A dividend payment of $230 will be paid to all power consumers in Hawke's Bay who are connected to Unison Networks Limited (UNL). This annual dividend payment from the Hawke's Bay Power Consumers' Trust (HBPCT) has remained stable over the past financial year. "This is a pleasing result considering the challenging year that was experienced in 2020" said Trust Chair, Diana Kirton. The dividend will be paid to consumers in late November.

"The company has returned a $15.8million dividend to the Trust this year which the Trust will be passing on to consumers. This means the direct financial benefits consumers have received from Trust ownership since 1999 will be more than $219million. Our commitment is to return the dividend directly back to the Hawke's Bay power consumers and this is what we are doing," said Kirton.

The cut-off date for determining who is eligible for a payment is 30 September 2021. All those power consumers in Hawke's Bay who are connected to Unison's electricity network on that date will receive one payment per connection, with a maximum of three payments for any one customer. "Every year there is a handful of customers affected by this date. Some customers commence a new connection a few days after the cut-off and therefore are not eligible to receive a payment. For others it works in their favour," Kirton said.

The cheque will NOT be in the mail
The Trust now faces a new challenge as the legendary annual "Power Trust Cheque" is forced to become a thing of the past as banks no longer accept cheques. Diana Kirton has announced that the only way the Trust can distribute the dividend payment now is by direct credit. NO MORE CHEQUES is the message for 2021.

"The Trust could see this coming 2 years ago and commenced the process of encouraging power consumers to register for the direct credit option of payment. As a result, 67% already receive their dividend direct to their bank accounts" said Kirton. "This has given them the benefit of earlier payment, no bank queues and no lost cheques. Our challenge now is to capture the remaining 33% of power consumers to ensure every eligible power consumer in Hawke's Bay receives the benefit of the dividend payment".

Direct credit registration and update process
The Trust will commence an awareness campaign in late August to ensure consumers are ready to go when the registration portal opens on 18 October. People will then have 4 weeks to register for direct credit or check their details if they have registered previously. "We would love to see 100% of Unison customers receive their dividend payment in this effortless manner. The registration process is quick and easy and there will be plenty of support provided to assist anyone who struggles with it" said Kirton.

For more information visit hbpct.co.nz