Meridian absorbs Flick and Z Energy electricity

Flick and Z Energy electricity customer contracts will move to Meridian.

The move follows a decision by Z Energy to focus on public, business and home EV charging solutions. Meridian says it can scale and deliver a strong customer value proposition to support the energy transition. The company paid Z Energy $NZ70m for the businesses.

Meridian and Ampol [Z Energy owners] are also working to explore deeper strategic opportunities for customer offers. That includes across public charging, business solutions and the management of Z Energy’s growing energy demand.

The agreement follows Meridian being selected as the preferred party in an open expression of interest process. This was undertaken as part of Ampol’s evolving strategic focus on EV charging solutions.

Flick will provide transitional services (including customer care, billing etc) for a NZ$825,000 monthly fee to Meridian for four months, with an option to extend to six months.

Flick has a 1.8 per cent market share based on meter boxes. The acquisition of Flick will increase Meridian’s market share to 18 per cent, maintaining the company’s position as the fourth largest electricity retailer.

“We continue to welcome new customers as we grow our retail business,” says Meridian chief customer officer Lisa Hannifin. 

The announcement builds on recent months where the Meridian and Powershop (Meridian owned) brands have led industry rankings for net growth of connections.

“It’s also significant that this deal comes with….a commitment to a strategic partnership between Meridian and Ampol where the companies will explore deeper opportunities for customer offers,” she says.

“A key part of this is likely to be helping Z Energy with its EV charging and decarbonisation journey….”