Genesis Energy

Genesis Energy Limited is a New Zealand integrated energy company whose activities span electricity generation, electricity retailing, natural-gas retailing, LPG retailing, and related customer energy services. The company began operating on 1 April 1999 as part of the restructuring of New Zealand’s electricity sector and the breakup of the Electricity Corporation of New Zealand. It received a portfolio of generation assets and retail customers from the former state electricity system and several local power boards. Genesis is one of New Zealand’s largest electricity and natural-gas retailers. Its generation portfolio combines hydroelectric, thermal, and wind assets, allowing it to serve customer demand across different hydrological and market conditions. Its principal generation assets include the Huntly Power Station, the Tongariro Power Scheme, the Waikaremoana hydro scheme, the Tekapo hydro stations, and the Hau Nui wind farm. Huntly, a large coal- and gas-fired station on the Waikato River, has historically provided important dry-year and peak-demand support when hydroelectric production is constrained. The company expanded during the early 2000s by purchasing electricity and gas retail businesses and customer portfolios, including businesses associated with Todd Energy, NGC, and Energy Online. Energy Online later became Frank Energy, a separate retail-facing brand within the wider Genesis portfolio. Genesis also held an interest in the Kupe natural-gas field and has participated in energy-development initiatives and industry organisations. In 2013, Genesis Power Limited adopted the Genesis Energy name. The New Zealand Government partially privatised the company in 2014 through an initial public offering while retaining majority ownership. Genesis therefore operates as a listed company while remaining majority state-owned. Its shares trade on the New Zealand Exchange under the ticker GNE. Genesis has publicly pursued a lower-carbon electricity pathway, including a 2018 objective of moving toward coal-free electricity generation in New Zealand by 2030. In practice, the company continues to operate a mixed portfolio in which thermal generation can support system reliability while renewable generation supplies a substantial share of output. The company has also developed sustainability and community programmes covering energy education, warmer homes, biodiversity, reading, youth employment, and solar installations at schools. Its customer proposition includes electricity, natural gas, LPG, account management, payment services, moving-home support, and digital tools for monitoring consumption. The Genesis mobile application and online services provide usage information and customer self-service functions. The business remains focused primarily on the New Zealand market, where its scale in generation and retailing gives it a significant role in the national electricity and gas sectors.

Genesis Energy began operating on 1 April 1999 during the restructuring of New Zealand’s electricity industry. The reform dismantled the Electricity Corporation of New Zealand’s former nationwide structure and allocated generation and retail activities among successor organisations. Genesis received the Huntly Power Station, the Tongariro Power Scheme, and the Waikaremoana hydro scheme from ECNZ. It also acquired the Hau Nui Wind Farm and the Kourarau hydro scheme from Wairarapa Electricity, together with retail customers formerly served by Powerco, Central Power, and Wairarapa Electricity. The company initially traded as Genesis Power Limited. Changes to electricity-market legislation during 2000–2002 enabled further consolidation among retailers, and Genesis purchased or acquired customer businesses associated with Todd Energy, NGC, and Energy Online. These transactions strengthened its position as a national electricity and gas retailer. Energy Online became part of Genesis’s retail portfolio and was later rebranded as Frank Energy. Generation remained central to the business. Genesis operated hydroelectric stations in the central North Island and at Waikaremoana, while Huntly supplied thermal generation capable of supporting the grid during periods of low hydro inflows. In 2007, Huntly’s generation portfolio was expanded with a combined-cycle gas-turbine project. The station’s coal units were progressively reduced: one unit was removed from service in 2012, another was placed into long-term storage in 2013 and permanently retired in 2015. Coal remained available as a firming resource for dry winters, however. Genesis expanded its hydroelectric portfolio in 2011 by purchasing Tekapo A and Tekapo B from Meridian Energy. The company’s generation mix subsequently continued to include hydro, thermal, and wind assets. It also retained a 46% interest in the Kupe natural-gas field, linking the company’s retail and generation activities with upstream gas supply. In September 2013, Genesis Power announced its change of name to Genesis Energy Limited. On 17 April 2014, the New Zealand Government sold a 49% stake in the company through an initial public offering at NZ$1.55 per share. The government retained majority ownership, making Genesis a listed company with a continuing state majority shareholder. The company announced in 2018 a pathway toward coal-free electricity generation in New Zealand by 2030. This strategy reflected the increasing importance of renewable generation and the company’s sustainability commitments, while also recognising the need for dependable generation during dry years and periods of peak demand. Genesis has developed or retained consents and proposals for additional wind generation, including the Castle Hill project in the Wairarapa. Beyond generation and retailing, Genesis has invested in customer technology and community initiatives. Its School-gen programme provides educational materials about renewable energy, energy efficiency, and solar power, and has supported photovoltaic installations at New Zealand schools. Other programmes have focused on reading access, warmer homes, biodiversity conservation, and pathways into employment. The company has also established emissions-reduction targets covering direct, purchased-energy, and value-chain emissions. In 2024, a reduction in estimated Kupe gas reserves led to a reported impairment and contributed to a sharp decline in profit, together with operational disruption including a power-station outage. In 2025, the Frank Energy brand announced that it would be wound down as a customer-acquisition brand, with customers given the option of moving to Genesis Energy or another retailer. Genesis remains an active New Zealand electricity generator and energy retailer.

• 2023

  Castle Hill wind consent extended

  [1]Genesis Energy Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  Consent for the Castle Hill wind project was varied and extended, with the proposed project reduced to approximately 300 MW and consent expiry moved to 2031.

• 2018

  Coal-free electricity pathway announced

  [1]Genesis Energy Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  Genesis announced a pathway intended to support a coal-free electricity future for New Zealand by 2030.

