Meridian Energy Limited 2023 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 accelerates renewable development and
customer decarbonisation
29 August 2023
Meridian Energy has reported net profit after tax of $95 million for the year ended 30 June 2023, down
from $664 million reported last year, which included the gain on the sale of Meridian's Australian
business and positive non-cash movements in the value of hedge instruments.
Excluding the gain on sale and non-cash movements in hedge instruments, underlying net profit after
tax
1
was up 35% to $315 million and operating earnings or EBITDAF
2
, was up 10% to $783 million for
the year ended 30 June 2023. This improved operating result was driven by higher customer sales,
higher generation volumes and positive wholesale trading results.
“We’ve continued to focus on playing a key role in helping Aotearoa New Zealand to decarbonise by
driving forward with our renewable developments and offering customers an enhanced range of clean
energy solutions,” says Chief Executive Neal Barclay.
“I’m particularly proud that Meridian is leading the market in being the first New Zealand company to
progress a grid-scale battery construction in this country, which will add significantly more flexibility to
the electricity system in the form of energy storage. We have also secured credible and committed
partners to advance the Southern Green Hydrogen project. We see this as a potential game changer
as it will support Aotearoa’s drive to energy independence by providing significant demand response
and an energy source for hard to abate processes.”
The Board declared a final ordinary dividend of 11.90 cents per share, 3% higher than the previous
year. This brings the total ordinary dividends declared for the year to 17.90 cents per share, also 3%
higher than the previous year.


1
Net profit after tax adjusted for the effects of changes in fair value of unrealised hedges, electricity option premiums and other
non-cash items and their tax effects. 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
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation, unrealised changes in fair value of hedges, impairments and gains or
losses on sale of assets. 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 amortisation. Market analysts use the measure as an input into company valuation and valuation metrics used
to assess relative value and performance of companies across the sector.

m e r i d i a n e n e r g y . c o . n z
PG 2

Customers
Meridian grew overall sales volumes by 2.6%, while also increasing focus on creating more
meaningful relationships with customers to support their decarbonisation opportunities.
The company has made good progress expanding the Zero electric vehicle charging network, as well
as electric vehicle and solar customer participation. Meridian is also supporting customers with both
process heat conversion and demand flexibility volumes, which is building on the 50MW demand
response agreement reached with New Zealand’s Aluminum Smelter, announced in June, and
supports our low carbon hedge portfolio.
This month, Powershop won Consumer New Zealand’s People’s Choice award for the third year in a
row, and the sixth time since 2015.
During the year, Meridian completed the migration of the Meridian customers to the Flux customer
care and billing platform. All Meridian customers are now on this world-class platform that will enable
the business to continue to deliver great customer service and innovative products in a rapidly
evolving competitive environment. The company also expects to continue to reduce the cost to serve
its customers.
Meridian’s Energy Wellbeing program, launched during the year, continued to support the company’s
most vulnerable customers.
“An initial trial provided support for 250 households, and we found that by being a conduit into social
support agencies and by applying our own capabilities we were able to help these customers with
energy affordability challenges,” says Barclay.
“We are now ramping up the program and targeting $5 million into a new Energy Wellbeing Fund to
support families in energy hardship with the aim of reaching 5,000 households by the end of 2024.”
Renewable energy growth

Meridian continued to invest strongly in its pipeline of new renewable development. The company has
doubled its pipeline of potential projects to 4.7GW (11.1 TWh), with 1.5GW of that capacity secured
and 3.2GW in advanced prospects.
“The sector is experiencing a growth phase greater than at any other time in New Zealand’s history.
Competition is strong, and we’re confident the sector will drive the best outcomes at the least cost for
New Zealanders. For Meridian to do our share of the heavy lifting, we’ll need to build the equivalent of
20 large wind farms by 2050,” says Barclay.
Meridian’s Harapaki wind farm, currently being built in the Hawke’s Bay, was in the eye of Cyclone
Gabrielle and suffered damage to the site, with repairs putting the project back three months. First
power is now expected during October this year.
“Our team did an amazing job effecting repairs, as did Unison, Transpower and Waka Kotahi in
repairing the local grid and roading to the site. The project is back in full swing and it will be powering
the equivalent of 70,000 households by September 2024,” says Barclay.
“I am immensely proud of the Meridian team who were quick to support rescue services and became
first responders to some of the victims directly affected by the cyclone in those first days and weeks.”

m e r i d i a n e n e r g y . c o . n z
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As part of Meridian’s Ruakākā Energy Park development, near Whangārei, the company has started
construction on a grid-scale Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) and has also lodged consent
applications for the 300GWh Mt Munro wind farm in the Wairarapa. Consent for a grid scale solar
farm, also at the Ruakākā Energy Park, is imminent.
Waitaki Reconsenting

Meridian recently submitted a reconsenting application to secure the generation outputs from the
portion of the Waitaki Power Scheme that it owns and operates for a further 35 years. The existing
consent conditions expire in April 2025.
“The flexibility that the Waitaki Power Scheme provides will play a key role in how New Zealand can
help combat the impacts of climate change over the next 35 years and beyond through continued
electrification and by enabling the further growth of intermittent wind and solar electricity,” says
Barclay.
“The reconsenting process still needs to run its course, but by ensuring we have strong endorsement
and support from the key parties in the region we can be confident of a positive outcome.”
Sustainability
As the largest 100% renewable energy company in Aotearoa New Zealand, sustainability has always
been core to who Meridian is and how we operate. From the material actions to the small details,
Meridian continues to step up to the challenge of leading where it counts to support New Zealanders’
transition to net-zero by 2050.
Meridian’s sustainability efforts were once again recognised this year, with the company named in the
Kantar Better Futures Report as one of New Zealand’s most sustainable businesses.
“Our Half by 30 roadmap and Climate Action Plan are our blueprint beyond net carbon zero to a
substantially reduced future emissions footprint. Our 100% emissions offset has been expanded to
now include one-off construction emissions from renewable energy generation projects. By 2030 our
Forever Forests planting programme, will be removing the same amount of emissions that we
produce, and we remain on track to have 700,000 trees in the ground by next financial year,” says
Barclay.
This year Meridian has significantly increased support to Aotearoa’s longest-running conservation
programme (Project River Recovery), and as part of reconsenting mitigation, has begun to work more
closely with local rūnaka to improve cultural and social impacts for mana whenua in the country’s
largest hydro catchment – the Waitaki. With Meridian’s biodiversity commitment published this year,
development will continue on what a meaningful contribution will look like into the future.

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:
Philip Clark
Head of Communications
027 838 5710

---

Meridian Energy Limited,
Integrated Report 2023.
Right.
Now.

Doing right cannot wait
The world has talked about doing the right thing
by our environment for a long time. That talk has
now shifted the world dialogue from ‘plan to’, to
‘can do’. Meridian’s action this year shows a
pace and progress that we must maintain.
Let’s do. Right. Now.
Wind. Water. Sun.

Menu
02Right. Now.
10Count the days
12The right resources
14Shared focus
15The power to make a difference
16Far-reaching changes
17A 20 year pipeline
18Shaping our sustainability
19Integrated reporting
20Chief Executive & Chair report
22Acting on our purpose
34Right for nature
36Our commitment
37A change in the weather
37Preserving water quality
40Broadening our commitment
to nature and biodiversity
41Law and regulations compliance
42Fully scoping our emission reductions
46Aiming for best disclosure on climate
47Thinking full circle
50A new standard for sustainable
infrastructure development
50Forever forests continues to grow
52Sharing our views on policy and
regulatory changes
54Our impacts anchored in the natural world
60Technology for now and beyond
62Innovating together
63A platform for success
63Charging ahead
64Managing key assets for value
66Demand response agreement reached with NZAS
68Partners finalised for hydrogen developments
69Doubling our development ambitions
71Zero to 200+ in next to no time
72Certified Renewable Energy promotes
decarbonisation
73Processing big changes
74Electrification supports demand flexibility
74Infrastructure upgrades
75Informing how we stay secure
76Our impacts anchored in technology
80Humanly possible
82Empowering our people
83Our working style
83Attracting our next generation
87Our future of work
88Planning to succeed
89Focusing on our critical risks
94Building our sense of belonging
96Addressing gender injustice
103Doing our part to respect human rights
104Taking responsibility for behaving ethically
105Being good humans
106Connected to communities
108Expanding our productive partnerships
110Addressing energy wellbeing
112Our impacts anchored in people
118Better, commercially
120Strong performance
121Earnings were strong
121Wholesale change for the better
122Dividend for the year
122Retail pricing increases
126Fulfilling different needs through our retail brands
127Maintaining our credit rating
128Our impacts anchored in commercial activities
132The right renumeration
146Preparing this report
164Directors’ statement
188Our financial performance
190Group financial statements
243Independent auditor's report
247Independent Assurance Report
249GRI standards content index
254Directory
MENU
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

Right.
By our commitment:
100%
Our target for
decarbonisation through
renewable electricity.
2
RIGHT. NOW.
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

Now.
Through our pipeline:
We are accelerating
the delivery of new
renewable options.
3
RIGHT. NOW.
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

Right.
In our partnerships:
1 : 1
Shared success
starts with sharing
responsibility.
4
RIGHT. NOW.
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023
4
RIGHT. NOW.
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

We recognise that
climate change is
not going to be solved
by one company,
one person or
one community.
Now.
In how we work:
5
RIGHT. NOW.
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023
5
RIGHT. NOW.
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

Right.
Within our timeframes:
2030–
2050
The window to get
this right for everyone
is closing quickly.
6
RIGHT. NOW.
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

This is the time to
be decisive and to
take ownership of the
solutions available to us.
Now.
In terms of urgency:
7
RIGHT. NOW.
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

Right.
By our limits:
1.5
�
C
The highest degree
of climate change
we should tolerate.
8
RIGHT. NOW.
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023
8
RIGHT. NOW.
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

Our near-term
absolute emissions
reduction targets
are science-aligned.
Now.
Based on our controls:
9
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MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023
9
RIGHT. NOW.
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

Count the days:
2,557
2,557 days. That’s the gap between the end
of our 2023 financial year and the close of
our 2030 financial year. In that time, if all
goes to plan, we’ll see seven of our own
major developments consented, construction
underway and several generating electricity.
Key industries will have shed diesel and coal.
The global demand for Green Hydrogen will
have grown exponentially. Electric vehicles
will be accessible and everywhere.
Benmore Power Station, Otematata. ►
10
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MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

It may feel as if the next decade is ages away,
but when you frame it in terms of what needs
to change to get us all to a net-zero world,
time is flying by.
Pace alone won’t deliver what’s needed. We’ll
do our fair share, but we need a national mindset,
conducive legislation and genuine commitment.
We need the right sites fitted with the right
technology to transform how we power our
economy. We need robust infrastructure.
We need the backing of our investors. We need
people with the best skills applying their expertise
to make decarbonisation to happen faster.
We can’t resolve it alone. And so, this year
our drive to build meaningful and effective
partnerships has gathered pace. We’re now
working with our customers to create energy
solutions in different ways. We’re working with
iwi and rūnaka to better understand how we
can relate meaningfully to the natural resources
that our developments need. We’re finalising
arrangements to develop a hydrogen business.
We're continuing to work with New Zealand's
Aluminium Smelter and deciding what our
future relationship with them might look like.
All this will take time to get right. But it can’t
take any more time than it needs. That’s a good
pressure to put on ourselves – and others.
There’s not a day to waste.
Clean energy for a fairer and healthier world.
We’re very clear about what we’re working together to deliver:
RIGHT. NOW.
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023
11

The right resources
100%
RENEWABLE ENERGY GENERATOR – FROM WIND, WATER AND SUN
NET
ASSETS
$5.9b
Up
$3.2b
Down
FY23
REVENUE
FY23
EBITDAF*
$783m
Up
* EBITDAF is a non-GAAP financial measure
of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation,
amortisation, unrealised changes in fair value
of hedges, impairment and gains or losses
on sales of assets.
$14.5b
TOTAL MARKET
CAPITALISATION
Up
12
RIGHT. NOW.
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

$783m
KIWI
MAJORITY OWNED BY
THE NZ GOVERNMENT
10%
LEGISLATED MAXIMUM
NON-CROWN OWNERSHIP
BY ANY PERSON
LISTED ON
NZX + ASX
We’re one
of Aotearoa
New Zealand’s
largest organisations,
employing over
1,000 people.
RIGHT. NOW.
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023
13

Shared
focus
To deliver on our purpose of clean
energy for a fairer and healthier
world, we focus 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’. This will deliver
positive outcomes for New Zealand
and for our shareholders.
Our purpose
Clean energy for a fairer and healthier world
Champion
Competitive markets
Sustainability
Climate action
Optimise
Trading
Asset managment
Re-consenting
Financing
Grow
Retail
Generation
Flux earnings
Our commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Our primary SDG focusOur secondary SDG focus
Delivering through a clear strategy
Creating a great workplace through shared values
Kia tangata pai
Be a good human
Kia maia

Be gutsy
Hoea tahu te waka

Be in the waka
14
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MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

A presence in 3 countries (remote workforce).
128 Employees.
The power to
make a difference
We harness nature to generate electricity through Wind, Water and Sun.
Generation
We generate around 30% of
New Zealand’s electricity through:
• 7 Hydro stations
• 5 Wind farms (2 new underway)
• 1 Grid-scale solar array underway.
Operation
We have 1,047 employees – 92 at
our power stations – throughout
5 offices across New Zealand.
Customers
We have 363k customer connections,
around 15% New Zealand’s households
and businesses (Meridian Energy
and Powershop).
Manapōuri
Meridian Asset Key

Wind Farm

Hydro Station
Battery Storage

Meridian Offices

Powershop Office
Te Uku
Mill Creek
West Wind
Auckland
Christchurch
White Hill
Wellington
Masterton
Te Āpiti
Harapaki
(construction)
Benmore
Ōhau A
Ōhau C
Aviemore
Waitaki
Ōhau B
Twizel
Mt Munro
(consenting)
Ruakākā
(BESS construction)
Waitaki Power Scheme
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MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023
15

–v
Far-reaching
changes
2022–2023
Nature
• Extended our carbon neutral targets
to cover our operational and our
construction-related emissions
• Set a Nature-Positive ambition
• Updated our Biodiversity and
Deforestation Commitment, and
committed to piloting the Taskforce
on Nature-related Financial
Disclosures framework
• Increased our co-funding of
Project River Recovery, Aotearoa’s
longest-running conservation/
business partnership with the
Department of Conservation (DOC)
• 237 charge points have been
added to our Zero network in 2023
• We estimate we have avoided
between 15,000 and 20,000
tonnes CO2eq
1
of emissions at
Harapaki and diverted 79% of
waste from the site from landfill
• Over 125 companies purchased
more than 640GWh of Renewable
Energy Certificates
1 A carbon dioxide equivalent or CO2 equivalent, abbreviated as CO2eq is a metric measure used to compare the emissions from various greenhouse gases on the basis
of their global-warming potential (GWP), by converting amounts of other gases to the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide with the same global warming potential.
Technology
• The country’s biggest supplier of
retail energy with over 9,100GWh
• Harapaki and Ruakākā projects
progressing well despite
weather events
• Announced strategy of seven
major development projects in
seven years, through to 2030
• 472GWh of process heat
conversion from coal to electricity
for big businesses underway
• Upgraded unit capacity at
our Lake Manapōuri and Lake
Benmore stations
• Over 610,000 Flux customer
connections
• Finalised partners for our
hydrogen project
• Demonstrated the future of
demand flexibility and virtual
power plants through smart
charging and vehicle-to-grid trials
People
• Building a strong partnership
with Waitaki Rūnaka (Moeraki,
Waihao and Arowhenua) and
DOC on their support for the
Waitaki reconsent process
• Updated our Group Code
of Conduct
• Launched energy wellbeing project
to support 5,000 households
• Engagement increased to 73%
• Announced new universal benefits
for staff, including health insurance
and wellbeing leave
• Strengthened our management
of the critical safety risks in
our business and introduced
comprehensive new safety software
• Total Decarbonisation
Community Fund contribution
to date of $333,310 to advance
decarbonisation and energy
efficiency projects nationwide
Commercial
• 10% increase in EBITDAF
• Total value of our retail brands
(based on netback) increased by 17%
• Strong balance sheet to support
future investment
• 3% increase in ordinary dividend
• 10% increase in operating cash flows
• BBB+/Stable credit rating maintained
• A $200 million Green Bond to
continue refinancing eligible wind
and hydro projects and assets
closed oversubscribed
16
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MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

Design to
be reviewed.
Battery storage
Total 0. 2GW
Solar
Total 2 .4GW
Wind
Total 2 .1GW
Taranaki
(300MW)
Ruakākā
(100MW)
Manawatū
(100MW)
Ruakākā
(120MW)
Taranaki
(150MW)
Manawatū
(200MW)
Auckland
(350MW)
Mt Munro
(90MW)
Swannanoa
(130MW)
2023202520262027202820292030203120242040
Advanced options (1,650MW)
Secured options (140MW)
Advanced options (1,400MW)
A 20+ year pipeline
17
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MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

Shaping our
sustainability
Sustainability means doing the right things today so
our planet and people can survive and thrive. Meridian’s
sustainability framework work is focused on climate,
environment and people initiatives, and sees us working
towards a fairer and healthier world by helping to create:
A more sustainable
Aotearoa and planet
Generation
Biodiversity
Water
Circular Economy
Greater sustainability
for our customers
Energy Innovations
Energy Wellbeing
More sustainable
communities
Community Development
Iwi Engagement
And a more sustainable company
Our Commitments & Targets
Reporting & Transparency
Sustainable Finance
Supply Chain
Ethical Business
Our People
Our Te Ao Māori Journey
Sponsorships
18
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MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

Right for nature
Our Sustainability Framework guides
us to make conscious decisions around
our business impacts. Our long-term
goal is to support biodiversity and be
as circular as possible.
Technology for
now and beyond
Developing and leveraging our
technology solutions is proving an
effective way for us to evolve our
infrastructure responsibly to meet
the country’s energy demands.
Humanly possible
The complexities of decarbonisation
are best solved by humans coming
together. We report on how we are
supporting our people to work safely,
fairly and effectively.
Better, commercially
Shifting our commercial model
to focus on energy solutions will
help meet our customers future
decarbonisation goals.
Integrated
reporting
Decarbonisation is complex. It will
continue to require considerable
investment for many years. But it
also represents game-changing
potential in terms of combatting
climate change and improving
New Zealand’s relative competitiveness
on a global stage. In looking to take
action right now, we believe it’s
critical that we keep stakeholders fully
informed about what we are doing
and the implications of those actions.
Our long-standing commitment to
integrated reporting is about providing
as full a picture as possible of our
strategy and operations as well as the
pressures and opportunities of the
environment within which we work.
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MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023
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Meridian’s
Integrated Report
focusses on these
four key areas.

Chief Executive
& Chair report
20
CHAIR AND CEO REPORT
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

Our strategy is clear,
our pipeline is robust,
the opportunities
are exciting, and
urgency is a powerful
motivation.
21
CHAIR AND CEO REPORT
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

Acting on
our purpose
This year we have been proud to put actions
behind our purpose of Clean Energy for a
fairer and healthier world. We are focused on
decarbonisation and have several significant
development projects underway and an
ambitious programme for renewables-led
growth through to 2050. This year we have
also successfully navigated significant rainfall,
and summer droughts, and finished the
year strongly and ahead of last year’s result.
22
CHAIR AND CEO REPORT
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023
This Integrated Report is dated 28 August 2023
and is signed on behalf of the Board by:
Mark Verbiest,
Chair
Julia Hoare,
Chair Audit and
Risk Committee

Creating energy solutions
In the past five years we’ve focused on growing
Meridian’s retail presence and the volume of
energy sold to our customers. Our commitment
to a sustainable future is backed by our having
strong market share. In that time, the company’s
retail sales volumes through our Meridian
and Powershop brands have grown by 60%,
from around 5,730GWh in 2017 to more than
9,100GWh today. As a result, we continue to be
the country’s largest retail supplier of electricity.
Our dual-brand strategy continues to be
effective because it enables us to tailor our
products and services to meet our customers’
priorities. Powershop offers customers a
savvy, digitally driven approach that enables
them to buy their power their way and save
money doing it. At the same time, Meridian
is recognised as one of this country’s most
high-profile sustainable brands and offers
appeal to environmentally conscious business
and residential customers. We also have
particularly strong propositions for our
commercial, industrial and agriculture customers.
We signalled last year that we would be
evolving our customer approach to concentrate
on developing energy solutions focused on
transport, distributed generation and storage
(e.g. rooftop solar with batteries), process heat
and demand flexibility. This customer strategy
aligns with our company’s decarbonisation
agenda and will support customers to take
emissions out of their own operations whilst
saving money on their overall energy bills.
Our public EV charging network, Zero, continues
to expand, with 237 charging points across both
North and South Islands.
Sales of our Certified Renewable Energy (CRE)
product have continued to grow strongly, and
large business customers have purchased more
than 640GWh in Renewable Energy Certificates
this year. Net proceeds from the purchases of
CRE have been invested back into decarbonisation
projects through our Decarbonisation Community
Fund we introduced this year. To date, more
than $1.2 million has been raised and more than
$330,000 has been contributed to projects
including KidsCan (two EVs plus charger), South
Island Rowing (solar), Waipuna Community,
Youth and Child Services in Christchurch (solar)
and EcoMatters Bike Hubs in Auckland (EV).
◄ Installation of the first turbine at Harapaki Wind Farm, Hawke's Bay.
23
CHAIR AND CEO REPORT
MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

A sharper focus
on energy hardship
Wholesale prices remained high this
year, despite high levels of rainfall.
Gas uncertainty remains an issue
domestically, while lingering supply
chain concerns and geopolitical
issues mean costs have been
increasing. Whilst we have been
able to absorb some of the cost
pressures within our operations,
we had to increase retail prices
during the year. For most homes
this increase was less than the
overall rate of inflation, but that
still added to the pressures on
New Zealanders facing ongoing
cost-of-living increases.
It is worthwhile noting that
average prices in real terms have
broadly fallen since 2015. In 2023,
an average household is paying
less in real terms (on a price per
unit $/kWh basis) than they would
have in any year since 2011.
To counter the increased cost
of living impacts on our most
vulnerable customers, we piloted
an energy wellbeing programme.
The pilot took a holistic approach
to supporting customers who
were in energy hardship, not only
through bill credits and payment
plans, but also by funding access to
in-home assessments via partner
services, which also utilised our
co-funding to give customers
appropriate interventions – from
curtains right through to insulation
and heat pumps.
Our pilot provided support for
130 households, and we found
that by being a conduit to social
support agencies and by applying
our own capabilities we were
able to help these customers to a
point where they could afford to
pay for their power and heat their
homes. We have now committed
to growing our Energy Wellbeing
Programme with a $5.1 million
investment, aimed at supporting
5,000 Meridian and Powershop
households in hardship on their
journeys towards energy wellbeing
by the end of 2024.
Our community Power Up fund
continues to support a wide range
of local projects in communities
close to our assets. Over the last
16 years, we have invested more
than $9.6 million in more than
1,300 community-led projects.
We’ve committed to
growing our Energy
Wellbeing Programme
with a $5.1 million
investment, aimed
at supporting 5,000
households in hardship
on their journey towards
energy wellbeing.”
“
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MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

