KEY POINTS:
Contact Energy is looking to nearly double the pool of money available to its directors to $1.5 million at its annual shareholders' meeting next month.
Contact generates around 25 per cent of the country's electricity from nine power stations. About 82,000 New Zealanders hold shares in the company.
Next month's agenda has a proposal that the directors' remuneration pool be increased from $770,000 to $1.5 million, back-dated to July 1.
The pool was last set in 2004, and the increase is meant to bring the six directors' fees in line with those of other companies of a similar size and complexity.
The move is backed up by an independent report into the directors' remuneration, which said the fee structure was appropriate, but the amount of money meant it was in the lower quartile for similar companies.
Australian power retailer Origin Energy, which owns 51.3 per cent of Contact, has been granted a waiver by NZX Regulations to vote in favour of increasing the pool.
The six Contact directors are Grant King (chair), Phillip Pryke, Bruce Beeren, John Milne, Karen Moses and Tim Saunders.
Mr Pryke and Mr Milne, both independent, are required to retire at the meeting and are eligible to be re-elected. No other nominations were received.
The meeting will be held at the Hyatt Regency Auckland on October 23.
- NZPA
