Meridian Annual Report - Meridian Energy

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Customer satisfaction among our small and medium
enterprise clients is the highest we have ever
recorded and is well above the market average.
Demand and supply
Meridian’s hydro storage lakes tend to receive most of their fuel
(water) in late spring and summer but this is subject to the variability
of weather patterns – when and where the rain falls. This means
Meridian is well-suited to supply customers who use irrigation
schemes in summer.
In planning generation projects, Meridian now looks closely at local
demand and opportunities for growth. In the past, generation
projects have tended to be based around engineering, technical
and consenting factors.
We are looking more and more at how to match demand with
supply. The West Wind project at Makara, west of Wellington, is an
example. It will double Meridian’s wind generation capacity when
completed by the end of 2009. It will also provide an opportunity
for Meridian to build its market presence in Wellington.
We are talking with local and regional councils to develop programmes
to encourage energy efficiency and conservation among
retail and commercial customers.
As Meridian builds new generation assets – for instance the recently
announced Central Wind project – they will be matched more
closely to local customer offers and demand.
Market segments and
competition
Meridian is strong in the corporate/commercial market and provides
electricity to New Zealand’s single biggest customer, the Rio Tinto
Alcan aluminium smelter at Bluff.
We also have a growing market share in the rural sector (particularly
in Canterbury) and see significant opportunities for growth in the
future, especially given the match between Meridian’s generation
profile and irrigation schemes.
In the household market Meridian is the major electricity retailer
in Christchurch and in Northland.
Acquiring new customers and diversifying, both regionally and
by sector, is a focus for the coming year and beyond. But that will
take time and will require resources and a balancing of our other
responsibilities.
We believe we will have a winning combination: 100 percent renewable
electricity, great value, the best service and a growing number
of exciting new services and products for our customers.
The dry year of 2007/08 has temporarily affected our retail growth,
but our long term aspiration is to grow customer numbers as we
continue to develop generation opportunities.