A sustainable approach
to reconsenting Waitaki
Power Scheme
In late July, we submitted a
reconsenting application to secure
the generation outputs from the
portion of the Waitaki Power
Scheme that we own and will
operate for the next 35 years.
The existing consent conditions
expire in April 2025.
Meridian and Genesis Energy
are owners and operators of
the power stations making up
the Waitaki and Tekapo Power
Schemes. Meridian operates the
Waitaki, Benmore, Aviemore and
Ōhau A, B and C power stations
which make up around 87% of
the total scheme whilst Genesis
operates the Tekapo A and
Tekapo B power stations.
The Waitaki Power Scheme
accounts for around 18% of
Aotearoa’s electricity and more
importantly around 67% of
average hydro-electricity storage,
so the continued operation of the
scheme is critical for all electricity
users. The flexibility this scheme
provides will play a key role in how
New Zealand can help combat
the impacts of climate change
through continued electrification
and by enabling the further
growth of intermittent wind
and solar electricity.
The scheme, as it was developed
through much of the last century,
made irrevocable changes to the
Mackenzie country and the Waitaki
river system. Some of the changes
have been positive, especially for
recreational users of the hydro lakes
and the catchment fishery, but the
dams and canal systems within the
catchment have created significant
challenges for biodiversity and
cultural outcomes. So we are
taking steps to build a much more
sustainable mitigation programme
that is consistent with our values
and sustainability aspirations. As
part of building this programme,
we have engaged with a range of
people and stakeholders. Most
notably, together with Genesis, we
are building a strong partnership
with Waitaki Rūnaka (Moeraki,
Waihao and Arowhenua), as the
representatives of mana whenua
Ngāi Tahu Whānui, and DOC on
their support for the reconsenting
application and the operation of
the scheme for the next 35 years.
These relationships create a strong
foundation from which we can
work collectively to help improve
the indigenous biodiversity and
cultural outcomes throughout the
catchment for the next couple of
generations, and beyond.
The reconsenting process still needs
to run its course, but by ensuring
that we have strong endorsement
and support from iwi and the key
parties in the region we can be
confident of a positive outcome.
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A multi-decade commitment
to renewable growth
Protecting and enhancing our
existing renewable generation
assets is critical and so is building to
meet future growth in demand for
electricity. Electrification remains
the obvious catalyst for New
Zealand to achieve a net-zero-
carbon economy. Aotearoa’s long-
term target of net zero emissions by
2050 will require around $30 billion
of investment in new renewable
generation. For Meridian to do our
share of the heavy lifting we’ll need
to build the equivalent of 20 large
wind farms (i.e. Harapaki size) in
the next 27 years.
We are investing strongly in
our pipeline of new renewable
generation opportunities and our
capability to deliver them. Our
Renewable Development Team
has more than doubled in size in
the past couple of years and we
have also more than doubled the
size of our renewable development
pipeline of potential projects. We
now have a deep pipeline of 4.7GW
(11.1 TWh) of development options,
with 1.5GW of that capacity
secured and 3.2GW in advanced
prospects (2.4GW solar, 2.1GW
wind and 0.2GW battery storage).
The energy sector as a whole is
embarking on a growth phase
that will be greater than any
other in New Zealand’s history.
There is no shortage of good
renewable options in this country
and no shortage of capable, well
capitalised businesses wishing
to develop them. Competition is
strong, and we are confident the
sector will drive the best outcomes
at the least cost for New Zealanders.
In support of the massive capital
investment needed to realise
these renewable generation
goals, Aotearoa needs an enabling
Resource Management Framework.
Specifically, consenting authorities
must maintain their ability to
balance localised environmental
impacts and community views with
the national and climate action
advantages associated with large-
scale renewable electricity projects.
The Resource Management Act
reform process is working through
the legislative process right now
and the outcome will be critical in
ensuring that electrification keeps
moving forward – and fast.
Our renewable
development team has
more than doubled in
size over the last couple
of years and we have
more than doubled the
size of our renewable
development pipeline
of potential projects.”
“
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Strong progress
with our projects
Last year, we translated our longer-
term goal of developing our share
of the new renewable generation
necessary to meet our country’s
decarbonisation aspirations into
a near term target of having
seven new large-scale renewable
generation projects underway
in the next seven years. It’s an
ambitious target but one that is
clearly necessary, and we have
made a solid start.
Our Harapaki wind farm, currently
being built in Hawke's Bay, was in
the path of Cyclone Gabrielle and
did suffer some damage. Despite
the significant disruption, the
response from Transpower, Waka
Kotahi, Unison and our site team
in restoring the local and national
grid and roading to the site means
the project is three months behind
schedule. Harapaki will produce
first power later this year and will be
powering up to 70,000 households
by September 2024. We are
immensely proud of the Meridian
team based in the region who were
quick to support rescue services
and became first responders
to some of the victims directly
affected by the cyclone
in those first days and weeks.
Those efforts were recognised
by Red Cross when we were
honoured for our contribution at
the Disaster Response Recognition
Awards event in August.
As part of our work at Ruakākā
Energy Park, near Whangārei, we
are developing a 100MW grid-scale
Battery Energy Storage System
(BESS). The BESS will support
stable grid operations as it enables
us to store energy during low
demand times of the day then inject
that energy back into the grid in
the morning and evening peaks.
Alongside this battery, we are
planning a 120MW solar farm that
will share the BESS infrastructure.
The project is the third of our seven
projects and is close to lodging for
consent. We hope to commence
building early in 2024.
The consent application we
have lodged for a new 300GWh
wind farm is Mount Munro in
Wairarapa, the fourth of our
seven projects and we plan to
start construction early in 2025.
Visual simulation of Mt Munro (Boffa Miskell), Wairarapa. ►
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Advancing our Southern
Green Hydrogen Project
Many of the world’s major
economies are committing huge
amounts of capital to hydrogen
technology as a source of
clean energy. New Zealand has
competitive advantages that
could enable us to be an early
mover and leader in this industry.
Producing green hydrogen
at scale has the potential to
generate significant benefits
for New Zealand, including:
• valuable jobs and
export earnings
• emission reductions for
processes and industries
that currently have limited
clean fuel alternatives e.g.
heavy transport, agriculture,
aviation and steel production
• support our transition to a 100%
renewable electricity system
by providing a cost-effective
method to mitigate up to 40%
of dry-year risks through
a flexible demand response.
We are moving forward on the
Southern Green Hydrogen Project
alongside our partners Woodside
Energy (Woodside), Mitsui & Co Ltd
(Mitsui) and Ngāi Tahu and are now
moving towards detailed design.
Near Manapōuri Power Station, West Arm, Lake Manapōuri, Fiordland. ►
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Contingencies in place
for the NZAS contract
Meridian’s contract for energy
supply with New Zealand’s
Aluminium Smelter (NZAS) ceases
at the end of 2024. We have been
in discussions with NZAS since 2022
on the possibility of entering into a
new electricity agreement, but no
agreement has been reached yet.
Meridian and NZAS entered into
a conditional demand response
agreement in April 2023.
The demand response
agreement was approved by the
Electricity Authority and became
unconditional in June 2023.
The demand flexibility arrangement
for 2023 and 2024 allows Meridian
to reduce the contract volume
offered to NZAS by up to 50MW
to help mitigate winter demand
spikes and energy needs during
dry hydro periods. Different levels
of demand response are available,
with Meridian compensating NZAS
at a fixed price each time
the demand response agreement
is called. The demand response
agreement will terminate on 31
December 2024 – the same day
as the current NZAS contract.
We are often asked whether
Southern Green Hydrogen would
be able to co-exist with NZAS,
if NZAS does remain operating
in New Zealand beyond 2024.
We absolutely believe that both
industries can coexist, as can many
other large industries e.g. milk
powder manufacturing, which
must convert from using fossil
fuels in their manufacturing
processes to using more
renewable forms of energy.
To that end we continue to work
with customers to help them
convert their industrial heat
processes to electric. We have
contracts and Memoranda of
Understanding amounting to
472GWh for new electrification
projects. And, similarly to the
demand response agreement struck
with NZAS, our Energy Innovation
Team is working with Open Country
Dairy regarding a 27MW demand-
flexibility arrangement. This
arrangement will see energy
returned to the grid during dry
hydro periods or to meet peak
demand for all other customers.
Our assessment is that we are only
just starting to tap the potential
for customers to offer demand
response to the electricity market
and thus play a key part in ensuring
overall system security.
All of this new demand for
electricity will undoubtedly require
a greater supply, but there are
ample new renewable generation
opportunities across the motu that
can support sustainable industries
and economic development.
We also believe that, whilst like
most developed nations Aotearoa
is dealing with inflationary
pressure right now, the cost of new
renewables will continue to trend
down over the long term and new
demand will not drive up the costs
of electricity to other consumers.
In fact, we expect that most likely
the opposite will occur.
We’ve been dealing with the whole
NZAS 'will they stay or will they go?'
question for a few years now.
And it is very pleasing to note that
many of the initiatives we put in
place in 2020 to mitigate the near-
term effects of a potential loss of
demand from NZAS have become
core to our business strategy,
irrespective of whether NZAS closes
at the end of 2024 or continues
operating beyond that date.
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Making even better
use of our assets
Our Generation Team has
encountered some challenges
this year, most notably issues with
two of the unit transformers
at the Manapōuri Power Station.
Both units have been taken out
of service for extended periods
for testing and are now operating
under an enhanced monitoring
regime. To date, the cause of the
issue has not been established.
On the plus side, the team has
made good progress in making
additional capacity available from
our existing portfolio of generation
assets. We have lifted maximum
capacity for each of the six Benmore
units from 90MW to 95MW and
from each of the seven Manapōuri
units from 125MW to 128MW. These
enhancements add a capacity to
our generation portfolio that is
similar to that of a a mid-sized
wind farm, at a fraction of the cost.
Sustainability is hardwired
into how we work and plan
As the largest 100% renewable
energy company in Aotearoa,
sustainability has always been core
to who we are and how we operate
our business. We introduced
our overarching Sustainability
Framework this year and continued
to focus on our Climate Action Plan,
which includes ambitious targets
for renewable electricity generation
growth, customer decarbonisation
and managing our own resilience
and emissions. This is a team effort
and one that also requires us to
work with communities, customers
and sector peers. Whether we're
working on material actions or
small details, we continue to
challenge ourselves to take a lead
where it counts to support New
Zealand and New Zealanders’
transition to net zero by 2050.
It was pleasing to see our
sustainability efforts recognised
once again this year, as we were
named in the Kantar Better Futures
Report as one of New Zealand’s
most sustainable companies.
A great example of sustainability
leadership is our approach at our
Harapaki wind farm development.
We estimate we have avoided
construction-related emissions
of between 15,000 and 20,000
tCO2eq through on-site actions
during construction and the
reduction in embodied carbon
from the design stage. We have
created dedicated sustainability
roles and we continue to build
intellectual property that will
benefit this and future projects in
our pipeline.
We continue to make great progress
on Forever Forests, our afforestation
programme, which is sized to
sequester our remaining operational
GHG emissions after our Half by
30 targets have been achieved. We
currently have around 1,214 hectares
of land in the programme and
around 300,000 trees. We remain
on track to have 700,000 trees in
the ground by next financial year.
The Forever Forests programme
is utilising an innovative mixed
planting model that ensures we can
sequester carbon quickly through
initially planting exotics but over
time filling out with natives,
ultimately leaving a native forest
legacy (hence the name).
Alongside our sharp focus on
emission reductions and renewable
electricity growth, we’ve taken steps
to invest in projects that contribute
to biodiversity values, noting that
the scope of sustainability requires
us to think intelligently about what
we can do to manage environmental
and social impacts as a result of our
operations. As mentioned earlier,
we have significantly increased
our support for Aotearoa’s longest-
running conservation programme
(Project River Recovery), and as
part of our reconsenting mitigation
we are working more closely with
local rūnaka to improve cultural and
social impacts for mana whenua
in our largest hydro catchment –
the Waitaki. Through our Nature
Positive commitment announced
this year, we will continue to explore
what a meaningful contribution to
biodiversity looks like into the future.
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Continuing to attract
talented people
The rate of change in our industry
is only speeding up and our ability
as a business to anticipate and
lead change whilst delivering
relevant solutions for our customers
is all down to our people and
our culture. We’ve invested a lot
of time and effort into ensuring
that Meridian offers an attractive
employee experience to ensure
we continue to attract and retain
talent. Our Belonging Strategy is
aimed at building on our diversity
and encouraging a true sense of
belonging that defies ethnic,
belief and gender constraints. We
introduced a Te Ao Māori strategy
during the year to help lift the
overall cultural capability of our
people and support us to better
recognise Māori values in how we
operate, attract and retain Māori
in our workforce.
Remuneration and benefits
obviously have a part to play, and
with this in mind during the year
we refreshed our benefits package,
adding some important new
features such as health insurance for
all staff and wellbeing leave.
We also believe we have effectively
normalised hybrid ways of working
and, in doing so, enhanced
productivity across the company.
Teams and cultures evolve, and
Meridian has plenty to work on
before we can say we’ve got the
ideal team mix from a diversity
perspective, but we are making
progress. We were pleased to
see a 30% increase in those who
identify as being of Māori origin
in our workforce, and our overall
gender balance remains healthy.
However, we acknowledge that
we still have work to do in terms
of encouraging more women into
parts of our business that have
historically been male dominated
and providing support and
encouragement for more women
to take on more leadership roles
within the Group.
◄ Raewyn Goessi, Health, Safety and Security Manager, Harapaki Wind Farm, Hawke's Bay.
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Keeping our people
safe from harm
In the years ahead, as we accelerate
our construction programme, we
are committed to managing the
safety risks for our people, and in
doing so we remain committed to
working alongside other sector
safety groups. This year we have
reviewed and rebuilt our under-
standing and controls to manage
critical risks. We have continued to
evolve our response to harm with
new training protocols and more
holistic software to complement
our Learning Teams and safety
systems. Beyond physical safety,
we’re committed to protecting
our people’s mental health
through our Care Teams.
We ended the year with a
calculated total recordable injury
frequency rate for employees and
contractors per 200,000 hours
worked of 1.76 (compared with
1.58 in FY22), which compares
well with industry averages.
2 Net profit after tax adjusted for the effects of changes in fair value of unrealised hedges, electricity option premiums and other non-cash items and their tax effects. Underlying net profit after tax is a non-GAAP financial measure.
Changes at
Executive Team level
The Executive Team has proved to
be a stable and productive team
in the past year.
Nic Kennedy, CEO of Flux, now
reports to an independent board
as we want to accelerate growth
in that business. Nic remains a
key member of the executive
talent at Meridian.
Changes at Board level
We continue to advocate balanced
and diverse views at Board level
to oversee Meridian’s strategy and
guide the business through the
years ahead. Graham Cockroft and
David Carter are both experienced
business leaders who joined the
Board as Non-Executive Directors.
We also welcomed Benjamin
Bateman (Ngāi Tahu) as our next
Future Director.
We said goodbye to longstanding
Director Jan Dawson at our last
Annual Shareholders’ Meeting
(ASM), and we will farewell Mark
Cairns at our upcoming ASM. Our
thanks to Jan and Mark for their
guidance and leadership while
they were with the Board.
A strong financial result
Despite a range of weather
challenges, healthy generation
numbers and further overall
growth in retail sales and volumes,
ensured a very strong financial
result. We reported a net profit
after tax of $95 million for the
year ended 30 June 2023, the
result was heavily influenced by
-$375 million net change in fair
value of energy hedges. EBITDAF
of $783 million was up $74 million
or 10% on the prior year. Under-
lying net profit after tax (which
is a non-GAAP measure)
2
for
the Group was also up 35%
at $315 million.
The sale of our Australian
operations in January 2022
significantly strengthened our
balance sheet. We now have
investment capacity to support
our renewable generation and
Southern Green Hydrogen
Project growth strategies.
The Board is confident that the
business can meet the current
decarbonisation programme and
continue to deliver dividends
for investors for the foreseeable
future. This year’s final ordinary
dividend of 11.90 cents per share,
up 3% from the previous year,
brings the total ordinary dividends
declared in FY23 to 17.90 cents
per share, also 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.
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The time is now
Decarbonising the New Zealand
economy will take collective effort
and will create a competitive
advantage for our country. Our
commitment to growing renewable
electricity generation and delivering
innovative energy solutions for our
customers will help many Kiwis
to contribute meaningfully to the
permanent changes required. Long-
term partnerships with iwi, industry,
customers and communities will
enable us to build a clear pathway
and a shared future. None of us
should downplay the challenges,
but our strategy is clear, our pipeline
is robust, the opportunities are
exciting, and urgency is a powerful
motivation. We are better placed
to support Aotearoa’s transition
to a low-carbon society than we
have ever been.
On behalf of the Board and the
Executive Team, thanks to our
customers, our partners and our
investors and to everyone in our
team for your hard work. Together,
you are helping us advance our
purpose to deliver clean energy
for a fairer and healthier world.
Proposed layout for our BESS project ►
at Ruakākā, near Whāngarei.
▼ BESS Platform◄ Electrical Switching Station
◄ O&M Building and Warehouse
◄ Firewater Storage Tank
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Right
for
nature
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MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

We’ve increased
our focus on nature
and biodiversity
with a new nature-
positive ambition.
◄ The Godley River delta, running into Lake Tekapo.
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MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

Our
commitment
Decarbonisation is a shared responsibility. Bottom-line, doing
right by our environment and resources is the best way for
us to do business. To that end, we make conscious decisions
on what we use and what we support. Ultimately of course,
we’re challenging ourselves to be as circular as possible.
In this section:
• A change in the weather
• Preserving water quality
• Hydrology this year
• Broadening our commitment to nature and biodiversity
• Law and regulations compliance
• Fully scoping our emission reductions
• Aiming for best disclosure on emissions
• Thinking full circle
• A new standard for sustainable infrastructure development
• Forever Forests continues to grow
• Sharing our views on policy and regulatory changes
• Our impacts anchored in the natural world
• Cleaner than ever
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A change in the weather
Intense weather events throughout the country
have been strong reminders that the conditions
in which we operate are continuing to change.
Increases in the volumes of rain events, for
example, are making our inflows more volatile,
while dry conditions elsewhere are a reminder
that these shifts in weather conditions are going
to affect different parts of our operation in
contrasting ways.
In the case of our hydro assets, the size of our
lakes doesn’t change, but what feeds them –
rain and snow melt – are changing over time.
That affects how we operate, and of course
how prices are formed in the electricity market.
This year, as happens in most years, it also
required us to spill water.
Meanwhile, at developments like the Harapaki
wind farm our crews have been dealing with
severe weather that has delayed their work and
caused massive damage across whole regions.
Our team have done a remarkable job in
keeping the project delays limited to the
effects of Cyclone Gabrielle alone, given
the number of weather challenges prior.
None of these emerging challenges should
be surprising. New Zealanders have known for
some time that climate change will significantly
affect their lives. Meridian will continue taking
actions to reduce gross emissions that we
create, and we must adapt to what’s
happening and continue to introduce greater
flexibility and diversity to our energy capacity.
Preserving water quality
New Zealanders have strong feelings about
water and how it’s used. They’re concerned about
water quality and availability, who owns and has
access to water, and whether the infrastructure
is being managed properly. Maintaining water
quality and ensuring that standards in our
catchments are clearly defined and complied
with is something we take very seriously.
Hydro generation doesn’t change the
composition of water. However, certain land uses
in the catchments of the Waiau and Waitaki river
systems mean they’re affected by sediment and
the proliferation of algae and invasive weeds.
To keep waterways as clean as possible, we
look to release flushing flows into these rivers
regularly to break off weed growth. Our ability
to deliver these flushing flows currently requires
works on the river channels. For example,
there is a specific problem area upstream of
the Manapōuri lake control structure, where
sediment has accumulated to the point where
it compromises our ability to release flushing
flows effectively. Our Dam Safety Intelligence
team were commissioned to advise us on the
best approach to remedy this. Using lidar survey
equipment, their assessment of the channel
depth and water volumes necessary to deliver
flushing flows is that up to 300,000 cubic
metres of material needs to be removed to make
flushing flows more effective while keeping the
lakeshores and water quality as they should be.
Our day-to-day use of water at Lake Manapōuri
is controlled by resource consent conditions
that include ongoing monitoring and reporting
◄ Lake Manapōuri, Fiordland.
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MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

requirements. If our current or
planned activities have, or could
have, any impacts on freshwater
quality, our resource consent
conditions and stakeholder
agreements provide guidance
on how those impacts are to
be managed.
We discharge fresh water from
the Manapōuri Power Station into
Deep Cove, in accordance with
the resource consent conditions
mentioned above, and undertake
regular marine environment
monitoring and reporting. In the
50 years in which the station has
been running, the area closest to
the tailrace has become largely
fresh water. Otherwise, there have
been only slight changes to an
environment that naturally has
high freshwater inflows. Overall,
the Doubtful Sound marine
environment remains very healthy.
We continue to work closely with
regional councils 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 entering
waterways from our stations.
It’s up to the Regional Council to
develop a catchment plan that sets
standards for water quality and
freshwater management for the
Waiau catchment. The proposed
plan (Plan Change Tuatahi) will need
to be lodged with the Office of
the Chief Freshwater Commissioner
by the end of 2024. Any decisions
will set the framework for the
subsequent reconsenting of
the Manapōuri power scheme.
Reconsenting of the Manapōuri
scheme needs to be completed
prior to consents expiring in 2031.
Hydro NZ
Wind NZ
Wind AU
Hydro AU

Generation (GWh)
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
16,000
FY20*FY21*FY22
FY23
1,465
12,758
1,395
11,297
1,285
12,271
1,202
12,701
* Waitaki Power Station total generation capacity updated following restoration.
Hydrology this year
Hydro NZ
Wind NZ
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MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

Hydro NZ
Wind NZ
Capacity (MW)
416
2,353
416
2,353
416
2,353
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
416
2,353
FY20*FY21*FY22FY23
* Waitaki Power Station total generation capacity updated following restoration.
Water consumption
*
Mm
3
FY19FY20FY21
***
FY22FY23
Fresh surface water (lakes, rivers)74,18385,33966,65976,52381,431
Water returned to the source of
extraction at similar quality61,83272,99454,99465,53570,772
Total net freshwater consumption
**
12,35112,34511,66510,98 810,659
* Municipal water consumption not reported as minimal and not metered. Flows though hydroelectric
turbines are calculated based on the machine ratings using headwater level, tailwater level and machine
power (MW). Unit of measurement in MM3 is used to ensure precision of data is accurately represented.
** 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 correct for subsequent NIWA quality assurance of data for Lower Waiau flow.
Additional 225 to both fresh surface water and water returned to the source of extraction.
Total net fresh water consumption not affected.
Plant availability
%FY19FY20FY21FY22FY23
*
Hydro91.68 8.991.18 8.991.0
Wind83.389.889.086.386.6
Outages for FY23 – Hydro: maintenance 6,370.87 hours, planned 7,317.59 hours, forced
15,809.8 hours; Wind: planned (including maintenance) 11,896 hours, forced 926 hours.
* Availability is now time-based not production-based.


