TLC increases funding to Maru Energy Trust to keep King Country warm

Te Kūiti homeowner Sarah Anderson has been supported by Maru Energy Trust to install underfloor insulation and a heat pump.

In a move to enhance community welfare, The Lines Company (TLC) has announced a substantial increase in funding to Maru Energy Trust, targeting improvements in home warmth across the King Country region.

Over the next three years, TLC will contribute $450,000 annually to the trust, marking a $300,000 increase per year from previous funding levels.

Since its inception in 2018, TLC’s total commitment to the programme will reach around $2 million.

Maru Energy Trust, an independent organisation dedicated to creating warmer and drier homes, has welcomed the boost as a “transformative” step forward.

Maru Energy Trust chairman Brian Hanna said the additional funding was a “turbo-charge” for the initiatives.

Since its establishment, Maru insulated more than 900 homes and installed over 400 heat pumps across the King Country, especially in the Waitomo and Ōtorohanga districts.

Hanna said despite their efforts, thousands of homes in the TLC network still lacked adequate insulation and heating.

Maru’s ambitious overall goal was to ensure all homes in the King Country were warm and insulated within the next decade.

The TLC’s funding injection follows additional contributions from Ōtorohanga and Ruapehu District Councils, Trust Waikato, and other local trusts.

Government support through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) also backed Maru’s work.

Looking ahead, Hanna said he was confident that the increased funding could double Maru’s impact over the next three years, yet he called for further support from the community.

TLC also recently invested in the development of new technology, the heli-saw, to help keep trees off power lines.

The company had 269km of power lines running through forestry blocks as well as 106km of line through Department of Conservation (DoC) land.

This came after TLC received a formal warning from the Commerce Commission in February for multiple outages.