Alpine Energy and Aurora Energy drop plans to merge operations

Friday, 15 May 2026

Two South Island lines companies have dropped plans to combine their operations, saying the move was too risky and expensive to help their customers in the long run.

In December, South Canterbury’s Alpine Energy and Otago’s Aurora Energy issued a joint statement announcing they were exploring options for shared operations, with the aim to better serve their customers.

However, five months on the two companies issued a joint statement on Friday afternoon saying they had decided not to proceed with the proposal.

“Following detailed assessment work, both organisations concluded that the model does not deliver sufficiently compelling long term consumer benefits to justify the cost, complexity, and risk involved,” the statement said.

“The work undertaken has provided valuable insights into future operating models, systems, capability, and scale opportunities within the electricity distribution sector.

“Both businesses remain focused on delivering safe, reliable, and affordable electricity services for their communities, while continuing to support broader improvement and efficiency across the sector.”

In December, the companies entered into a Heads of Agreement to work together, and the boards established a joint steering group to recommend how they would integrate their operations.

A statement issued at the time said both companies faced “similar challenges as the energy system evolves” and rather than invest in new skills, systems and capability separately, they were choosing to work together.

At the time, Aurora Energy board chairperson Steve Thompson said the partnership reflected a proactive leadership approach to future challenges and opportunities facing the sector.

“Working together gives us a real opportunity to share strengths, drive efficiencies, and create the scale needed to innovate and deliver better outcomes for consumers.

“It will also open greater opportunities for our people across both businesses,” Thompson said, at the time.

Alpine Energy board chair Tony King echoed Thompson’s sentiment at the time, and said collaboration would ensure regional networks were prepared for the future.

“This is about strengthening our regions and ensuring we have the scale and capability our communities will need in the years ahead. This agreement puts us on a path to achieve this,” King said, at the time.

Aurora Energy owns and operates a network that delivers electricity to about 96,000 customers across Dunedin, Central Otago and the Queenstown-Lakes District, while Alpine Energy distributes to about 34,000 customers across South Canterbury.

Together, the companies service more than 20% of the South Island’s electricity customers.

Alpine Energy is owned by Timaru District Holdings Limited (47.5%), LineTrust South Canterbury (40%), Waimate District Council (7.54%) and the Mackenzie District Council (4.96%).

Aurora Energy is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dunedin City Holdings Limited, which was owned by the Dunedin City Council.