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.

The state-owned electricity generator and retailer yesterday reported an underlying net profit after tax of $88 million for the latest half-year after non-cash items

Meridian Energy says it's ready for partial privatisation and expects a significant uplift in operating earnings after transmission outages knocked its performance.

It is folly to press on with the partial privatisation of the state-owned power companies when the future of the Tiwai Pt aluminium smelter is unresolved, writes Brian Fallow.

Meridian Energy is considering the sale of its 50 per cent stake in the A$1 billion Macarthur wind farm in Australia.

Rio Tinto's attempt to renegotiate New Zealand's largest electricity contract, for its aluminium smelter at Bluff, comes as the company's chief executive warns of "difficult decisions" ahead.