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Broadening our commitment
to nature and biodiversity
Action on climate change is critical
as is the action needed to reverse
nature loss and restore biodiversity.
We’ve increased our focus on
nature and biodiversity with a new
nature-positive ambition. Building
on the environmental commitments
we’ve made and the actions we
take today, we have plans to pilot
new nature-based frameworks and
advance identified new biodiversity
initiatives in the coming year.
We note the global work being
undertaken by the Taskforce on
Nature-related Financial Disclosures
and the progress in science-
based targets for nature. Locally,
Te Mana o te Taiao, the Aotearoa
New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy,
sets out a strategic framework for
the protection, restoration and
sustainable use of biodiversity.
In the past year, cross-business
teams within Meridian have been
identifying how we can incorporate
a biodiversity strategy into how we
work to complement our position
as a sustainability leader. We also
recognise the opportunity to learn
from and reflect the aspirations
of iwi and mana whenua in this
work, with mātauranga Māori and
their own connections with nature.
We’re very excited about taking
our next steps to advance our
practical choices and realise our
nature-positive ambition.
Biodiversity is an issue that’s close
to home – literally. The catchments
and other environments in which
we operate and develop renewable
generation contain or are in ‘close
proximity’ to ‘critical biodiversity’ or
‘critical habitats’. So, not surprisingly,
we already do a lot to ensure that
nature, including biodiversity, is top
of mind for our people:
• We’re committed to contributing
to the United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals with a focus
on Climate Action, Responsible
Consumption and Production,
Life on Land, and Clean Water
and Sanitation.
• In order to minimise any negative
impacts of our operations on
biodiversity, we comply with
all environmental legislation,
including all resource consents
that we have.
• We undertake Fatal Flaw
Analyses of all new land
prospects to identify and avoid
intolerable impacts on critical
biodiversity or critical habitats
where practicable.
• We monitor native bat and
falcon populations near our
sites at specific times.
• We undertake predator reduction
work to protect the habitat of
New Zealand’s native falcon.
• We register covenants over
land to protect ecological
plantings and wetlands. For
example, we've added 110
hectares to the 40 hectares of
red tussock already protected
at our White Hill wind farm.
• We report to specialist statutory
guardians who are appointed
to oversee our operations and
environmental outcomes at
Lakes Manapōuri, Monowai
and Te Anau.
As a next step in our bid to include
biodiversity considerations in
everything we do, this year we
publicly declared our new No
Net Deforestation Commitment
for our operations (excluding
wilding conifers), and updated
our Biodiversity and Deforestation
Commitment as a result.
Our co-funded Project River
Recovery is Aotearoa’s longest-
running conservation business
partnership. For more than 30
years, Project River Recovery has
been preserving and restoring
braided river habitats in the
upper Waitaki catchment through
predator and weed eradication.
This year, as part of discussions on
the renewal of our partnership with
DOC, we’ve agreed to increase our
support significantly. Historically,
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. The new funding
arrangements will allow this work
to expand dramatically.
In the Waiau catchment we
continue to work closely with the
Waiau Fisheries and Wildlife Habitat
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RIGHT FOR NATURE
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Enhancement Trust to enhance
stream and wetland habitats for
fisheries and wildlife.
We support and fund the migration
of elvers and migrant eels across
our dam structures in both of
our hydro catchments every year
through our elver trap and transfer
programme, under the guidance
of Ngāi Tahu.
We note with great sadness the
passing of Bubba Thompson, a
rangitira of Awarua. Bubba and
his wife Gail worked with us
for many years and we wish to
acknowledge the relationship
with each of them and the deep
respect that we have for their
knowledge and understanding of
the Waiau catchment. Among his
many achievements, Bubba was
involved with the elver transfer
programme for a decade.
We honour his memory.
As part of our partnership with
Te Waiau Mahika Kai Trust, we’ve
been developing a carbon forest to
deliver carbon sequestration. This
year, through Forever Forests, we’ve
undertaken new planting at the
Trust’s Te Kōawa Tūroa o Takitimu
property as the trust restores the
site to provide mahika kai resources.
Our successful partnership with
DOC and Ngāi Tahu to support
the Kākāpō Recovery Programme
has also continued. We renewed
the arrangement this year. Our
involvement helps to fund research
and initiatives relating to genetics,
nutrition, disease management and
finding new sites. During the 2023
breeding season 55 chicks fledged.
There are now 248 known birds,
double the number that existed
when we first signed as a partner
in 2016.
Law and regulations
compliance
There have been no significant
instances of non-compliance
with laws and regulations and
we’ve paid no fines during the
reporting period.
Meridian staff help release 42 endangered kakī/black stilt ►
at the Tasman river near Aoraki/Mount Cook, as part of PRR.
41
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Fully scoping our
emission reductions
Decarbonisation is a day-to-day
priority for us. As a major Aotearoa
New Zealand company, publicly
listed and with more than 1,000
people in our workforce, we’re
determined to lead by example.
The doubling of our development
pipeline options and constructing
projects in parallel in the past year
is the most visible sign that we
mean business.
Our Climate Action Plan is a
delivery-focused plan with three
priority areas: renewable generation;
customer decarbonisation; and
managing our emissions and
ensuring resilience. This year’s
plan refresh has a greater focus
on climate change adaptation
actions, outlines actions to minimise
one-off construction emissions,
and highlights our increased
commitment to offset 100% of our
business emissions. We’ve been
carbon neutral in our operational
emissions for a number of years,
and our commitment to offsetting
emissions now includes emissions
from new construction activities.
This year we’re also reporting on
how we’ve performed against our
FY23 targets and milestones, and
what we’re doing to build on our
climate action momentum in FY24.
This includes reporting on our Half
by 30 initiative, through which we
aim to halve our gross operational
scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by
FY30 on an FY21 baseline.
We’re encouraged by the
progress we see around us. The
Government’s actions in the area
of transport and the bolstering
of the Government Investment
in Decarbonising Industry (GIDI)
Fund are helping to build good
momentum for change. The
signing of a major demand-
flexibility agreement with
New Zealand's Aluminium
Smelter (NZAS), the take-up of
our Certified Renewable Energy
product and strong interest
among our customers and
other businesses in process
heat conversion to electricity
and commercial solar show that
businesses are keen to engage.
The expansion of our Zero EV
charging network and our charging
solutions for homes and businesses
will also enable households to
play their part.
An important development last
year was the establishment of the
Energy Innovation Team within
our retail business. The team is
now actively working on solutions
to help our customers decarbonise,
from helping to deploy charging
infrastructure, to helping create
value from demand flexibility, to
electrifying process heat. We look
forward to continuing to report on
its progress.
Within our own business, and
alongside our development
programme, we’re working hard
to embed decarbonisation into
what we prioritise and measure for
success throughout our business,
and how we rethink our business-
as-usual activities to make them
less carbon intensive, more circular
(and therefore less wasteful) and
more accountable in terms of our
climate-related goals.
Over 95% of our GHG emissions
are scope 3 emissions that occur
in our supply chain. Essentially,
these emissions are beyond our
direct control, coming mainly from
goods and services we purchase
and emissions associated with
subleased farms in close proximity
to our assets.
Our supply chains vary, depending
on the parts of the business. Local
and global suppliers provide our
generation business with parts and
components to build and maintain
our generation assets. We also
work with general engineering
consumable and specialist parts’
suppliers, and providers of
services such as ICT (information
and communications technology)
and facilities’ management. In
contrast, we have a very short
supply chain in our retail business
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
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RIGHT FOR NATURE
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include physical facilities and ICT,
sales and marketing, billing and
governance functions.
In FY23 our operational emissions
were measured at 33,463 tCO2eq.
In 2022 the Science Based Targets
initiative validated our near-term
and underlying Half by 30 targets:
to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2
GHG emissions by 50% by FY2030
from a FY2021 base year, and to
reduce absolute scope 3 GHG
emissions by 50% within the
same timeframe.
Our direct scope 1 emissions are
primarily driven by combustion
boat emissions from road transport
at Manapōuri and travel from
within our own fleet and from
rented vehicles. 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
when manufacturers make them
available in New Zealand.
Adopting the market-based
approach for electricity
consumption and scope 2
emissions, our reported emissions
continue to be near zero. That’s
because we’ve matched our
consumption to renewable energy
production from Meridian’s
assets using Renewable Energy
Certificates issued by the New
Zealand Energy Certificate System.
A significant addition last year
was an Internal Decarbonisation
Fund. Backdated to FY20, when
Meridian first used Renewable
Energy Certificates for our market-
based scope 2 emissions reporting,
the fund enables us to ‘charge
ourselves’ the equivalent net
revenue that our customers pay
per Renewable Energy Certificate.
The ring-fenced proceeds are
then used to fund additional
decarbonisation projects within
Meridian’s operational emissions
boundary – contributing to our
Half by 30 goal. This internal fund
aligns with the design and purpose
of our Certified Renewable Energy
product, where we reinvest the net
proceeds of customer-purchased
Renewable Energy Certificates
into business or community-based
decarbonisation projects. The total
Decarbonisation Community Fund
contribution to date is $333,000
to advance decarbonisation and
energy efficiency projects that
might not yet have occurred.
The key achievements in our scope
3 emission-reduction work last
year included the completion
of decarbonisation initiatives at
salmon farms in our canals, and the
launch of a new emission-reduction
package for commuting staff.
To encourage Meridian staff to
play their part in reducing both
their personal emissions and ours,
we’re looking at introducing staff
incentives to reduce emissions
through gamification, a points
system and rewards for low-carbon
commutes and using e-bikes.
In delivering these initiatives we’ve
adopted a human-centred design
Within our own
business, and along-
side our development
programme, we’re
working hard to embed
decarbonisation into
what we prioritise
and measure for
success throughout
our business...”
“
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approach to ensure the measures
are fair and accessible for everyone.
At the same time, we’re encouraging
people to think about whether they
need to travel, and have given them
access to an air travel calculator so
they can see the carbon they could
save. These changes extend all the
way to our Board.
So far in our emission-reduction
journey, there have been a number
of key learnings. We know that
Half by 2030 won’t be a linear
progression. There’ll be periods
when progress is slow as we make
changes within our wider supply
chain, and there’ll be times when
that groundwork pays off and we
see noticeable gains. This year, for
example, we’ve made significant
gains internally to advance our Half
by 30 agenda, with the emission-
reduction results of these initiatives
to come in future years – such as the
achievement in having a business
case approved to electrify the ferry
used to get our staff and contractors
to and from Manapōuri Power
Station. Finally, while we have
some major initiatives in play to
reduce our emissions, including
good progress with our resource
consents at Mt Munro and Ruakākā,
the real key to effective emission
reductions lies in doing lots of
smaller things, and doing them
well. Effectiveness, in other words,
is cumulative rather than dramatic,
and involves a number of parties.
Our Supplier Code of Conduct
encourages our suppliers to take
climate actions that would work
for their businesses and enable
us to help New Zealand become
a net-zero-carbon country in
2050. This year we commenced
a supplier carbon engagement
programme to understand how
we can help suppliers to measure
and reduce greenhouse gases.
Doing this will be a win-win for
Meridian and our suppliers.
We now record 100% of GHG
emission data from all suppliers and
contractors at our developments.
Monthly reports let us see where
current emissions are trending and
we also track these annually and for
the duration of projects. We’ve been
doing this at the Harapaki wind
farm for two full years, and for three
months at Ruakākā Energy Park.
All contractors are required to let
us know what they’re doing on site
to reduce their emissions through
scope-specific Sustainability
Management Plans, and the details
are recorded in the project registers.
All contractors must also provide
a dedicated sustainability staff
member on site.
The Meridian Group Half by 30
roadmap in our Climate Action Plan
includes six areas of focus, covering
all three scopes of activity and three
horizons, with targets that together
form our plan to deliver on our
Half by 30 commitment. See our
Climate Action Plan for detail of our
progress in these six areas.
Our analysis of the emissions
associated with major maintenance
projects and the one-time
construction of renewable
generation assets shows that
those activities have the potential
to generate as many emissions as
our current operational activities.
Recognising this, we’ve now built
active emission reductions into our
project plans for the Harapaki wind
farm and Ruakākā development.
These emissions are managed and
minimised through project-specific
metrics for each development based
on the specific challenges and
opportunities at a site. For example,
our Sustainability Management Plan
at the Harapaki wind farm requires
all parties to report on emissions
and to meet key performance
indicators (KPIs) for continuous
improvement initiatives. So far,
through thinking about sustainability
issues at the design stage and
implementing more sustainable
practices on site, we estimate that
the Harapaki team has reduced the
overall emissions by between
15,000 and 20,000 tCO2eq.
Fully scoping our
emission reductions continued
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Climate Action Plan
Meridian’s purpose of Clean energy for a fairer and healthier world is at
the centre of everything we do on our journey to a resilient, net zero future.
Our
purpose

