MERIDIAN ENERGY LIMITED ANNUAL REPORT 02 Generation Assets 04 About Meridian 16 Performance Summary 22 Segment Performance 33 Sustainability 34 People and Health & Safety 36 Environment 38 Community 39 Governance 44 Financial Statements 106 Statutory Information REPORT FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2012 MERIDIAN ENERGY LIMITED ANNUAL REPORT FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2012 OUR PERFORMANCE FINANCIAL FINANCIAL GENERATION HEALTH & SAFETY 28% 13% 19% 50% Reduction in EBITDAF1 Reduction in net Reduction in Improvement in from last year cash flow from generation production lost-time injury IMPACTED BY LOWEST LEVEL OF operating activities OWING TO THE SALE OF THE frequency rate INFLOWS IN 79 yEARS OF RECORDS SINCe 30 JUNe 2011 TEKAPO HYDRO POWER SINCe 30 JUNe 2011 AND THE SALE OF THE TEKAPO STATIONS2 AND CHALLEngIng HYDRO POWER STATIONS2 HYDROLOGY CONDITIONS RETAIL CUSTOMERS EMPLOYEES $5.90 5% 3.4% Per contracted MWh Growth in retail Improvement in customer connections employee engagement IMPROVEMENT IN UNDERLYING3 PROFITABILITY OF OUR RETAIL (installation control SINCe 30 JUNe 2011 SEGMENT SINCe 30 JUNe 2011 points – ICPs) SINCe 30 JUNe 2011 PLANT DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENT 0.14 % 420MW 60MW Hydro forced Macarthur wind farm Mill Creek wind farm outage factor CONSTRUCTION IN VICTORIA, BEGAN CONSTRUCTION LOWEST IN 20 yEARS OF RECORDS AUSTRALIA, IS PROGRESSIng IN JULY 2012 TO PLAN 1 Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation, change in fair value of financial instruments, impairments, gain/(loss) on sale of assets and joint venture equity accounted earnings. 2 Sold to Genesis Energy on 1 June 2011. 3 Removing the variability of electricity purchase prices and replacing with a fixed input price of $85/MWh. Front cover and page 2: Views of Benmore Hydro Power Station. 02 Generation Assets 04 About Meridian 06 Our Strategy $ M 08 Chairman’s Report 74.6NET PROFIT AFTER TAX 10 Chief Executive’s Report 12 Board of Directors 14 Management Team 16 Performance Summary 18 Group $ M 22 Segment Performance 106.1UNDERLYING NET PROFIT AFTER TAX – REMOVING 24 Wholesale THE EFFECTS OF NON-CASH FAIR VALUE MOVEMENTS, 28 Retail IMPAIRMENTS AND OTHER ONE-OFF ITEMS 31 International 32 Other Subsidaries Segment 33 Sustainability 34 People and Health & Safety $ M 36 Environment 322.2NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES 38 Community 39 Governance 44 Financial Statements 46 Financial Statements 53 Notes to the Financial Statements $ M 105 Independent Auditor’s Report 476.6EBITDAF (EARNINGS BEFORE INTEREST, TAX, 106 Statutory Information DEPRECIATION, AMORTISATION, CHANGE IN FAIR 108 GRI Assurance Statement VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS, IMPAIRMENTS, GAIN/(LOSS) ON SALE OF ASSETS AND JOINT VENTURE 109 Greenhouse Gas Inventory EQUITY ACCOUNTED EARNINGS) 116 Stakeholder Analysis 118 Global Reporting Initiative Index 120 About this Report 121 Directory $ 42.62EBITDAF PER MWh* GENERATED * Megawatt hour. 01 MERIDIAN ENERGY LIMITED ANNUAL REPORT FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2012 GENERATION ASSETS HYDRO Approximately 90% of the electricity Meridian generates is made from the energy of falling water. Meridian operates seven South Island hydro power stations – six in the Waitaki Hydro Scheme plus the Manapouri hydro power station. TOTAL GWh** PRODUCED PLANT YEAR TO 30 JUNE NO. OF CAPACITY NEW ZEALAND GENERATORS MW 2012 2011 Tekapo A* 1 25 - 154 Tekapo B* 2 160 - 861 Ohau A 4 264 979 1,174 Ohau B 4 212 820 992 Ohau C 4 212 817 985 Benmore 6 540 1,954 2,239 Aviemore 4 220 827 916 Waitaki 6 90 431 533 Manapouri 7 800 3,962 4,775 Total Hydro - 2,523 9,790 12,629 Generation * The Tekapo A and B hydro power stations were sold to Genesis Energy on 1 June 2011. ** Gigawatt hours. TOTAL CAPACITY* TOTAL GENERATION 2,338 9,790 MW GWh 02 Generation production was down 2,640GWh from last year, reflecting the sale of the Tekapo hydro power stations and conservative generation. WIND SOLAR New Zealand is uniquely positioned to take advantage of wind as Solar energy can be a viable renewable option in sunny climates. an energy resource. Wind contributes to the diversity of Meridian’s Meridian built the first grid-connected solar farm in California electricity generation. Meridian currently owns and operates four and the first utility-scale solar farm in Tonga, and is exploring wind farms across New Zealand and one in Australia, and has been opportunities in Australasia. involved in the construction of further wind farms, including one on Ross Island, Antarctica. TOTAL GWh** PRODUCED TOTAL GWh** PRODUCED PLANT YEAR TO 30 JUNE PLANT YEAR TO 30 JUNE NO. OF CAPACITY NO. OF PV CAPACITY NEW ZEALAND TURBINES MW 2012 2011 USA PANELS MW 2012 2011 Te A-piti 55 90 295 267 CalRENEW-1 50,000 5 11 10 White Hill 29 58 189 161 West Wind 62 143 496 503 Te Uku* 28 64 226 92 Total Wind - 355 1,206 1,023 Generation * The full commissioning of Te Uku wind farm was in March 2011. TOTAL GWh** PRODUCED PLANT YEAR TO 30 JUNE NO. OF CAPACITY AUSTRALIA TURBINES MW 2012 2011 Mt Millar 35 70 177 162 TOTAL CAPACITY TOTAL GENERATION TOTAL CAPACITY TOTAL GENERATION 425 1,383 5 11 MW GWh MW GWh 03 MERIDIAN ENERGY LIMITED ANNUAL REPORT FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2012 ABOUT MERIDIAN WEST WIND MAKARA, WELLINGTON The wind farm receives strong and consistent wind speeds and produces enough renewable energy to power the equivalent of 70,000 average New Zealand homes. 