Company › About us › History

Meridian originated from the break-up of the Electricity Corporation of New Zealand when the New Zealand electricity market was reformed in 1999.

Meridian's share of the Electricity Corporation of New Zealand was corporatised as a state-owned enterprise. It has its own board of directors and two ministerial shareholders – the Minister of Energy and the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises.

  • 1904

    Waitaki Valley

    • Mr P S Hay, in the government’s Public Works Department, recognises the electricity generation potential of the Waitaki Valley.
    1930

    Waitaki Dam

    • Work starts on the Waitaki Dam, as a ‘make work’ project during the 1930s depression.
    1951

    Tekapo A

    1964

    Manapouri

  • 1965

    Benmore

    1968

    Waitaki hydro scheme

    • Work starts on the Upper Waitaki hydro scheme.
    • Aviemore hydro station, part of the Waitaki hydro scheme, fully operational.
    1972

    Manapouri

    1977

    Tekapo B

    • Tekapo B hydro station, part of the Waitaki Hydro Scheme, fully operational.
  • 1979

    Ohau A

    1985

    Ohau B and C

    1993

    Brooklyn wind turbine

    • Electricity Corporation of New Zealand installs the Brooklyn wind turbine, as part of a research project to find out how wind turbines perform in New Zealand conditions.  

  • 1999

    Meridian forms

    2001

    Meridian buys hydro stations and retail customers

    • Meridian buys five hydropower stations in Australia. These stations, linked with dams, are used primarily for irrigation, and have a total generating capacity of 62MW. 
    • Meridian buys the South Island customer base of Natural Gas Corporation, at the time New Zealand’s largest electricity retailer. 
     
    2002

    Manapouri tailrace tunnel

    • The second Manapouri tailrace tunnel is commissioned (2MTT).
    2003

    Southern Hydro and Arc Innovations

    • Meridian buys the Australian power company Southern Hydro, increasing its Australian generating capacity by 540MW. 
    • Meridian establishes Arc Innovations, which specialises in advanced meter infrastructure technology and services.
    2004

    Te Āpiti wind farm

    • Meridian's first wind farm, the 90MW Te Āpiti project, is operational. 
    2005

    Southern Hydro sale

    • Meridian sells its Australian operation, Southern Hydro, to the Australian Gas Light Company for AU$1.42 billion (NZ$1.52 billion). 
    2006

    Whisper Tech

    • Whisper Tech becomes a full Meridian subsidiary. Whisper Tech is a Christchurch-based company that developed an eco-friendly home heating system called WhisperGen™. 
    2007

    White Hill and Right House

    • Right House launches. A subsidiary of Meridian, it uses smart meter technology to help New Zealanders look after the way they run and heat their homes. 
     
    2009

    West Wind, Ross Island and Powershop

    • Ross Island three turbine wind farm in Antarctica is operational (approximately 1MW). 
    • Powershop launches. A subsidiary of Meridian, it lets customers buy electricity and monitor their use online.
    2010

    CalRENEW-1 and Mt Millar

    • Meridian buys Mt Millar 70MW wind farm in South Australia.
    2011

    Te Uku, Tekapo, Right House and Whisper Tech

    • Te Uku 64MW wind farm is operational. 
    • Tekapo A and B hydropower stations are sold to Genesis Energy. 
    • Right House subsidiary is sold to UK-based Mark Group. 
    • Meridian subsidiary Whisper Tech transfers to Spain to manufacture and distribute direct to their market.