Morrison & Co executive and former Trustpower chairman Bruce Harker was recognised for his outstanding contribution to the electricity sector during the past 30 years.
In his final years at state-owned ECNZ Harker led the development of transmission and spot pricing models that would underpin the country’s fledgling wholesale power market.
As a consultant he then led the analytical team that was seconded to ECNZ following the 1992 hydro crisis to see whether the corporation’s hydro management had been as good as it could be.
In 1994 he joined Morrison & Co and led Infratil’s energy activities in Australia. From 2000 until 2015 he served on the board of Trustpower, the last nine years as its chairman.
The two companies built on New Zealand’s experience in renewables and competitive electricity markets. Trustpower acquired and built a fleet of wind and hydro assets on both sides of the Tasman, while Infratil made a range of investments in Australia, including developing Lumo Energy, the most successful start-up in that country’s retail electricity market.