The Government has turned up the sweeteners to attract retail investors to the Meridian Energy sharemarket float but analysts say punters need to remain wary of the potential downsides.

Markets writer Tamsyn Parker says details for Meridian Energy's share market float provide both a huge incentive and the potential for a huge disaster for investors, writes Tamsyn Parker.

Meridian's deal with Rio Tinto to keep the Tiwai Point smelter open until January 2017 has cleared the way for its sharemarket listing.

Meridian Energy could be listed on the sharemarket before the end of October after clearing a big hurdle by finalising contract talks over the Tiwai Pt aluminium smelter.

Meridian Energy's renegotiated contract with the owners of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter includes lower electricity prices and a potentially more abrupt closure.

Environmental columnist Sam Judd checks out a new way for farmers to make money that will actually benefit the environment.

New technology allows households to track almost every detail of their electricity use.

The Meridian Energy partial privatisation is so large it may have to be split in two, Prime Minister John Key says.

The 113,000 so called "mum and dad" investors who bought Mighty River shares included companies, trusts and investment institutions, Treasury has confirmed.

Not much time has passed since the Government's Budget announcement that shares in Meridian Energy would be the next to be sold.

The Green Party says that shares sold in the recent float of Mighty River Power went to only a small group of investors - and claims of widespread 'mum and dad' ownership are false.

What the assets are worth now depends on the future path of electricity prices and the effect that has on the company's cashflows, writes Brian Fallow.

The Government will have to bump up the sweeteners to get enough mum and dad investors to buy into Meridian Energy, an analyst says.

Senior executives of newly listed, state-controlled Mighty River Power are in line for shares in lieu of cash bonuses worth $1.2 million for the year to June 30.

Editorial: Naturally enough, the Government was keen to put the entire blame for what happened on "politicking" by Labour and the Greens.

If Meridian Energy had already floated, it's a fair bet that its share price would have dropped after the Opposition unveiled its electricity policy a week ago.

Crucial face-to-face talks between the owners of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter and Meridian Energy resume in Wellington today, and could take the rest of the week.

At 10 o'clock in the morning it is briefly quiet inside the Northland house which is also a small power station.

The Government has set a price range of $2.35 to $2.80 per share for the partial privatisation of Mighty River Power.

Prospects of keeping the Tiwai Pt aluminium smelter open in the long-term are grim, with Meridian Energy saying it is still in the dark.

Contact's share price dropped this morning, partly in response to uncertainty over the future of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter.