Timaru mayor confirms interest in lines company shares

Saturday, 6 June 2026

Timaru District mayor Nigel Bowen (centre) and Alpine Energy chief executive Caroline Ovenstone at the opening of Alpine Energy's Washdyke Switching Station in December.

Timaru’s mayor says there is a party interested in its shares in South Canterbury’s lines company, and while no offer had been made, knowing there was interest had been “helpful” ahead of proposing a sell-off.

On Thursday, the Timaru District Council announced a proposal for its holdings company, Timaru District Holdings Ltd (TDHL) to sell its 47.5% stake in Alpine Energy, and reinvest the proceeds into a ring-fenced fund with any dividend paid to the council.

Nigel Bowen said there was “genuine interest” in such assets from New Zealand companies, and said Simplicity KiwiSaver Scheme, through its company InfraKiwi Ltd, had been in touch ahead of the announcement.

“InfraKiwi is the infrastructure company that they’re setting up with Simplicity KiwiSaver funds, effectively,’’ Bowen said.

InfraKiwi was looking to acquire, own and operate key national infrastructure, and Bowen said if councillors voted to support the sale of its shares later this month, they could “be kept in … New Zealanders’ hands”.

Timaru District mayor Nigel Bowen said the shares in South Canterbury lines company Alpine Energy could be sold but kept in Kiwi hands.

“I think there’s genuine options whereby actually you’re going to have a good steward, and asset owner,” he said.

InfraKiwi had not made any offer for the shares, worth an estimated $130 million, but knowing there was interest ahead of announcing the proposal had been helpful, Bowen said.

The company had been in touch on March 23, he said.

Bowen said his council was taking a proactive approach in looking at its assets and thinking “strategically”.

“If you look at reform, and how it’s landed, some are saying, ‘hey, 90 days isn’t long enough’.

The Timaru District Council sent a letter of expectation to its holdings company, TDHL, in December asking it to review its assets.

“Well, actually, we’ve been … considering this since December, because we’re looking at how we protect, and how we realise best … value for the ratepayer through the asset ownership.”

Explaining the background to the proposal, Bowen said the council had sent a letter of expectation to TDHL in December asking the council-controlled financial company to review its assets.

He said TDHL came back with a report, compiled by KPMG, which said “your best value is to look to divest that asset … and look to put it into managed funds’’.

TDHL is yet to release a copy of the KPMG report to The Timaru Herald, but has indicated it would do so.

Bowen said if councils were not thinking about those things, with amalgamation and rates capping looming, they were not “being mindful” of the ratepayers that they served.

“All councils, in my view, should be looking really closely at their asset holdings, and going actually we’re going to be amalgamated in time, and going how do we protect that asset value?

“What’s the best way to do that for your community? Is it within the existing structures, or is it to look at things a little bit differently, and that’s what we’re doing.”

Asked whether selling its shares in the lines company might be a bad idea, given the likelihood of the heavy reliance on power in the future, Bowen said that had been considered.

“But do you have to … does a community have to be the asset owner of those, you know, lines companies?

“They are highly regulated, and I think this is the challenge that people don’t understand.”

Councillors would not vote on the proposal until the end of June, but Bowen said the sale would leave the community better off.

“We know what we are doing with the money, the community and ratepayers will be better off for a sale. That’s quite clear.”

To give feedback on the proposal go to Timaru.govt.nz/alpine.