* Meridian’s operational emission boundary includes all Scope 1, 2 and 3 categories, excluding all one-time construction emissions from major projects and all activities that are capitalised as part of renewable
energy projects. From our FY21 baseline (excluding Meridian Australia).
These key initiatives align with our commitment to contribute meaningfully to the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) where we can have most impact – such as SDG13 Climate Action.
See our Sustainability Policy for further detail. Where we can’t reduce our operational emissions right now, we offset using Gold Standard Verified Emission Reductions and have done since FY19.
Our
priorities

Renewable
generation
Customer
decarbonisation
Managing our emissions
and ensuring resilience
Our key
initatives
Renewable energy
development pipeline
Creating a pipeline of grid-scale projects
ready for construction. First horizon ̒7x7’
focused on 7 projects in the 7 years to 2030.
Construction of new generation assets
Beginning with Harapaki wind farm, we’re
building new assets to increase supply from our
existing 100% renewable energy asset base.
New opportunities – hydrogen
Advancing a new partnership opportunity to
develop a green hydrogen centre to support
decarbonisation in Aotearoa and abroad.
Process heat
Helping businesses replace fossil fuel boilers
with electrode boilers and heat pumps.
Electric vehicles
and charging network
Making it easier for NZers to drive electric.
Demand flexibility
Playing our part in creating a more flexible
energy system that enables smarter use of
electricity and widespread electrification.
Construction emissions
Reducing emissions as we build new generation
assets, and our new offsetting commitment.
Half by 30
*

Our science-aligned gross emission-reduction
target for Scope 1, 2 and 3 operational emissions.
Halving total emissions by FY30 on a FY21 baseline.
Forever Forests
Our nature-based response to grow a permanent,
and over time 100% native, emissions sink.
Climate risk and adaptation
Our continued commitment to assess and manage
our climate-related risks, including adaptation.
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\
Meridian Group GHG emissions
tCO2eqFY21FY22FY23
Scope 11,0206431,191
Scope 21422
Scope 3 operational29,55732,22432,270
Total Group operational emissions
*
30,59132,86933,463
Scope 3 one-time construction and upgrades2848,24214,295
Total Group value chain emissions
**
30,87641,11147,75 8
* Meridian’s operational emission boundary includes all scope 1, 2 and 3 categories, excluding all
one-time construction emissions from major projects and all activities that are capitalised as part
of renewable energy projects. Our FY21 baseline and FY22 emissions were restated in FY23 due
to a change in emission factor source for purchased goods and services
** Group emissions are offset, using Gold Standard Voluntary Emissions Reductions (GS VERS) after
taking into account credits cancelled by suppliers against their own emissions.
Meridian’s generation emissions intensity is 0 (tCO2eq/GWh of total generation). As a generator
of 100% renewable energy, the fuel source for the electricity generated has no emissions.
Emissions progressAiming for best
disclosure on climate
The Government requirement
for all listed companies to publicly
disclose their climate-related issues
is one we welcome. We’ve been
voluntarily preparing Climate-
related Disclosures since 2019
because, as a company publicly
committed to decarbonisation,
we consider it a vital part of
holding ourselves responsible
to stakeholders.
The Task Force on Climate-related
Financial Disclosures framework
has served as a robust way to
show our progress in governance,
risk management, strategy and
our climate-related metrics and
targets. Still, we believe we can go
further. We aimed to substantially
voluntarily align our FY23 Climate-
related Disclosure with the
Aotearoa New Zealand Climate
Standards, released last year,
ahead of our first full compliance
year in FY24.
We continue to measure and
publicly report on our full value chain
emissions. Our FY23 GHG emissions
inventory, including data sources
and quantification methodology,
has been independently assured
to a reasonable level against the
requirements of ISO 14064-1:2018,
the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and
the Corporate Value Chain Standard.
Building on our Climate-related
Disclosures and publicly available
Biodiversity and Deforestation
Commitments, this year we plan to
pilot the adoption of the Taskforce
on Nature-related Financial
Disclosures’ framework, which has
the potential to enable us to have
more holistic impacts on nature.
The changes linked to these new
disclosures don’t stop there. As part
of a change programme to further
build our climate-related disclosure
expertise, we’ve made important
changes to our risk-assessment
methodologies, and refreshed
our climate scenarios in our latest
Climate-related Disclosure.
For more details on what we’re
disclosing, refer to Climate-related
Disclosures and Greenhouse Gas
Inventories on our website.
FY23 Total operational GHG by scope (tCO2eq)
Scope 1: 1,191 (4%)
Scope 2: (market based): 2 (0%)
Scope 3: 32,270 (96%)
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MERIDIAN INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

\
Progress against our Half by 2030 goal (tCO2eq
*
)
42,447
40,757
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

30,591
32,869
33,463
Group emissions
Land Transport
Farms
Fugitive Emissions
Air Travel
Ferry & Barge
Waste
Balance Emissions
Reduction target


