In 2025 he was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the electricity industry.
Turner has expressed interest in social, economic and environmental sustainability, and renewable energy in New Zealand.
[7] According to Turner, a viable transmission grid is an important ingredient of his renewable energy strategy.
[8] He has been critical of the lack of investment in the electricity transmission grid in New Zealand by the state-owned enterprise Transpower.
In November 2005, he advised that "New Zealand's electricity grid is so overworked that some lines cannot be taken out for servicing", which was vindicated by the 2006 Auckland Blackout, when half of Auckland lost power during a storm because an earth wire snapped and fell on switching equipment.