• 2014

  Initial public offering

  [1]Genesis Energy Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  The New Zealand Government sold a 49% interest in Genesis Energy through an initial public offering while retaining majority ownership.

• 2013

  Corporate name changed to Genesis Energy

  [1]Genesis Energy Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  Genesis Power Limited changed its corporate name to Genesis Energy Limited.

• 2011

  Tekapo hydro stations acquired

  [1]Genesis Energy Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  Genesis purchased the Tekapo A and Tekapo B hydroelectric stations from Meridian Energy.

• 2007

  Combined-cycle generation commissioned at Huntly

  [1]Genesis Energy Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  A 403 MW combined-cycle gas-turbine unit was commissioned at Huntly as a major expansion of the station’s thermal generation capability.

• 2002

  Expansion of retail operations

  [1]Genesis Energy Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  Genesis acquired electricity and gas retail businesses or customer portfolios connected with Todd Energy, NGC, and Energy Online during the early retail-market consolidation period.

• 1999

  Genesis Energy begins operations

  [1]Genesis Energy Limiteden.wikipedia.org

  Genesis began business on 1 April 1999 as a successor created during the restructuring and breakup of the Electricity Corporation of New Zealand.

A large, integrated New Zealand energy provider combining electricity generation, retail supply, gas services, and customer energy-management tools, with a stated transition toward lower-carbon electricity while retaining firming capacity for system reliability.

• Generation · 1999

  Electricity generation

  Genesis operates a mixed electricity-generation portfolio comprising hydroelectric, thermal, and wind assets. Its hydro assets include the Tongariro, Waikaremoana, and Tekapo schemes. Huntly provides coal- and gas-fired generation and has historically supplied firming capacity during dry hydro conditions. Hau Nui provides a smaller wind-generation component. Together these assets support Genesis’s wholesale-market participation and retail supply obligations.

• Energy retail · 1999

  Residential and business electricity

  Genesis sells electricity to residential and business customers throughout New Zealand. The offering includes account management, billing, payment facilities, moving-home support, and digital tools intended to help customers understand and manage electricity consumption.

• Energy retail · 1999

  Natural gas

  Genesis retails natural gas to New Zealand customers and has an upstream connection through its 46% interest in the Kupe gas field. Gas is part of the company’s integrated retail and generation portfolio, although the company’s long-term strategy also includes greater reliance on renewable electricity.

• Energy retail

  LPG

  LPG retailing forms part of Genesis Energy’s broader energy-services activities in New Zealand. Specific product formats, customer segments, and current distribution arrangements are not detailed in the supplied reference material.

• Digital energy services · 2016

  Genesis customer app and online services

  Genesis’s digital customer services include an app introduced in 2016 and a website experience updated in 2022. Functions described in the reference material include energy-use graphs, bill payment, and tools for customers moving house. The services support the company’s Energy IQ and self-service positioning.

• Sub-brand and energy retail · 2021

  Frank Energy

  Frank Energy was the rebranded successor to Genesis’s Energy Online business. It served electricity customers, with a stated focus on expanding its North Island customer base. In June 2025, Frank Energy announced that the brand would stop accepting new customers and that existing customers would be moved to Genesis Energy or another retailer.

• 2006School-gen

  New Zealand

  Genesis created School-gen to teach students about solar power, renewable energy, and energy efficiency. The programme provides free teaching resources and has supported photovoltaic installations at New Zealand schools.

  Outcome. The programme developed educational resources and supplied solar systems to 92 schools, according to the supplied reference material.

  Source
• Duffy Books in Homes

  New Zealand

  Genesis supports Duffy Books in Homes, an initiative designed to encourage reading and improve access to books for children in lower-income communities.

  Source
• Whio Forever Project

  New Zealand

  Genesis partners with New Zealand’s Department of Conservation on the Whio Forever Project, supporting recovery of the endangered whio, or blue duck, through secure breeding sites and pest-control efforts.

  Source
• Curtain Bank sponsorship

  Wellington · Christchurch

  Genesis sponsors curtain banks that rework donated curtains for households in need. The initiative is intended to make homes warmer and help reduce energy costs.

  Source
• Ngā Ara Creating Pathways

  New Zealand

  Genesis developed Ngā Ara Creating Pathways to provide training and employment opportunities for young people in local communities.

  Source

• 2025

  Frank Energy brand winding downStrategy

  Background

  Frank Energy operated as a Genesis-linked retail brand and continued serving existing customers while competing in New Zealand’s retail electricity market.

  Action taken

  Frank Energy stopped accepting new customers and announced that existing customers could move to Genesis Energy or another retailer.

  Aftermath

  The decision reduced the role of Frank Energy as a customer-acquisition brand and consolidated future customer options around Genesis and other retailers.

  Source

• 2023

  Castle Hill wind project revisedStrategy

  Background

  Genesis held resource consent for a large proposed wind farm near Masterton in the Wairarapa.

  Action taken

  The company applied to extend and vary the consent. The revised proposal reduced the project to approximately 300 MW, and consent was granted with expiry in 2031.

  Aftermath

  The project remained a permitted future-generation option rather than an operating wind farm.

  Source

• 2018

  Commitment to a coal-free electricity pathwayStrategy

  Background

  Genesis operates the Huntly thermal station, while New Zealand’s electricity strategy has increasingly emphasised renewable generation and lower emissions.

  Action taken

  The company announced a pathway toward coal-free electricity generation in New Zealand by 2030.

  Aftermath

  The announcement established a long-term decarbonisation direction, although thermal generation continued to play a reliability and dry-year role.

  Source

1. 1Genesis Energy Limiteden.wikipedia.org
2. 2Genesis Energy official websitegenesisenergy.co.nz