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PUBLIC MEETING WITH WAITAKI POWER TRUSTEES AND NETWORK WAITAKI LTD REPORTING ON THE 2024 FINANCIAL YEAR
To be held on Monday, 29 July 2024 at 5.00pm for 5.30pm in The Inkbox, Oamaru Opera House.
The Trust's 2024 Annual Report will be available for Consumers from Monday, 15 July 2024, during normal business hours from NetworkWaitaki Limited, 10 Chelmer Street, Oamaru or from the Trust's website.
Go to Links/Reports and submissions/Waitaki Power Trust 2024 Annual Report.
100 YEARS OF network WAITAKI and 30 Years waitaki POWER TRUST
View Photos in the Gallery by scrolling to bottom of page
Photo 1 - Network Waitaki 100 Years Display
Photo 2 - Geoff Douch, Dennis Norman and Graham Clarke
Photo 3 - NWL 100 Years Celebration Dinner
Photo 4 - Past and Current Trust Members 2023
30 Years of Waitaki power Trust
Presented at the Annual General Meeting on the 31st July 2023 by Herb Tonkin (Trustee)
The first meeting of the Trust was held on 26th May 1993. D. Austin moved and B. Greaney seconded the motion where the Trust was duly established. D. Austin moved the motion to elect Bob Cameron as the Chairperson and B. Greaney seconded the motion.
Bob Cameron was also a Director and brought his own mug to Lofty Peace’s smoko and left it behind for future use. Bob would stop on his way from Kurow to Oamaru for board meetings and have a chat and a cup of tea whenever he came across the Line Gang on the side of the road.
The Trust asked the Directors to give the Consumers their first Discount in late 1998. The pool was $500,000 and was paid out by cheque. Two years later the Trust was met by a group of ladies who weren’t happy about this. It was paid to help struggling families and it was cashed in the wrong places by their husbands. Between the Trust and the Directors who asked the electricity providers of Trust Power, Kiwi, Meridian etc, if it was possible to give a discount on their power bills. Network Waitaki would give the retailers the money to distribute. This was passed and the next year the Trust asked that the pool be raised to one million dollars, which was granted.
The amalgamation of South Canterbury and Network Waitaki was never going to work. Waitaki had better trucks and a very large line store, better linesman who could work on 11kv to 110kv live wires. Lindsay Malcolm came to the Trust to get backing to bring the company back to Oamaru. The reason for this was the Consumers who have the shares in the company are held in Trust by the five Trustees. Waitaki was lucky that there was a clause that if it didn’t work, the company would come back to Oamaru.
Just look at how the company has progressed since with high winds, snow and sometimes power outages. We could have been like Central Otago if there was no maintenance being done.
The Network Waitaki Annual Report of the company is given to the Trust to go over, and the Trust can ask questions of the directors at the Network Waitaki Annual General Meeting. Subjects like Health and Safety, Maintenance, Outages and causes and new builds etc.
The Trust appoints the Directors for a term of three years. Every term gets harder as more applicants apply with their outstanding CVs.
Over the years, the Trust has been very lucky to have had a local Chairperson to lead the Directors.
Trust looking forward to 30th anniversary
By Nic Duff - August 11th, 2023, Oamaru Mail
When Network Waitaki celebrates its 100th anniversary next weekend, it will not be alone in celebrating a milestone for powering the district.
The Waitaki Power Trust turns 30 this year. The trust was formed back in 1993, created to own the company on behalf of consumers.
Trustee Herb Tonkin said it was great to celebrate the milestone and the important role the trust plays in representing the consumers in the district.
Mr Tonkin has been a trustee for 21 years and, prior to that, was employed by Network Waitaki for 41 years.
One of the best things the trust had been able to do over the past three decades was to give company profts back to the consumer, he said.
In the history of the trust, Mr Tonkin said it had given back "$40 million as a discount."
The discount came in every December and was a big help, especially in the cost of living crisis, he said.
"That $60 or $80 consumers get off their power account at Christmas time means that some of those people get a free month's power."
The anniversary for both the trust and Network Waitaki will be celebrated next weekend.
PUBLIC MEETING WITH WAITAKI POWER TRUSTEES AND NETWORK WAITAKI REPORTING ON THE 2023 FINANCIAL YEAR.
To be held on Monday, 31 July 2023 at 5.00pm for 5.30pm in The Inkbox Oamaru Opera House.
The Trust’s 2023 Annual Report will be available for Consumers from Monday, 17 July 2023, during normal business hours from Network Waitaki Limited, 10 Chelmer Street, Oamaru or from the Trust’s website.
NETWORK WAITAKI DIRECTOR APPOINTMENTS
Waitaki Power Trust is seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified candidates for the Board of Network Waitaki Limited as a result of directors retiring by rotation.
Only One Director is available for re-appointment.
Application forms can be downloaded here
Applications close on Friday, 28 April 2023
cleave excited at chance to lead trust
By Nic Duff - October 28, 2022, Oamaru Mail
Woman in power . . . Doreen Cleave has been elected as chair of the Waitaki Power Trust. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
A North Otago woman has been given a new position of power.
Doreen Cleave was elected chairwoman of the Waitaki Power Trust earlier this month.
As a relative newcomer to the trust — Ms Cleave was voted in as a trustee at the previous election in 2019 — she is excited to have the opportunity to lead the trust, but maintains it will be a team effort moving forward.
‘‘It’s not necessarily that I wanted to be chair. It’s [more] an opportunity for me to grow my skills, but we’re actually a team, a pretty good team.
‘‘We’ve been a team for the last couple of years, and we’ll carry that on for the next three years.’’
Elections for the three trustee members are held every three years, alongside local body elections, but a chairman or chairwoman is voted on annually.
While there was not a limit on how many years someone could serve in the role, Ms Cleave believed it was important they offered new perspectives.
‘‘I think after a certain length of time it’s good to get a little bit of new blood and new leadership in there.’’
Outside of the trust, Doreen was a chartered accountant, a Justice of the Peace, and a volunteer firefighter.
She hoped to help the trust shift to cleaner energy sources and be able to provide power to businesses throughout the district.
‘‘I want us to be ready for clean energy.
‘‘It’s not only the residential consumer, it’s our local industries as well. So if they’re getting rid of their coal boilers and such, to make use of some of the Government grants for cleaner energy, we would like them to be considering electricity over some of the other options.’’
The Waitaki Power Trust is 100% owner of Network Waitaki and holds the shares of the company on behalf of local power consumers.
Trustees appoint the directors of the company, work with the board to agree on the objectives of the company, and ensure the company is successful and works in the long-term interests of the consumers.
The trust also held its election for trustee members last month. The three elected were John Clements with 1951 votes, Herb Tonkin with 1849 votes, and Lichelle Guyan with 1624 votes.
Waitaki Power Trust results of the 2022 trust elections
Media Release 9 August 2022
Trustee elections for the Waitaki Power Trust are currently underway with four candidates standing for three Trustee positions. The Waitaki Power Trust holds the shares in Network Waitaki on behalf of local electricity consumers.
PUBLIC MEETING WITH WAITAKI POWER TRUSTEES AND NETWORK WAITAKI REPORTING ON THE 2022 FINANCIAL YEAR.
To be held on Monday, 25 July 2022 at 5.00pm for 5.30pm in The Inkbox Oamaru Opera House.
The Trust’s 2022 Annual Report will be available for Consumers from Monday, 18 July 2022, during normal business hours from Network Waitaki Limited, 10 Chelmer Street, Oamaru or from the Trust’s website.
