Meridian's deal with Rio Tinto to keep the Tiwai Point smelter open until January 2017 has cleared the way for its sharemarket listing.

Meridian Energy could be listed on the sharemarket before the end of October after clearing a big hurdle by finalising contract talks over the Tiwai Pt aluminium smelter.

Meridian Energy's renegotiated contract with the owners of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter includes lower electricity prices and a potentially more abrupt closure.

The New Zealand government posted a smaller operating deficit than forecast in the 11 months ended May 31.

Environmental columnist Sam Judd checks out a new way for farmers to make money that will actually benefit the environment.

The Meridian Energy partial privatisation is so large it may have to be split in two, Prime Minister John Key says.

The 113,000 so called "mum and dad" investors who bought Mighty River shares included companies, trusts and investment institutions, Treasury has confirmed.

Not much time has passed since the Government's Budget announcement that shares in Meridian Energy would be the next to be sold.

The Green Party says that shares sold in the recent float of Mighty River Power went to only a small group of investors - and claims of widespread 'mum and dad' ownership are false.

What the assets are worth now depends on the future path of electricity prices and the effect that has on the company's cashflows, writes Brian Fallow.

The Government will have to bump up the sweeteners to get enough mum and dad investors to buy into Meridian Energy, an analyst says.

The Government will waste no time selling down Meridian Energy with Treasury officials expected to meet investment bankers on Monday.

Meridian Energy, New Zealand's biggest and most profitable power company, will be partially privatised later this year, Finance Minister Bill English confirmed in yesterday's Budget.

Editorial: Naturally enough, the Government was keen to put the entire blame for what happened on "politicking" by Labour and the Greens.

If Meridian Energy had already floated, it's a fair bet that its share price would have dropped after the Opposition unveiled its electricity policy a week ago.

Crucial face-to-face talks between the owners of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter and Meridian Energy resume in Wellington today, and could take the rest of the week.

At 10 o'clock in the morning it is briefly quiet inside the Northland house which is also a small power station.

The Government has set a price range of $2.35 to $2.80 per share for the partial privatisation of Mighty River Power.

Prospects of keeping the Tiwai Pt aluminium smelter open in the long-term are grim, with Meridian Energy saying it is still in the dark.

Contact's share price dropped this morning, partly in response to uncertainty over the future of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter.

Prime Minister John Key says the government has "put its best foot forward" and will offer Rio Tinto no more than the short-term subsidy offered last week.

Rio Tinto is doubtless more than happy that the Government has stepped in to try to broker a deal over the electricity supply contract for the Tiwai Pt aluminium smelter.