04 Meridian Energy is an integrated renewable energy company; the largest generator in New Zealand, with a strong pipeline of development options in Australasia; and an electricity retailer throughout New Zealand. The Meridian Energy Group employs approximately 800 permanent employees and has offices in Wellington, Christchurch and Twizel, and, internationally, in Melbourne, Australia, and San Francisco, California. Meridian, including its online subsidiary Powershop, retails electricity to approximately 287,000 customer connections − homes, farms and businesses throughout New Zealand. Meridian generates electricity from renewable sources − wind and water in New Zealand; wind in Australia; and solar in the United States. The company supplies approximately 30% of New Zealand’s total electricity needs. Meridian owns and operates seven hydro power stations, six within the Waitaki Hydro Scheme, the Manapouri hydro power station and four wind farms throughout New Zealand. In Australia, Meridian owns and operates the Mt Millar wind farm and is partnering with AGL Energy to build the Macarthur wind farm, in Victoria, which, at 420 megawatts (MW), will be the largest wind farm in the Southern Hemisphere. Meridian’s solar facility, CalRENEW-1, was the first grid-connected solar facility to be built in California, and the company has used its expertise to build the first solar facility in Tonga, Maama Mai. Meridian’s pipeline of renewable development projects in New Zealand provides options to help meet New Zealand’s future energy needs. Meridian’s commitment to renewable energy, environmental stewardship and support for local communities underpins the company’s sustainable business model. Meridian continually looks for ways to provide positive energy solutions to customers to help them manage their energy use. THE MERIDIAN GROUP RETAIL WHOLESALE INTERNATIONAL OTHER SUBSIDIARIES CORPORATE SEGMENT SEGMENT SEGMENT SEGMENT* SERVICES Meridian Markets & Australia Damwatch External Relations Retail Production USA Energy for Information & Powershop Renewable Industry Communications Development Technology Arc Whisper Tech Innovations Group Strategy, Finance & Legal Captive Insurance Company Human Resources * This segment included Right House, which was sold on 1 July 2011. Insurance & Property 05 MERIDIAN ENERGY LIMITED ANNUAL REPORT FOR YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2012 OUR STRATEGY HYDRO FORCEDCONTINUALLY OUTAGE FACTOR3 IMPROVE BUSINESS CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN OUR Financial Year Ended 30 June 2012 0.14 PERFORMANCE RETAIL PERFORMANCE 2011 0.18 2010 1.47 2009 0.43 2008A strong0.39 record of shareholder returns Improving retail contribution %13.0%0 average0.5 total1.0 shareholder1.5 return in the past five years. FINANCIAL Active focusANNUAL TARGETon cost (<0.35%) management. YEAR ENDED 30 ANNUAL 3 Percentage of time that hydro assets are RETAIL SEGMENT JUNE 2012 CHANGE unavailable in a period owing to forced, unplanned outages. Energy Sales ($m) $1,156.6 +12% Improve hydro asset management capability Average Contracted Sales Price $163.9/MWh +7% Lowest recorded hydro forced outage results in 20 years. Average Spot Sales Price $95.7/MWh +68% HYDRO FORCED OUTAGE FACTOR1 Contracted Sales Volume 5,947GWh (2%) Financial Year Ended 30 June Spot Sales Volume 1,898GWh +6% 2012 0.14 EBITDAF (@ $85) per Contract MWh $1.80 +$5.90 2011 0.18 Total Customer Connections 287,304 +5% 2010 1.47 2009 0.43 2008 0.39 12% increase in energy sales revenue. % 0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1.0 1.25 1.5 $5.90 per contracted MWh retail earnings improvement ANNUAL TARGET (<0.35%) (at a purchase price of $85 per MWh). 1 Percentage of time that hydro assets are unavailable in a period owing to forced, unplanned outages. Powershop placed first in the 2011 Deloitte Fast 50 index. Top quartile in Generation Knowledge Service hydro asset management cost and performance Service quality international benchmark. Industry leading results in 2012 Consumer NZ satisfaction Asset Management Council Australia Silver Award. survey: Powershop at 95%, overall first; Meridian at 81%, joint first out of the major national retailers. Powershop won Energy Retailer of the Year in the Deloitte Increase focus on core capabilities Energy Excellence Awards, August 2012. Refocus on core Australasian development. Continued programme of rationalising non-core investments Product and service innovation with Right House and Whisper Tech sales. Expanding daily energy reporting into online services. Marketing of Meridian’s USA interests. Launch of solar hot water heating offer. New Powershop product offerings. People and health & safety performance Employee engagement results improved 3.4%.