Meridian interest in bid looks like cooling

By CHRIS DANIELS

Meridian Energy, the nation's largest electricity generator, appears to be backing away from its initial interest in buying NGC's Stratford power station.

The shortlist of bidders for the station, which is likely to sell for between $400 million and $500 million, is understood to be Contact, Genesis, Todd Energy and two overseas power companies, possibly Australian.

The inclusion of state-owned Meridian on this shortlist is now in question, despite its chief executive Keith Turner saying three months ago that the company was interested in bidding for the gas-fired station.

Meridian has yet to lodge an application seeking clearance from the Commerce Commission, something that Genesis and Contact have both already done.

Meridian Spokesman Alan Seay would not comment on whether the SOE was still interested in bidding for the station.

A lack of any Commerce Commission application could mean that Meridian is preferring to concentrate on the expansion of its hydro generation scheme through Project Aqua, a canal-based system on the lower Waitaki River.