Tough Genesis job for Shipley

The woman who oversaw the split up of the energy sector will now take the helm at New Zealand's third largest energy company Genesis.

Former Prime Minister Dame Jenny Shipley was made chairman of the state-owned enterprise in one of 24 appointments announced by the Government yesterday.

Dame Jenny, who was Prime Minister and SOE Minister when Genesis and Mighty River Power were separated from ECNZ in 1998, said that experience would stand her in good stead in the new role.

"I have a full, comprehensive knowledge of the structure of the market and those entities."

Since leaving the political arena she had also taken a keen interest in the international work being undertaken on clean energy developments in Asia and the United States.

Dame Jenny said when she was approached by the minister to take up the role, she understood Genesis had some challenges but she was not afraid to take them on. "It would be premature for me to comment on those challenges. I don't intend to comment on them until I have been fully briefed," she said. Shipley takes up the position on November 1.

She said Genesis had to strike a balance to meet the demands from Government to produce a dividend while coping with its legacy assets.

Genesis' main asset, the coal and gas-fired Huntly Power Station, has only been given a lifespan of another 20 to 25 years. It will also be hard hit by emissions charges.

Last week the company reported a net loss after tax of $136 million for the year ended June 30, compared with a profit of $99 million in 2008.

Much of that was attributable to a write-down in the value of the ageing Huntly station. SOE minister Simon Power said he was confident Dame Jenny would get Genesis back on track.

But not all of her corporate experiences have been an easy ride. As chairwoman of Richina Pacific, Dame Jenny came under fire at the end of last year for its business Mainzeal, which lost $20 million building Vector Arena.

Labour energy spokesman Charles Chauvel said he did not wish to criticise Dame Jenny personally as she was "clearly a capable person".

But appointing a former party leader when the current political stance favoured privatisation led to concerns over whether she would be preparing the company for sale.

Dame Jenny will replace Brian Corban, who was paid $115,000 in the past year.

Meanwhile, former Fairfax New Zealand chief executive Joan Withers will move from director to chairman of Mighty River Power.

Withers, who also joined the board of TVNZ last week, said she was inheriting a business that was "in fantastic shape".