A Unison faultman working on power lines in Hawke's Bay following Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / NZME
A Unison faultman working on power lines in Hawke's Bay following Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / NZME
Independent reviewers are largely in favour of keeping the structure behind Hawke’s Bay’s annual power cheque, rather than giving people the option of a one-off lump sum payment.
But that’s sparked frustration among those pushing for more options for power consumers in the region, who say there needs to bemore public discussion about the benefits of a one-off payment.
The ownership model of Hawke’s Bay Power Consumers’ Trust, which holds shares in lines company Unison on behalf of Hawke’s Bay power consumers, is up for its five-yearly review.
An independent review of the present ownership model, undertaken on behalf of the directors of Unison, was recently published. It was largely in favour of maintaining the status quo.
That means, for the roughly 61,000 Hawke’s Bay power consumers whose electricity is supplied by lines operated by Unison, an annual dividend of around $240.
Brian Anderson, of a group called Free the Funds that wants the ownership model scrutinised, says the “book value” of those shares to each of the 61,000 customers is $8300.
Free The Funds speculates that the market value is about $12,000 or even as high as $16,000.
Anderson’s criticism is that none of the above figures are mentioned in any Hawke’s Bay Power Consumers’ Trust (HBPCT) literature and, without them, beneficiaries of the trust (people with a power connection) cannot make an informed decision about whether they would like the ownership model retained.
Anderson and Free the Funds believe the 61,000 folk connected to Unison are entitled to own and manage the shares themselves, rather than HBPCT and he accuses the HBPCT of keeping them in the dark.
“This is simply not true,” HBPCT chair Diana Kirton told Hawke’s Bay Today.
“The Trust Deed - publicly available on the HBPCT website – specifically sets out how the ownership review should be conducted, and it is to ‘consider proposals and available options for the future ownership of shares’.
“The Deed does not require that company to be valued, or by extension, the value of shares determined.
“The review is a process by which the Unison directors consider the most appropriate form of ownership for the company and then make a recommendation to trustees, who then consider the report and submissions from the public before making a decision.”
Hawke's Bay Power Consumers' Trust chair Diana Kirton. Photo / File pic
The book value of the public’s shares in Unison does not appear to be in dispute.
But Kirton rejects the projected market value and says: “regardless, the value of Unison is not relevant to the review”.
Anderson said that if Kirton, as the chair of a trust that holds shares in a company on behalf of the public, doesn’t know or want to know the value of those shares, then she should resign.
Kirton describes that suggestion by Anderson as “nonsense.
“By any measure Unison is a very successful company that has benefited under the Trust ownership model, as have power consumers.
“Trustees are elected by power consumers and we take our responsibility to represent their interests very seriously.
“These responsibilities are set out very clearly in the Trust Deed and include appointing Unison directors, approving major transactions and asset investment strategy, advocating for consumer shareholders and much more.”
Submissions on the HBPCT ownership model are open and people also have the opportunity to speak to those at a public meeting on November 10.
The Trust will announce its decision on the ownership structure at a further public meeting on November 17.