* Meridian’s operational emission boundary includes all scope 1, 2 and 3 categories,
excluding all one-time construction emissions from major projects and all activities
that are capitalised as part of renewable energy projects. Our FY21 baseline and
FY22 emissions were restated in FY23 due to a change in emission factor source
for purchased goods and services.
Thinking full circle
A circular economy approach
focuses on minimising the amount
of finite resources consumed for
economic activity by ensuring
that materials have their integrity
maintained and circulated within
the economy for as long as possible.
As part of our zero waste ambition,
we’re looking to embed a framework
in the business that will enable us
to shift from the traditional ‘linear’
way of working to a ‘circular’ way of
thinking that seeks to optimise the
circulation of resources and avoid
unnecessary consumption and
the creation of waste.
As a large generator, developer
and retailer of energy, Meridian
produces waste at our assets, at
our construction sites and at our
corporate offices. We’ve identified
our material waste impacts to be:
reducing waste from the operation,
maintenance and repowering of our
assets; leading and demonstrating
best practice when it comes to
constructing new renewable
assets; and ensuring that our
corporate offices promote a
culture that supports the
shift to a circular economy.
Overall, Meridian is committed to
being a sector leader in advancing
and/or implementing circular
solutions for the materials and key
items we use in and at our assets.
Our ambition is for zero waste
when operational assets (such as
solar panels, batteries, turbines,
concrete and metals) reach the end
of their useful lives.
We are also committed to
demonstrating best-practice waste
management on our construction
sites and corporate offices by
targeting zero waste to landfill.
Waste at our assets
The operation and maintenance
of our generation assets makes up
19% of our total waste emissions
(including landfill and recycling).
The majority of this waste currently
comes from hydro. Towards the
end of the decade we’ll begin
a repowering programme that
involves upgrading our wind assets
as they come to the end of their
design lives. This will start with our
Te Āpiti wind farm where we know a
range of decommissioned materials
(such as wind turbines) will need
end-of-life solutions.
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Although further analysis is required
to properly map and understand
generation waste inputs, outputs
and impacts, we know that asset
components are difficult to reuse or
recycle as a result of their complex
electrical, mechanical or structural
properties. What’s more, receiving
accurate reporting from contractors
on the kilograms of waste sent to
landfill or being recycled remains
an ongoing challenge (especially
in our more rural areas).
We are proud to have found
creative end-of-life solutions for
our filters and our hydraulic hoses
and we are excited about a future
pilot that will explore the potential
of pressing oil out of oily rags. It
should be noted that although
this pilot will potentially help us to
optimise the recycling of oil, the
flammable properties of the rags
themselves mean these will still
need to be disposed to landfill
as hazardous waste.
Waste at our
construction sites
Meridian has an ambitious
pipeline of renewable energy
asset construction for the next
decade and beyond. That’s why
it’s important that we decouple the
growth in our construction from
growth in our waste production
and its associated emissions.
Construction waste makes up
73% of our total waste emissions
(including landfill and recycling).
This year we released our first
Sustainable Infrastructure
Framework to support sustainability
practices on major construction
projects. Where waste is identified
as a material impact, it requires
those responsible for major
projects to estimate, identify and
implement initiatives to ensure that,
where possible, waste is designed
out and that the sustainable use
of resources is optimised –
following the avoid, reduce,
re-use, recycle hierarchy.
Waste at our
corporate offices
Our corporate offices are where
our people gather in the largest
numbers daily. Although our waste
creation at these offices is low in
comparison to that at our assets and
construction sites (8% of our total
waste emissions including landfill
and recycling), we want to ensure
that our offices fully demonstrate
the best-practice commitments
and decision-making processes
we adhere to on waste. In FY24 we
will be launching a pilot of Method
InSight bins – this will allow us to
receive improved real-time waste
data and to analyse waste trends
in our participating office.
Hazardous waste
Being 100% renewable, Meridian
produces only incidental amounts
of hazardous waste across our
generation assets, construction
sites and corporate offices. Of
the incidental amounts we do
create, the key outputs include
asbestos (from demolishing old
infrastructure), contaminated
soil and oily rags (from spills at
generation and construction sites),
and other hazardous flammable
waste (including household items
like paints, thinners etc).
In FY23 Meridian went deeper into
completing a waste stocktake. In
all situations, hazardous material
management and disposal is
handled by an accredited third
party. However, the exact reporting
of the kilograms of hazardous
material landfilled and recycled
remains as an area for improvement.
All sites have hazardous waste
guidelines, dictated by our Safety
and Health Guidelines. Hazardous
substances and materials must be
clearly identified, and Safety Data
Sheets (SDSs) must be supplied.
Materials must be handled,
stored and disposed of in the
approved manner as specified
in the SDSs, and Hazardous
Inventory Tracking Sheets need
to be updated as required. All of
these steps mitigate the risk of
any hazardous waste leaking
into the environment.
Waste at our assets continued
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\
Waste
*
Disposed
Metric tonnesFY20FY21FY22FY23
Non Hazardous7031,295710576
Total disposed – non-hazardous7031,295710576
Hazardous – non-flammable
**
––26
Hazardous – flammable
**
–––50
Total disposed – hazardous––257
Total disposed7031,295712633
Recycled or reused
Cable–––9
Cleanfill––6546,610
Commingled1838531,678
Organic119116
Paper and card104791116
Scrap metal–9626
Timber–––1
Total reused/recycled – non-hazardous1332227318,326
Hazardous–102814
Total reused/recycled – hazardous–102814
Total reused/recyled1332327598,340
Total waste generated8361,5271,4718,973
* Data sourced from waste contractor reporting and invoices and is reported in metric tonnes.
Where applicable evidence-based estimates are used. We expect to see reporting improvements
that will limit the requirement for estimates in future. All figures reflect onsite recovery operations.
** We began reporting hazardous waste disposed separately from general waste disposed in FY22.
Disposal by incineration data currently unknown.
Energy
Meridian is committed to generating only 100% renewable energy and to
the purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates in respect of the electricity
we consume. We calculate that our current electricity consumption is greater
than 99% matched with the purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates,
with the remaining consumption from charger individual connection
points (ICPs) and buildings that we rent that are out of our control.
Areas that Meridian intends to advance in future years include the visibility
of non-renewable and renewable energy in our value chain, especially
among our suppliers.
Energy consumed
*
GJFY20FY21FY22FY23
Total energy consumption
within the organsiation
67, 8 8 070,62867,90667, 8 4 2
Non-renewable fuel consumed10,0429,1288,3739, 265
Renewable fuel consumed––––
Electricity purchased
for consumption
57,83861,50059,53358,577
Self generated electricity51,146,88445,629,69948,743,90849,992,222
Electricity sold51,146,88445,629,69948,743,90849,992,222
* All figures reported in GJ Conversion factors sourced from US Energy Information Administration as
of 30.6.2023. (eia.gov/energyexplained/units-and-calculators/energy-conversion-calculators.php).
Renewable Energy Certificates are applied to electricity consumption where Meridian is the retailer.
There is no consumption or sales of heating, cooling or steam.
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A new standard for sustainable
infrastructure development
3 Whole-of-Life Embodied Carbon Emissions Reduction Framework, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, August 2020.
Figures from the Ministry
of Business, Innovation and
Employment (MBIE) show that the
building and construction sector
currently accounts for around
20% of New Zealand’s carbon
emissions
3
. Reducing embodied
carbon in large-scale projects is
crucial to Aotearoa New Zealand
achieving its goal of being carbon
neutral by 2050.
As an active and scaled developer
of energy projects, we recognise
that we have a responsibility to
minimise our emissions and waste in
our own construction programme.
Our assessments show that our
forecast construction emissions this
decade are likely to be the same as
our total operational emissions.
As part of lowering our impacts and
promoting responsible resource
use, we’ve introduced guidance
for sustainable construction
throughout our business, and
applied it to our Harapaki wind
farm and Ruakākā battery projects.
At Harapaki we’re building in
carbon wins at every stage of the
project. Reviews of the civil design
significantly reduced the quantities
of concrete and steel, lowering
the project’s carbon footprint
before ground was even broken.
Since then, we estimate on-site
actions (encouraged by an ‘always
on’ carbon mindset) have avoided
emissions by a further 15,000
and 20,000 tCO2eq.
We believe that, through
identifying our best practice and
sharing our learnings with the wider
industry, the Harapaki wind farm
project will set a new standard
for the low-carbon construction
of wind farms, and enable the
development of a new standard
for the design, construction and
operation of new wind farms
throughout Aotearoa New Zealand
that will accelerate the transition to
a low-carbon future.
We also measure the wider social
and economic benefits generated
by Harapaki for the local community.
For example:
• 55% of our workforce is
currently employed locally
• we’ve spent more than $92
million in the local community
• we’ve diverted 79% of the
waste from the site from
landfill to re-use.
Forever Forests
continues to grow
Since 2019 Meridian has invested
in permanent forests in Aotearoa
through the Forever Forests
programme, with the aim of
creating our own carbon sink
and delivering broader biodiversity
and social benefits.
Initially we planted a mixed model
of exotics and natives on our own
land, with a view to transitioning
to fully native forests over time.
However, we soon recognised that
our own property holdings were
not going to be enough, so since
then we’ve acquired more of our
own land and formed partnerships
to pursue the remainder of the
land required. We now have all the
land we need (1,214 hectares in
the programme) with an estimated
300,000 trees planted to date on
350 hectares and the remainder
to follow in 2023–2025.
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Of the trees planted so far, around
20% are natives and another 15% is
passive native regeneration under
management by the end of FY24.
Our goal is to have 700,000 trees
in the ground by FY2024. We
expect our plantings to transition
to fully or predominantly native
in 60–70 years.
So far we have 14 planting sites in
total, with nine already planted and
the remaining five to be planted.
Five of our sites are now registered
with the Ministry for Primary
Industries (MPI) and are producing
credits (2,500 and counting). The
remaining four planted projects are
awaiting MPI approval. Between
now and 2030 we expect to create a
cumulative stock of >50,000 credits.
One of the most satisfying aspects
of Forever Forests is the opportunity
to work with communities and to
involve Meridian people in the
programme. We’ve undertaken
more than 12 native-only plantings
involving Meridian staff since 2019,
including the Tūī Corridor project
in Christchurch.
We have four partnerships in
place: one with The Christchurch
Foundation for our Christchurch
plantings; and the others with
private landowners near our
wind farms and iwi-based trusts.
More recently we’ve turned our
attention to the wider biodiversity
opportunities for Forever Forests.
For example, in the Tūī Corridor
project in Christchurch, we used
to use pest control to protect
the trees but not necessarily the
wildlife. We’ve now upgraded our
pest-control measures to protect
both. We’ll continue to do more
to establish a safe home for all the
inhabitants of our Forever Forests
in the years ahead.
Planting native trees at West Wind Farm, Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, as part of our Forever Forests programme. ►
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Sharing our views on policy
and regulatory changes
We feel an ongoing responsibility to
interact with regulators and public
sector organisations to ensure that
decisions being made on the future
of the New Zealand electricity
sector and the contribution it makes
to the wider economy are informed
and best benefit our customers
and all New Zealanders. We do this
through providing feedback on
proposed policies, legislation and
regulation and through dialogues
with a wide range of organisations
including the Electricity Authority
and MBIE.
In our conversations we’re always
looking to balance the needs of our
stakeholders with the perspectives
of our partners and the now-urgent
national need to decarbonise.
Of course these conversations
are just part of what must happen
if Aotearoa New Zealand is to
instigate effective change. A
well-functioning electricity market
that incentivises the construction
of new renewable electricity-
generation systems is also vital, as
is the commitment of current and
future governments to delivering
policy stability, transparency and
continuity on climate change.
The successful reform of the
transmission pricing methodology
last year saw Transpower publish
final pricing for the 2023-2024
pricing year incorporating these
changes. Among its significant
benefits, the new pricing
arrangement is expected to
encourage a more efficient
use of the national power grid
and a more efficient investment
in transmission and generation
assets. It’s anticipated that it will
also reduce the cost of electricity
at peak times, and over time lead
to lower prices for all consumers.
Our total annual charge for the
year is $66 million, which is
$12 million lower than in the
previous year.
We were pleased to see the
Government continuing to
encourage large-scale process
heat decarbonisation through the
GIDI Fund. Such initiatives should
further incentivise New Zealand’s
most energy-intensive industries
to move away from fossil fuels, and
the endorsement of this transition
at Government level is a powerful
signal. In our view, this positive step
needs to be matched with other
decarbonisation measures, such as a
stronger encouragement of the use
of the Emissions Trading Scheme
(ETS), to make the transition to a
low-emission future successfully.
The ETS was developed to provide
a sinking cap on total net emissions
and to send price signals that
incentivised businesses to act. In
our opinion, the current pricing isn’t
sending strong enough signals in
that direction. As we observed last
year, complementary policies may
well be needed, and for us priority
actions would include increasing
the number of EVs on our roads
and increasing total renewable
energy use. In our submission to
the Climate Change Commission
on its emission-reduction plan for
the 2025–2030 period, we noted
that while the GIDI Fund and the
Government’s transport policy
had been beneficial, the recent
effective collapse of ETS prices
needed to be actively addressed.
Uncertainty remains on the
proposed Government investment
in the New Zealand Battery Project,
with cost estimates having been
revised upward. Two other options
are now on the table, including
a portfolio bundle of hydrogen,
geothermal energy and biomass.
A final investment decision is now
not expected until around 2026.
We’ll continue to monitor decisions
and options in this space.
More broadly, resource
management reform is underway,
with the Government committed
to replacing the Resource
Management Act 1991 (RMA) with
three new pieces of legislation.
The first two pieces of legislation,
the Natural and Built Environment
Act and Spatial Planning Act, were
recently passed into law.
These three new Acts, together
with a new National Planning
Framework, will set a new regulatory
environment for reconsenting
existing generation assets and
consenting new development
options. Our focus will be on
ensuring that the finalised regulatory
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environment does indeed enable
the renewable generation needed
for a low-carbon future.
To that end, we’ve presented
comprehensive submissions on
the potential need for trade-offs to
achieve the overriding targets for
climate change and decarbonisation.
The problem as we see it is that in
order to develop the infrastructure
needed to decarbonise, and
ultimately avert a worse climate
change outcome, there will need to
be changes to existing environmental
parameters. We’re also concerned
about the long and overlapping
transition periods that could see
some areas operating with the
current RMA in place, and some not.
The Electricity Authority had
another busy year monitoring the
current state of the energy market
and preparing the sector for what
will be needed in the years ahead.
The Authority’s review of competition
in the wholesale market concluded
that the market is largely working
for consumers as intended, and
resulted in a decision paper that
4 Modern slavery is used to describe situations where coercion, threats or deception is used to exploit victims and undermine or deprive them of their freedom. Modern slavery is an umbrella term that takes many forms,
including forced labour (including the worst forms of child labour), human trafficking and slavery and slavery-like practices.
included measures for facilitating
new entrants to the generation
market. The review considered
a range of developments in the
sector, including the changes to
the RMA, the country’s energy
strategy, the New Zealand Battery
Project and opportunities for
overseas investment.
The Authority also released urgent
amendments to the Electricity
Participation Code 2010, together
with a consultation paper, to
address the risk of inefficient price
discrimination in large electricity
contracts. The amendments
introduced new rules for industrial
electricity contracts of 150MW or
more, effectively meaning that any
large contracts may need Authority
approval to proceed.
This amendment was taken into
account in our negotiations with
NZAS on a new, more flexible
demand response contract for
2023 and 2024. Under the current
arrangements, we already had
