in
this space and we are refreshing our
Belonging Strategy and reviewing our
Belonging Policy in the next financial
year to reflect this. We recognise that
our diversity and inclusion metrics have
largely stalled and that we still have
some way to go to have a workforce
that is accurately representative of
New Zealand’s population.
We have an ongoing programme 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.
This year, we also introduced a new
role - Kaihautū Māori, or Head of
Māori Culture - to support us to
realise Meridian’s commitment and
grow our understanding. Our intent
is both moral and strategic. As a large
New Zealand organisation, we need
to actively factor Te Tiriti o Waitangi
into our actions and decisions. Partner-
ships are the backbone of strategic
change across a range of activities
for us. Better understanding those
we work with is part of achieving
greater success, together.
We were disappointed that our
overall employee engagement
declined this year, with engagement
scores in Meridian and Powershop
at 72%. That still puts us firmly in the
top quartile for the Large Industrial
category; however, it also reflects the
pressures that many large companies
are feeling, particularly on their front
lines, as more people look at changing
jobs or careers and cost of living impacts
are more keenly felt. Our overall stay
commitment has decreased by 5%,
which we consider significant, although
these results vary a lot by business unit.
80% of our people rated their pride in
and motivation for the organisation as
favourable and would recommend it
as a great place to work.