Simeon Brown asks fast-track panel to reject Meridian’s bid for extra water, urging ‘caution’
Friday, 29 May 2026
Meridian Energy’s hopes of getting access to about $80 million worth of extra water at Lake Pukaki over the next three years appear to have been shot down by Energy Minister Simeon Brown.
A fast-track panel is due to decide by early July whether Meridian should be given the right to lower Lake Pukaki five metres below its current normal operating minimum, which would let it generate more hydro power from the lake.
Both fellow gentailer Genesis and electricity system operator Transpower had voiced opposition to the plan.
Genesis was concerned about a possible knock-on effect on one of its power stations on the interconnected Lake Tekapo scheme, while Transpower had argued the so-called “contingent” water should only be released with its permission, during an energy crunch.
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Brown has now written to the fast-track expert panel considering Meridian’s application, making it clear he does not support the application in its current form.
“If access is provided to water currently held as contingent storage, and this storage is drawn down, it would reduce the volume reserved for rare but critical periods of system stress, and may also affect incentives for the sector to invest in alternative sources of firm or stored energy,” he said.
The intervention appears an embarrassment for the Electricity Authority (EA), which had turned heads by backing Meridian’s application and siding against Transpower’s advice.
Brown noted the EA’s backing for the extra water rights, which would have been granted to Meridian free of charge, and said he was “concerned by the differing views of the market regulators provided to the panel on a significant security of supply matter”.
“I consider it appropriate to take a cautious approach to proposals that materially alter the management of hydro storage at this time, while broader system reforms are still being implemented and their effects are uncertain,” he said.
Meridian Energy has been approached for comment.