The ownership of mountain waters and compensation for their diversion is between Whanganui iwi and the Crown, says Genesis Energy.
The state-owned electricity company's insistence that it will not get involved follows an iwi spokesman saying they wanted the waters returned to the tribes.
The Waitangi Tribunal report on issues in the Tongariro National Park area was handed over to claimants last week. It said Whanganui iwi had a strong interest in waters flowing from the mountains of the central North Island, because they fed the Whanganui and other rivers.
It recommended that government compensate the tribes for their diversion by Genesis to generate electricity, and that the rivers and streams be co-managed by the Crown and iwi.
But it stopped short of recommending the diversions be ended and the waters returned, which Whanganui iwi spokesman Gerrard Albert said was unfortunate.