New Northpower trustees elected

The Northpower Electric Power Trust has confirmed the elected trustees who will represent electricity consumers in the Kaipara and Whangārei districts for the next three-year term, following the close of voting on November 29.

In the Whangārei district, Irene Durham, Phil Heatley, Sheryl Mai, Tim Wilson and Paul Yovich were elected. Kaipara voters returned Sheena McKenzie and Craig Parker.

Just over 21% of the 85,838 eligible electors cast their votes across the two districts, which included 67,314 Whangārei electors and 18,524 Kaipara electors.

All Northpower Limited shares are held in trust by the Northpower Electric Power Trust on behalf of the region’s electricity consumers.

The Trust’s primary role is to safeguard the value of those shares, ensuring the company continues to deliver benefits to its beneficiaries.

Trustees meet regularly, normally 11 ordinary meetings a year, to monitor Northpower’s performance, handling ownership issues, determining distributions of trust income and appointing directors to the Northpower Limited board.

The Trust will elect its chair and deputy chair at its first meeting of the new term. Incumbent chair Phil Heatley and incumbent deputy chair Sheena McKenzie were both re-elected.

Since 1993, nearly $300 million has been returned through pricing discounts and distributions.

Last year, Northpower recorded revenue of $513 million, up from $416m the previous year, with $18.6 million paid out to consumers trhough distributions and discounts. All connected consumers in the region are beneficiaries of the Trust.

Trustees serve a three-year term, with the next mandatory ownership review scheduled to begin late next year and conclude in 2027. The review examines whether the current ownership structure remains in the best interests of electricity consumers.

Further information, including annual reports and the Trust Deed, can be found on the Northpower website’s ownership section.