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Auckland, September 23, 2021
During a turbulent time for Auckland households and businesses, some good news.
Entrust has announced its 2021 dividend, with payments of $303 going into bank accounts from today (September 23, 2021). The Trust is paying out $97 million to power consumers connected to Vector’s network in the Entrust district – mainly in Central, South and East Auckland.
With the banks having stopped the use of cheques, the Covid level 4 lockdown and limited ability to communicate with beneficiaries, this year’s Entrust payments have not been without challenges.
Payment Preference Forms
Entrust Chairman William Cairns said that payment preference forms were sent to all Entrust beneficiaries in July as part of a proactive and ramped up dividend payment programme including social media. For those who chose payment by direct credit or by credit to their power account, these payments are being made.
“If we did not hear from you in July, or if you have moved or switched power company recently, you will be posted a dividend notification form which I urge you to complete and post or email back, so we can put the money into your bank account. The sooner we receive beneficiaries’ details, the sooner we can transfer the dividend to them. We’ve expanded our call centre to accommodate the extra likely contacts,” he said.
Rental rebates
This year’s dividend is made up of the $283 dividend from Entrust, slightly up on last year, plus an additional $20 from Vector which is due to an electricity industry credit the company recently received, known as loss rental rebates.
Mr Cairns said that the Entrust dividend continues to be affected by the tax imputation decision made by Vector last year, reducing tax imputation credits from 28% to 10.5%.
“This change means Entrust has to pay significantly more tax on the dividend it receives from Vector before we can distribute our own dividend. That results in a lower amount paid to Entrust beneficiaries than in the past,” he said.
Mr Cairns said that Entrust dividend will be welcomed by Aucklanders who have faced a challenging year due to the impacts of Covid-19. The dividend paid by Entrust is New Zealand’s largest, with over $2 billion having been paid out by its trustees since 1994.
“We will pay out $97 million to 346,000 families, flatmates, businesses and organisations this year. It is a boost to the economy, and to households. It has not been an easy year for our city, and it is great to be able to announce this dividend and see it distributed,” he said.
About Entrust
Entrust (formerly called the Auckland Energy Consumer Trust) is a private trust that owns the majority of Vector on behalf of its beneficiaries.
Entrust owns 75.1% of shares in Vector which are held in trust for energy consumer beneficiaries in Auckland, Manukau, northern parts of Papakura and eastern Franklin. These beneficiaries are paid a cash dividend each year, usually in late September.
The organisation was created in 1993 to ensure that power lines remained in the control of electricity consumers and was established under a trust deed on behalf of electricity consumers in the area previously served by the Auckland Electric Power Board.
