MightyRiverPower taps Matthew Olde to head up metering unit

MightyRiverPower taps Matthew Olde to head up metering service Metrix

By Suze Metherell

May 13 (BusinessDesk) – Matthew Olde, who helped manage MightyRiverPower’s IPO, has been tapped by the government-controlled energy provider to become chief executive of its Metrix metering business.

The Auckland-based company is targeting growth through its Metrix service, which provides electricity retailers and companies with ‘smart’ meters, and is currently New Zealand’s second largest provider of meters, MRP said in a statement.

Olde has been with MRP since 2010 and helped steer the company’s partial privatisation, when the government sold down a 49 percent stake last May, as general manager of business strategy and solutions. He has a background in investment banking.

“This appointment is about applying strong leadership to an area where there is significant growth potential, with two of the largest electricity retailers in New Zealand still to appoint an advanced metering infrastructure partner for the deployment of smart meters,” said Doug Heffernan, MRP chief executive.

In the short term, there was potential to more than double Metrix’s current smart meter business, with the possibility of installations in more than 440,000 consumer homes. Over the past five years the company has installed 340,000 smart meters, Heffernan said. In the medium term, Metrix was looking at expanding to offshore electricity markets.

Olde’s current position will be disestablished, with business strategy incorporated into the chief executive role, the company said.

The shares rose 0.2 percent to $2.23, and have gained 4.5 percent this year.

(BusinessDesk)

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