Mercury NZ (ASX:MCY, NZE:MCY) said that while spot electricity prices were low in the fiscal second quarter in Auckland, New Zealand, electricity futures remain elevated, according to a Tuesday filing with the Australian and New Zealand bourses.

Spot electricity prices averaged NZ$44 per megawatt-hour (MWh) in Auckland, partly due to lower electricity demand, with national demand 2.1% lower for the period compared with the prior-year period.

Forward prices remain elevated at NZ$174 per MWh in Auckland for financial years 2025 to 2027 as of Dec. 31, 2024.

Lower catchment inflows over the Waikato system over the period led to hydroelectricity generation falling to 872 gigawatt-hours (GWh), 6% lower than the same quarter in the previous fiscal year. The Taupo hydro storage, the main storage for the Waikato hydro system, ended the quarter with an above-average lake level, due to a reduction in hydroelectricity generation.

Wind generation was 44 GWh or 8% lower for the quarter year-over-year because of lower-than-average wind. The firm will construct a NZ$287 million wind farm near Dargaville in New Zealand. The 77-megawatt and 221-GWh-per-annum wind farm is expected to reach full generation by 2026.

The company also appointed Zespri International Chief Financial Officer Richard Hopkins as its CFO, effective April 14, succeeding William Meek, who will leave the firm in March, a separate filing showed.