Mighty River Power directors are to get a 73 per cent pay rise, it has been confirmed ahead of the release of offer documents for the company's partial float tomorrow.

When people like the PM talk of an orderly transition to a post-smelter environment, they are talking about the scrapping of generating capacity, writes Brian Fallow.

The Government and its flagship asset sale programme will not be held hostage by Rio Tinto over the mineral giant's threat to close the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter, Prime Minister John Key said yesterday.

Rio Tinto isn't going to get a deal out of the Government and is likely to shut down the Tiwai Pt aluminium smelter potentially at the cost of thousands of jobs over the next five years.

Negotiating with Hollywood moguls must now feel like a bit of a doddle for John Key compared to mixing it with the cold-blooded, razor-wielding gang of cost accountants from Rio Tinto.

The Tiwai Pt power price stoush will probably have a small negative effect on the price of Mighty River - but it's not a showstopper say sharemarket analysts.

The Government has opened discussions with Tiwai Point aluminium smelter's ultimate owners Rio Tinto in a bid to broker a deal after talks between the smelter and Meridian Energy reportedly broke down.

Tiwai Pt aluminium smelter's owners have contradicted a report from Meridian, saying they think a power deal can be agreed on.

Potential investors in Mighty River Power, Genesis Energy and Meridian will be exposed to the financial impacts caused by any new charges linked to water or geothermal use and land resumption.

I can't get excited about the Mighty River share float either as an investor or as an economist, writes Peter Lyons. NZers are being given a chance to buy shares in businesses that all of us already own.

Almost one in five New Zealanders who oppose the partial sale of Mighty River Power intend buying shares in the company anyway.

Labour and its leader David Shearer have had a boost in support in the latest Herald-DigiPoll survey - but it appears to have come at the expense of its potential coalition allies.

More than 400,000 people have pre-registered their interest in buying Mighty River Power shares before the process closes at 5pm on Friday.

Shares in Mighty River Power are likely to cost between $2.36 and $2.75, according to estimates based on a raft of pre-marketing research reports released by major broking firms.

A flurry of last-minute pre-registrations for Mighty River Power shares is expected ahead of the Friday close-off.

Editorial: Two recent events ought to have injected some urgency into the quest for cleaner, fairer and better use of New Zealand's most valuable resource, water.

Former Solid Energy chairman John Palmer has told MPs he opposed the Government's 2009 direction that the state owned coal miner take on more debt.

The record number of pre-registrations for Mighty River Power shares shows there is strong appetite for well-structured businesses, says one fund manager.

Government ministers urged Solid Energy to take on more debt and to pay bigger dividends despite company warnings that falling coal prices threatened profitability.

The fundamental conflict between the Govt's political imperatives and Solid Energy's commercial imperatives needs to be probed further, writes Fran O'Sullivan.

The 68 boxes carried onto Parliament's forecourt this afternoon contained 393,000 signatures. It is thought to be the biggest ever petition in support of a citizen's initiated referendum.

Labour Leader David Shearer says the fact someone was able to pre-register for Mighty River shares in his name shows how "shonky" the sales process is.

The Government will push ahead with asset sales regardless of a referendum on the issue, Finance Minister Bill English says.

Former Solid Energy boss Don Elder has confirmed he will go to Parliament to answer questions about the company's problems.