Electricity Authority staff breached guidelines accepting dinners from Meridian Energy
Tuesday, 10 February 2026
The country’s electricity watchdog has admitted four staff breached its guidelines by letting Meridian Energy pick up a $268 dinner bill while they were on a tour of the power firm’s South Island hydro plants and failing to record that on its gift register.
Meridian Energy is the most valuable company regulated by the Electricity Authority. The authority’s relations with the major gentailers have periodically been under the spotlight after Electric Kiwi accused it in 2023 of being captured by their interests.
Meridian invited up to four people from the Electricity Authority on a two-day tour of its Waitaki hydro scheme in early December, making clear they would need to pay for their own flights and accommodation, and the full contingent from the authority took up the offer.
The company explained in its invitation it was a great opportunity to “see some big hydro assets up close and learn about the scheme”.
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Meridian regulatory specialist Evealyn Whittington indicated in a LinkedIn post such tours could become a more regular event.
“One of the really fun things I get to do in my role is taking regulatory stakeholders out to visit Meridian’s renewable assets,” she said in the December post.
“Last week I joined a great bunch of industry colleagues for a trip to the beautiful Waitaki Hydro Scheme. The blue mountain lakes never disappoint and Aoraki maunga was on full display too.
“We’re not short of stunning landscapes in New Zealand and this area does double duty helping to secure a renewable energy future for our country. Bring on 2026 and hopefully some more visits to these special places.”
The tour included a visit to Lake Pukaki where Meridian has made a fast-track application — opposed by Transpower — for additional water rights.
The authority’s senior legal counsel, Catherine Marks, said it became aware on Tuesday, after The Post made inquiries about hospitality on the tour, that its guidelines had not been followed and it had now arranged to reimburse Meridian for the four $67 set-menu dinners at Poppies Cafe in Twizel.
“While the authority has guidelines and procedures that staff must follow when offered gifts or koha (including meals), the guidelines were not followed for this particular dinner,” she said.
“The authority encourages staff across the organisation to broaden their understanding of the electricity system we regulate by undertaking field trips. Staff have been reminded of their obligations under the gifts and koha guidelines, especially those undertaking similar educational trips.”
Two staff from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment also attended the tour but the ministry said it covered its own staff’s dinner costs. Electricity manager Tamara Linnhoff said Meridian paid for shared transport, car snacks, bottled water, and shared sunscreen.
Transpower said three of its staff attended the tour, though only one stayed for the second day.
“Transpower covered its own costs for the visit — flights, vehicle, meals, and accommodation — including the dinner on December 4 at Poppies,” corporate governance council Jess Clarke said.
The Commerce Commission said none of its staff were on the tour.
The Electricity Authority is currently facing criticism over a proposal to water down a reform that independent retailers and generators had viewed as critical to create a level playing field between their own businesses and the major gentailers in parts of the market.
In February, the Electricity Competition Task Force — run jointly by the Commerce Commission and the authority — proposed the major gentailers would need to abide by new “anti-discrimination” rules to ensure they did not advantage their own retail arms when selling power they generated.
However, independent retailers and generators have complained the authority has since proposed the non-discrimination rule would only apply to the small amount of power Meridian, Contact, Mercury and Genesis had for sale that they did not expect to use to serve their own customers.