On 15 December 2009, Cabinet agreed that Tekapo A and B power stations should be transferred from Meridian Energy Limited (Meridian) to Genesis Power Limited (Genesis) in order to increase competition in the wholesale and retail electricity markets in the South Island. Cabinet also agreed that the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) resource consents that Meridian currently holds in relation to the Tekapo A and B should be transferred to Genesis.
Ministerial Order to Change Resource Consent Conditions (pdf 103 kB) – this order amends some of the conditions of the specified Environment Canterbury permits, which relate to using water in the Waitaki river system to generate electricity.
Resource consents for the Waitaki Power Scheme (WPS) were issued as a package in 1991 to the Electricity Corporation of New Zealand (ECNZ), which operated the Waitaki Power Scheme at the time. The package of consents and related agreements was transferred to Meridian in 1999 when ECNZ was split.
Meridian’s resource consents in relation to the Tekapo A and B power stations are subject to Waitaki Power Scheme Operating Rules. These operating rules have been split so that the relevant rules for the Tekapo A and B power stations are in one document for Genesis, and the relevant rules for all the other Waitaki power stations are in a separate document for Meridian: