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eith Turner is just the sort of person anyone would want as chief executive
of a power company.
He is high on energy but provides his customers with one of the lowest
electricity prices in the world.
With a career spanning more than 30 years in the industry, Mr
Turner is now boss of Meridian
Energy. The company operates Manapouri power station, the largest
hydro-electricity plant in New Zealand, and eight other power stations
from Lake Tekapo to Lake Waitaki.
Meridian was created in 1999 from the state-owned electricity enterprise
to introduce retail competition. The core staff is still only around
175 as many functions such as call centre and information services,
plant maintenance and financial management are outsourced. Last year
Meridian made a post-tax profit of $125 million.
Mr Turner’s commitment to sustainable energy is more of a personal
philosophy that directs not only his company but much else in his life.
Although gas is also used for energy, New Zealand’s supply will
be exhausted by about 2010 unless fresh reserves are found.
“If we do not discover new
reserves, then we will have to find alternative energy supplies. We
are very focused and one of the market positions I have stamped out
for Meridian is sustainability,” he says.
“We don’t want to mine today’s environment, economy and
community and leave behind something worse than we’ve got.
I want to believe that future generations will be able to rely on what
we’ve done at Meridian.”
Meridian holds 25 per cent of shares in Whispertech, a small company
in Christchurch that is developing “probably the most advanced
micro-combined power and heating unit you can find”.
Mr Turner, who has a doctorate in electrical engineering, says the unit
could take the place of a boiler or even be fitted in a dishwasher.
“It’s 90 per cent
energy efficient. It is quiet and a radical change in technology. It
has the potential to sell millions of units and become as common as
the refrigerator,” he says.
Meridian has also made its first foray into Australia, acquiring five
hydro-power stations for a total of $107 million.
“I intend to further expand in Australia in the niche market of
renewable energy,” adds Mr Turner.
The Auckland-based Mighty River Power firm was carved out from the state-owned
power electricity in 1999 to manage the hydro-power stations from Lake
Taupo to the sea, providing supplies for customers on the North Island.
The company also acquired a geothermal plant near Taupo.
Many
geothermal reservoirs are beneath land owned by Maori trusts. Mighty
River chief executive Doug Heffernan says the Maoris are, “in most
cases”, keen to provide access to geothermal steam power.
“The relationship we have allows us to bring our operating capability,
our market knowledge and capital to [develop] the resources they provide
access to. We see this as a different way of doing business than the
typical corporate where they like to own and control everything,”
he adds.
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