the ability to ask NZAS to turn
down the power it used once the
hydro lakes dropped to or below a
certain level. The new arrangement
is more flexible because it can be
called upon in smaller increments
and because it can be called at
Meridian’s option rather than when
hydro lakes reach a certain level.
While the new flexible demand
response arrangement itself did
not constitute a materially large
contract under the Electricity Code,
it was captured by the Authority’s
new rules because it was linked to
our existing contract with NZAS. We
applied to the Authority for approval
in April 2023 and our application
was processed and approved by the
Authority in June 2023, well within
the statutory timeframe it had set
and in time for winter 2023. Any
new contract with NZAS after 2024
will likely be subject to the same
amendments and would potentially
also go to the Authority for approval.
The Authority’s Market Development
Advisory Group has been looking
into how the wholesale market can
discover prices in a 100% renewable
market. No final conclusions have
yet been published. The Authority
has also been looking at security of
supply in terms of winter capacity
and the implications for thermal load
commitment. This is an important
issue and one that we and other
members of the electricity sector’s
Chief Executive Forum have been
investigating. For example, we’ve
already proposed a ripple control
initiative as a short-term product
to alleviate load stress.
We look forward to learning more
about the intended New Zealand
Energy Strategy, with consultation
on that expected in the second half
of the 2023 calendar year.
This year our submissions to policy
agencies, regulatory agencies and
select committees covered topics
such as price discovery, the natural
and built environment, competition,
climate-related disclosures, modern
slavery
4
and worker exploitation,
hedge market enhancements and
emission reductions. You’ll find
copies of these submissions on
our website at meridianenergy.
co.nz/about-us/investors/reports/
submissions.
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Our impacts anchored in the natural world
A summary of our nature-based impacts is provided below, including the actions we are taking to manage, avoid or mitigate the impacts.
ImpactDescriptionActions to manage, avoid or mitigate this impact
Diversion and
reduced river
flows and water
quality issues
Meridian’s structures and water
management can directly affect
the health of river systems that are
obstructed and we have reduced
river flows due to hydro dams and
generation activities.
To minimise any negative impacts that our operations have on river flows and water quality, we comply with
all environmental legislation, including resource consent conditions across our assets. It includes ongoing
monitoring and reporting requirements. In addition we:
• collaborate with and report to the Guardians of Lakes Manapōuri, Monowai and Te Anau, who are the
specialist statutory guardians appointed to oversee our operations and environmental outcomes
• provide ongoing funding and support for Project River Recovery, which works to preserve
and restore braided river and wetland habitats in the Waitaki catchment.
Our Biodiversity and Deforestation Commitment outlines our wider commitments and initiatives.
Harm to
biodiversity
in water 
Meridian has a direct effect on
the health of aquatic biodiversity
(particularly native fish species)
affected by hydro dams and
restricted river flows.
To minimise any negative impacts that our operations have on biodiversity in water we comply with all
environmental legislation, including resource consent conditions, across our assets. In addition we:
• continued to operate our elver trap and transfer programme under the guidance of Ngāi Tahu
• provided ongoing funding and support to Project River Recovery, which works to preserve and restore
braided river and wetland habitats in the Waitaki catchment for the benefit of its native plants and animals
• continued to work closely with the Waiau Fisheries and Wildlife Habitat Enhancement Trust to enhance
stream and wetland habitats for fisheries and wildlife
• continued to release water from our hydro schemes in line with existing consents
• worked closely with community and interest groups to identify ways to improve and add to existing
mitigation initiatives.
Our Biodiversity and Deforestation Commitment outlines our wider commitments and initiatives.
Adverse effects
of generation
assets and
activities on
cultural values
Meridian directly affects the
cultural values of iwi relating
to land, waterways and biodiversity
because they are affected by the
operational presence and use of
Meridian’s generation assets.
This impacts iwi and their
relationship with the land,
water and other taonga.
Our Group Code of Conduct requires genuine engagement with key stakeholders and a consideration of
impacts, including on iwi, as a result of business decision-making. This year we have also:
• updated our Group Code of Conduct with a commitment to human rights that includes a commitment
to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Te Tiriti o Waitangi
• continued to establish and build relationships with iwi, hapu and rūnaka in relation to our Harapaki
and Ruakākā development projects
• negotiated a relationship agreement with Waitaki rūnaka to reflect the cultural and environmental
impact of the Waitaki Power Scheme
• allocated a proportion of our Cyclone Gabrielle response to Māori communities around the Harapaki
and Ruakākā projects
• advanced a joint venture to develop a carbon forest with Te Waiau Mahika Kai Trust.
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ImpactDescriptionActions to manage, avoid or mitigate this impact
Improving
biodiversity
on land
Meridian contributes to enhancing
natural ecosystems on Meridian
owned/managed land as well
as non-Meridian owned land by
supporting planting and biodiversity
protection programmes.
We seek to contribute to improving biodiversity on land via a range of initiatives. These include:
• the continuation of Forever Forests, our afforestation emission removal project designed to transition to
100% native over time
• a new no-net deforestation commitment (excluding wilding pines)
• the advancing of a joint venture to develop a carbon forest with Te Waiau Mahika Kai Trust
• being the National Partner of DOC's Kākāpō Recovery Programme since 2016
• the introduction of a new nature-positive ambition to increase our focus on nature and biodiversity
• plans to pilot new nature-based frameworks and advance identified new biodiversity initiatives in
the coming years.
Our Biodiversity and Deforestation Commitment outlines our wider commitments and initiatives. For more
details on metrics and targets relating to Forever Forests, see our FY23 Climate-related Disclosure.
Disposal of
waste and
other emissions
Meridian causes waste-to-landfill
and harmful gaseous emissions
from its corporate and generation
activities.
We have worked to mitigate this impact through:
• delivering various initiatives related to Half by 30 and our validated near-term science-based target. Refer
to our FY23 Climate Action Plan for more details
• offsetting 100% of our emissions, including our expanded commitment to offset our one-time
construction emissions
• our Forever Forests programme sized to remove our FY30 operational emissions
• launching a Circular Economy Framework to guide our organisation on how to embed and deliver
circular outcomes
• outlining requirements for suppliers to measure and disclose emissions as part of our Supplier Code
of Conduct.
Outside the Half by 30 boundary:
• launching our Sustainable Infrastructure Framework has helped our development team to identify
and mitigate the projects with the most material impacts (including construction emissions, waste
and end-of-life options for assets being installed)
• major projects and developments at Meridian, including targeted sustainability KPIs. For example,
100% of contractors must provide carbon data and contribute to reduction initiatives, and
all contractors must achieve an increasing percentage of waste diversion from landfill for site.
For more details, refer to the metrics and targets section of our FY23 Climate-related Disclosure and to
our FY23 Climate Action Plan.
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ImpactDescriptionActions to manage, avoid or mitigate this impact
Leading and
influencing
change and
progress on
sustainability
issues
Through its leadership and
influence, Meridian can contribute
to ambitious commitments and
actions in collaboration with other
companies and organisations on
social and environmental issues
that are most relevant to the
business.
The pace, scale, level of ambition and partnership approach we adopt to drive progress on sustainability
issues is what defines success in this impact area. Recent success have included:
• the electrification of boilers with customers such as ANZCO Foods
• the Southern Green Hydrogen Project
• a commencement to move early on establishing due diligence processes on issues for modern slavery
• in FY23, the completion of our first human rights risk assessment of our value chain and an update of our
Group Code of Conduct with our new human rights commitment
• the adoption of evolving best practice climate-risk assessment methodologies, with a change programme
underway for early voluntary alignment with Aotearoa New Zealand Climate Standards
• playing a leadership role in informing the development of the refreshed New Zealand Climate Leaders
Coalition pledge announced in June 2022, with the contribution of case studies to support technical
guidance developed.
Our native tūna trap and transfer programme, Ahuriri River, Canterbury. ►
Our impacts anchored in the natural world continued
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Cleaner than ever
5 Estimated annual kilowatt hours’ usage by the two businesses modelled on current diesel consumption.
Mt Cook Alpine Salmon and High Country
Salmon are commercial salmon-farming
operations located on a canal owned by Meridian
Energy at the mouth of Lake Ruataniwha, near
Twizel. This year they joined forces to switch
their operations fuel from diesel to electricity –
slashing their combined carbon emissions
by 96% and opening the door to sustainable
future growth.
Despite their proximity to the Ōhau B power
station, the canals and surrounding land in the
Mackenzie Basin were not originally intended
to support commercial activity. So even though
salmon farms had operated in the canal since
the 1990s, they’d never been connected to the
national grid. Instead, large diesel generators
had provided the power needed for hygienic
production, cold chain management and
operations. Together, the businesses were
burning through 70,000 litres of diesel a year.
A spike in diesel prices provided the final
incentive for both companies to change.
Both had been wanting to stop using diesel
generators for some time, but the cost and
complexity of building a connection from a
substation 1.5 kilometres from Lake Ruataniwha
meant it hadn’t been feasible.
The answer came from Network Waitaki,
which worked closely with the salmon
businesses and local landowners to develop
a technical and commercial solution that
would work for all parties. We provided
encouragement, assistance and resources
for the project, including engineering support
and land for the new infrastructure.
Now both salmon farms owners can operate
environmentally cleaner businesses in a pristine
setting. We estimate that the switch from
diesel to electricity will reduce the businesses’
combined emissions by 224 tCO2eq every year
– the same impact as removing 77 cars from
the region’s roads.
5
◄ Mt Cook Alpine Salmon farm, Twizel.
MERIDIAN DOING IT RIGHT. NOW.
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Technology
for now
and beyond
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We’re now operating
at a greater scale
than ever before,
and with greater
personalisation.
◄ An international example of wind turbines and a solar array working in harmony.
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Innovating
together
Development is intrinsic to our future. Progressing our
portfolio and the systems that support it will underpin
the way we evolve our infrastructure responsibly to
meet the country’s future energy demands. This year
our development, retail and technology teams
worked together to encourage a consistent drive
for decarbonisation in supply and demand.
In this section:
• A platform for success
• Charging ahead
• Managing key assets for value
• Demand response agreement reached with NZAS
• Partners finalised for hydrogen developments
• Doubling our development ambitions
• Zero to 200 in next to no time
• Certified Renewable Energy promotes decarbonisation
• Processing big changes
• Electrification supports demand flexibility
• Infrastructure upgrades
• Informing how we stay secure
• Our impacts anchored in technology
• A new standard for low-carbon construction
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A platform for success
The successful implementation of the Flux
platform throughout the Meridian Group will
support our retail business to continue to drive
operational improvements, deliver digital
innovations and obtain data insights.
Flux itself is a stand-alone organisation within
our Group, with its own governance structure,
and is looking to expand its scalable and modern
platform into the New Zealand, Australia and UK
markets. Its goal is to provide energy retailers
with quality, flexible billing solutions.
The platform also addresses a range of legacy
sector issues that have hampered retail
performance in many markets, including a lack
of quality software and difficult and complex
underlying systems. These systemic issues have
been further complicated by rapid shifts in
the wholesale markets and the requirements
generated by increasing regulation.
One of the many benefits of the Flux platform is
its sophisticated billing engine, which provides
retailers with opportunities to offer their
customers a wide range of pricing options and to
integrate with chosen partners. The Flux platform
also has strong security credentials in the form of
ISO 27001 certification and PCI compliance.
We’re excited by the sophistication of the
solutions that Flux is developing and look forward
to introducing more innovative products as part of
a wider ecosystem offer.
Charging ahead
It’s taken longer and cost more than we
expected, but the migration of our previously
diverse customer bases to the Flux platform is
now complete. While it’s tempting to see this as
purely a technology change, a unified platform
is key to offering better customer service and to
implementing key decarbonisation initiatives.
Powershop has focused on optimising its
inbound channel mix by transitioning from
a high-cost voice/email service model to an
efficient self-service/live chat customer model.
During FY23 Powershop reduced inbound voice
volumes by 37%, representing a reduction of
over 41,000 calls. Over the same period, chat,
a faster digital service channel, grew by more
than 190%, taking the smallest customer service
channel to what is now the largest channel by
volume. In addition to improving customer
care agent efficiency, chat as a channel has
an exciting future, with automation and other
technologies aiding service teams, creating more
self-service opportunities and further improving
customer experiences. The advances made with
Powershop in FY23 will be replicated in Meridian,
leveraging the dual-brand retail structure.
Having our full customer base – from households
to the agriculture sector and commercial and
industrial businesses – on one platform saves
time and money, improves billing efficiency and
ensures that we can engage with one person in
different capacities.
◄ Flux platform on mobile app.
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As we alluded to last year, the
migration to the Flux platform has
also helped our teams to think of
our customers in more holistic terms,
and enabled us to leverage our
multi-brand strategy. That’s become
increasingly important as Meridian
has continued to grow – we’re
now operating at a greater scale
than ever before, but with greater
personalisation. And of course,
having one platform for both our
brands accelerates onboarding, lifts
service levels and cuts cost
per serve.
An emerging opportunity is Flux’s
contribution to decarbonisation.
The platform will enable us
to deliver new and innovative
customer offers across our EV
charging solutions.
Managing key
assets for value
Asset-management excellence
is critical to managing risks in our
Generation business. As our hydro
assets continue to age and new
risk factors emerge, we’re evolving
our approach to address new
considerations.
As a vertically integrated company
(our Group’s activities range from
generation to retail), it makes
commercial sense for us to generate
as much of the power our customers
need as we can. Inevitably that
puts pressure on our more mature
plant, so with this in mind, last year
we began to shift our emphasis
to an energy portfolio approach,
placing wind and solar first, backed
by flexible and highly reliable hydro
generation – rather than the other
way around – in order to encourage
first use of non-stored, renewable
energy sources. Wherever possible
we’ll use sun and wind, knowing
we can ramp up hydro when the
weather is cloudy or still.
This approach helps resolve two
potential impacts. It means we
have an on-demand response in
the event of extreme weather
events affecting output at our
wind farms. And it means we can
continue to optimise the power our
customers need, with less reliance
on cover from other generators or
buying power on the spot market.
The shift is seeing us steadily run
hydro, but more flexibly than
we used to. As we explained last
year, it’s meant reorganising our
maintenance and refurbishment/
replacement programmes. We’ve
done this as it enables us to better
manage our assets by anticipating
when we may be more constrained
in taking hydro assets out of service,
and to make room to introduce
more assets to our generation
portfolio. We’re also investing more
in technology and data to inform
our future decision-making.
Another change has been in how
our asset teams are structured.
Previously our wind and hydro
teams worked separately. This year
we’ve brought all our Generation
people together and reconfigured
the Generation team so that it
focuses on looking after existing
assets. As a result our Generation
(wind and hydro) teams are now
combined in specialist disciplines
such as engineering, maintenance
and generation strategy, and are
working in the entire portfolio of
generation technologies.
In December we announced that
we were taking the Manapōuri
Unit 6 out of service for six
months due to issues with the
transformer core. Since then we’ve
undertaken physical inspections
and determined that Unit 6 can
return to service but with additional
monitoring. We’re using the outage
created by the transformer issue to
make some mechanical
Charging ahead continued
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