Electric Kiwi CEO Luke Blincoe steps down

Outgoing Electric Kiwi chief executive Luke Blincoe. Photo / Supplied

Electric Kiwi’s Luke Blincoe, an outspoken critic of New Zealand’s electricity system, has stepped down as chief executive of the independent power retailer.

Huia Burt, Electric Kiwi’s co-founder and chief commercial officer, will step in to the role, a spokesman said.

“Luke has been with us for a long time and has done a lot of cool stuff,” Electric Kiwi’s chief customer officer, Andrew Cooper, said.

“But I think it’s cool for us,” he said. “We have a founder now who is chief executive, and she is a powerhouse,” Cooper told the Herald.

“It’s awesome for the business that we can have a new outlook and we are excited about that,” he said.

Blincoe has been a frequent critic of New Zealand’s electricity system, which is dominated by the four big generator-retailers Meridian, Mercury, Genesis and Contact.

In July, Electric Kiwi said high wholesale power prices could push more small electricity retailers out of business.

At the time, Blincoe said the market had “completely blown up” and Electric Kiwi could not afford the cost of taking on new hedging arrangements for new customers.

“Wholesale energy prices have increased by nearly 50% in the past six months and current wholesale energy futures prices (these are the products that we buy in order to supply energy to our customers) have now reached a point where every new customer would be loss-making for our business,” he said at the time.

“We can’t accept our existing customers picking up the tab for this, so we’ve made the tough but necessary call to power down on new customers until these wholesale prices return to a point where independent retailers have a chance to compete again.”

Wholesale prices have since fallen back to more normal levels, thanks to high rainfall and the extra gas made available by methanol producer Methanex.

Electric Kiwi, which also offers mobile phone and broadband services, is owned by Energy Collective, which is itself 66.85 owned by Scientific Investors LPP - a UK holding company.

The remaining 33.2% is held by private investors.

Jamie Gray is an Auckland-based journalist, covering the financial markets, primary industry and the energy sector. He joined the Herald in 2011.