Why you need to vote for a change.

The Entrust trustees are fighting amongst themselves, rather than working together to protect your annual dividend and improve the resilience of the electricity supply across Auckland.

Entrust is the old Auckland Energy Consumer Trust.  Entrust holds 75.1% of the shares in Vector (worth more than $2.1 billion) on behalf of the Vector customers living in the old Auckland Electric Power Board (AEPB) area. Entrust will pay a dividend of $350 to each power customer in the eligible area.  Every three years a postal election is held for the 5 Entrust trustees.   The current five Entrust trustees, all C&R are fighting amongst themselves, rather than working together to protect your annual $350 dividend and improve the resilience of the electricity supply across Auckland

The Chair of Entrust denies it, but the independent Chair of Vector Michael Stiassny who they recently dumped, says they plan to sell down the remaining 75.1% shareholding, Entrust holds in Vector. You will recall the previous National Government sold down the public shareholding in the electricity companies we owned to 51%. (more on privatisation here)

Back in 2014 two former National Party Presidents promoted a business sector proposal to sell the trust’s remaining shareholding in Vector and give the proceeds to Auckland Council which would mean no annual dividend would be paid to you or other beneficiaries.

Current trustees and directors have been dumped to enable a further sell down to occur in the next three years. One current trustee has gone to court to challenge another trustee’s eligibility, to serve on Entrust.

This infighting and lack of focus has to stop because the nature of the energy business is changing fast. Until recently a local electricity distribution (lines) business was considered to be a “natural monopoly” that everyone had to use as they sourced their electricity. That is now rapidly changing.

Locally sourced and cost competitive renewables, particularly solar combined with cheaper and more powerful batteries, partially driven by the take up of electric vehicles means two things for Vector;

• They are likely to be supply less power to each of its customers, and
• They will become more of an insurance policy for reliable supply than the sole deliverer of all electricity consumed.

The storms back in April, left 183,00 Vector customers without power, some for more than a week. Entrust trustees in April were all seen to be missing in action. The Trust made no statement then or since about how they will use the trusts 75.1% ownership to press for a more reliable and resilient electricity supply for Auckland.  Undergrounding power lines and removing poles reduces the chances a falling tree will cut power in a storm. Climate scientists for some 20 years have advised us that major weather events like tropical storms and hurricanes will become more frequent. We need a plan for greater resilience and faster recovery in our city when major storms occur.

Entrust had an agreement with Vector to spend $10.5 million each year on undergrounding. The Entrust trustees have allowed Vector to cut the spending on undergrounding so it will now take more than 1000 years to complete the undergrounding of poles and lines at the recent rate of progress

First the current trustees took the “consumer” out of the name of the Trust, then they took the “trust” out of Entrust. 

It is time to dump the current trustees and vote for the City Vision team that will work together to maintain and protect your annual dividend.

City Vision for Entrust Policies 

Auckland needs a team at Entrust (formerly the Auckland Energy Consumer Trust) who are committed to working together to maintain and protect your annual dividend and the reliability of our electricity supply.

If elected we will:

• Protect and maintain your dividend: We oppose any privatisation of Vector
• Electricity reliability and resilience:  We will pressure Vector to improve the security of our electricity supply
• Accelerate the current undergrounding programme
• Sustainability, renewables, climate change and solar tax.  We will prepare for a rapidly changing competitive environment and the challenge of climate change
• Establish transparency and good governance
• Diversity:  We will appoint qualified directors to Vector that better reflect the diversity of Auckland and are able and committed to maintaining the dividend paid annually.
• Protect the consumer: We will the resources of Entrust and Vector to address the growing energy poverty in our communities

Our Approach

We will seek independent advice on how to :

• Ensure Vector remains profitable;
• Make Auckland’s electricity supply more resilient;
• Deal with a rapidly changing competitive environment;
• Accelerate the current undergrounding programme;
• Ensure our interests as investors, consumers and the community can be appropriately balanced.

We will use that advice combined with regular consultation with and polling of our community, to build a shared vision of the future between Entrust trustees, Vector directors and our dividend recipients.

For full details of City Vision for Entrust policies 

City Vision’s candidates

This positive plan can only be achieved if a majority of the City Vision Team of Glenda Fryer, Richard Leckinger, Simon Mitchell, Peter Neilson and Robert Reidare elected in October.

Voting documents need to arrive in time for election day on Friday 26 October  so must be posted by Wednesday 24 at the latest or hand delivered to Election Services, Level 2, 198 Federal Street by 5pm on election day.

Any enquiries about voting and voting documents phone 0800 922 822 or 09 973 5212

Further reading 

Have you tuned in to Auckland’s political soap opera of the year.

Election begins with four candidates declining interviews