Meridian Energy review

Meridian Energy is New Zealand's largest electricity generator and its fourth-largest retailer. It is listed on the NZX and majority Crown-owned. Of the 8 companies we compare, it is the one whose identity is most completely built around renewable generation.

What Meridian Energy actually offers

The residential plan range is compact and each plan has a clear purpose. The plans on offer are Freedom, Night Saver, an EV plan and a Bach plan.

Night Saver prices power lower overnight and higher during the day. It is aimed squarely at households that can move their heavy use — the dishwasher, the washing machine, the hot water cylinder, an EV on a timer — into the small hours.

The Bach plan is a genuinely useful piece of product design that most retailers do not bother with. A holiday home uses almost nothing for most of the year and a lot for three weeks in January. Standard plans, with their daily fixed charge, treat that badly. A plan priced for the pattern is worth knowing about if you own one.

The EV plan targets households charging a vehicle at home, which for many people is now the single largest item on the power bill.

The renewable claim

Meridian states that all the energy it generates comes from 100% renewable sources: wind, water and sun.

This is the strongest version of that claim available in the New Zealand market, because Meridian is the country's biggest generator and the claim is about its own generation rather than a certificate purchased from a third party.

It is worth being clear about what it means physically. The electricity that arrives at your house comes from the national grid and is identical no matter who bills you. What changes is whose generation your money supports. If you want your power spend going to renewable generation, Meridian is the most direct way to do it among the companies we compare.

Who it suits

Meridian suits people for whom renewable generation is the deciding factor. That is the clearest reason to choose it.

It suits owners of holiday homes, because the Bach plan is priced for a use pattern that penalises you elsewhere.

And it suits night-shifted households: anyone who can genuinely run the heavy loads overnight.

What to watch

We could not confirm that Meridian sells mains gas. Meridian's own site describes electricity. If your home has piped gas for hot water or heating, that likely means two suppliers, which is usually more expensive and always more admin than a single dual-fuel account. Check with Meridian directly rather than assuming either way.

Night Saver is only a saving if you actually shift. Day rates on a night-weighted plan are not free. A household that is home and busy from 5pm to 9pm and cannot change that will not benefit, and may do worse than on a flat plan.

No credit or term confirmed. At the time we checked, we could not verify a sign-up credit or a standard contract length. We have left both blank rather than guess. Ask when you enquire.

How Meridian Energy compares

Against Mercury, Meridian is the closest comparison: both are large Crown-majority generators making a 100% renewable claim about their own generation. The practical difference is that Mercury sells gas and Meridian, as far as we can confirm, does not.

Against Contact and Genesis, Meridian is narrower by design: fewer fuels, fewer bundles, a tighter plan range with a clear environmental position.

As with every company here, we do not yet show what Meridian's power costs. Rates depend on your network region, user type and meter, and we are collecting rate files from the companies rather than estimating. Compare on what is verifiable, and confirm the details with Meridian before you sign up.