Transpower NZ board chairman Dr Keith Turner has been made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2025 New Year Honours. Photo / Dean Purcell
Transpower NZ board chairman Dr Keith Turner has been made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2025 New Year Honours. Photo / Dean Purcell
Now the 74-year-old, who was raised in Rotorua and lives in Te Puna near Tauranga, has been made a companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in recognition of his 55 years of service to the electricity industry, spanning almost every part of the sector.
He is one of a host of Bay of Plenty residents named in the 2025 New Year Honours.
Turner said he had dedicated his life to making a difference in the challenging and exciting sector.
“I think it’s important to find your passion, as when you love what you do, you do your best work. I have poured my whole heart and soul into this industry which is critical for modern society and never regretted my career choices and never had a plan B.
“It’s an industry that’s so fundamental to society and human life. I think it’s as important as having sufficient water to drink and air to breathe. ”
He trained as an engineer but soon switched to power systems planning. He joined the Transpower NZ board in December 2021 and became the national grid operator’s chairman five months later.
Before that, Turner was the founding chief executive of Meridian Energy, established in 1998, and held senior executive positions at the former Electricity Corporation of NZ, and its predecessor, the NZ Electricity Department.
In May 2006, then-Minister of Finance Michael Cullen, centre, receives a dividend cheque of $800 million from Meridian Energy chairman Wayne Boyd, left and chief executive Keith Turner at Parliament. Photo / NZPA, Ross Setford
Between 1983 and 1998, he held various positions with DesignPower – the professional engineering consultancy to the electricity industry.
His career has included establishing major wind farms, heavy involvement in electricity industry reforms and helping to found industry entities such as early regulator M-Co, the Market Surveillance Committee, and Contact Energy.
He chaired Fisher & Paykel Appliances Holdings Ltd from 2010 to 2019 and is a former chairman of Emirates Team New Zealand America’s Cup Syndicate.
Turner is a member of the New South Wales State EnergyCo Board, chair of Napier-based EV charger network builder Kwetta Technologies, and was chairman of DamWatch from 1999 to 2008 then 2016 to 2022.
He is a distinguished fellow of Engineering NZ and holds the Sir William Pickering Medal for Engineering Leadership.
‘Humble’ beginnings
Turner said coming from “very humble” beginnings, he never imagined as a young boy the path his life would take.
He felt “humbled and privileged” to be acknowledged with the honour.
“Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to work with, and for, many talented people, who shared my passion for the industry and what it delivers for human life and society, and I believe those people also need to be recognised for their achievements in the industry.”
Dr Keith Turner, chairman of Transpower, in 2022. Photo / Dean Purcell
“But none of what I have done would have been possible without the support of my wonderful family.”
Born and raised in Rotorua, Turner is the youngest of the six children of the late Walter – a senior forestry executive – and Aileen Turner.
Turner and his wife, Brenda, a retired GP, met in Christchurch and have been married for nearly 50 years, with four children – three sons and a daughter – and 13 grandchildren.
F&P Appliances chairman Keith Turner at an annual meeting in 2011. Photo / Natalie Slade
Turner said that as a boy he spent countless hours trout fishing at various Rotorua lakes and streams, including Lake Rerewhakaaitu, Lake Rotoiti, Lake Okataina and at Ōkere Falls.
There were also plenty of pig and deer hunting expeditions, and he loved spending time mucking around with motors and cars.
“At age 10 or 11, I rescued a two-stroke motor off an old motor mower and converted it into a go-kart, and when I was 15 I purchased an unused 50cc Puch moped which I rode for one year before buying my first car, a little 1948 Morris 8 Series E, rebuilding the motor, and using it to pursue my passion for fishing.”
Turner’s interest in the electricity sector was first sparked at age 10 or 11.
“During the weekends, my father used to take me on regular road trips to visit various power stations, including Atamuri and Ohakuri.
“It was fascinating and having a curious mind I wanted to know how they worked and how they got the best performance out of them.”
After attending Rotorua Boys' High School, he took up an engineering cadetship offered by the NZ Electricity Department (NZED) in Wellington.
Training as an engineer, he earned a Bachelor of Honours in Engineering (Electrical) at Canterbury University in 1973, followed by a Master’s degree and a PhD in electrical engineering in 1980.
Turner spent his spare time in a shed in the backyard of a rented property building an 11.6m steel yacht, which he sailed on trips along New Zealand’s east coast and across Cook Strait into the Marlborough Sounds.
While living in Wellington he built a 250sq m replica colonial house on a 1.2ha block in Pukerua Bay on the Kāpiti Coast.
Turner has four surviving siblings, including Patricia Roser in Tauranga – “the oldest surviving liver transplant recipient in the Southern Hemisphere”.
Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 24 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.
