FAQs

The Entrust dividend is paid to all customers on the Vector electricity network in the Entrust district as at the roll date each year.

o Customers are the person/s named on the power bill.
o The Entrust district is Auckland, Manukau, eastern Franklin and northern Papakura.
o The Vector electricity network is where Vector owns the power lines.
o The roll date is the date, at midnight, where we start preparing the roll of people who will receive this year’s Entrust dividend. You have to have your name on the roll to get the Entrust dividend. This year's roll date was 11 August 2021.

Ensure your electricity retailer has your current details as they send us the names of all the electricity customers on the Vector network inside the Entrust district on the roll date.  

It was 11 August 2021.

Everyone who was an Entrust income beneficiary on 11 August 2021 is eligible for this year's payment. You are an Entrust income beneficiary if you pay Vector electricity lines charges (these are included in your power bill) in the Entrust District of Auckland, Manukau, and the northern parts of Papakura and eastern Franklin. The dividend is paid to Entrust income beneficiaries regardless of who their electricity retailer is. The beneficiary is the person whose name is on the power bill sent by your electricity retailer. In the case of rental properties, this is usually the tenant rather than the owner of the building.

You can see the boundary maps here:

View Papakura Boundary

View West Auckland Boundary

View Clevedon Hunua Boundary

The 2021 Entrust dividend payment is $283 plus $20 extra from Vector. That’s a total payment of $303 this year for everyone who gets an Entrust Dividend.

The Entrust dividend comes from the dividend we receive as the majority shareholder in Vector.

Last year Vector reduced the tax credits paid alongside its dividend from 28% to 10.5%. This change means Entrust has to pay significantly more tax on the dividend it receives from Vector, resulting in a lower amount paid to Entrust beneficiaries than in the past. More information about Vector’s dividend tax policy is available at https://www.vector.co.nz/news/entrust-dividend-20

The amount of the Entrust dividend is also affected by the number of people who receive it. As the population increases in the Entrust District, the number of people receiving the Entrust dividend also increases and this has to be included in the calculations each year. This year there are 346,000 beneficiaries in the Entrust district, representing the largest number in the history of the dividend.

If you are a family or a business who gets your electricity via the Vector network, you are eligible to receive a payment of $20. This is due to a credit Vector has received from Transpower known as loss rental rebates (LRRs). LRRs are the surplus created once the costs in the electricity wholesale market have been worked out.

This year, Vector is passing on $20 to each power account holder on the Vector network in the Entrust District. This payment has been added to the Entrust dividend you receive. For more information see vector.co.nz/powerpayment

The Entrust dividend has always been paid in late September, once Vector has paid its final dividend for the year to shareholders which include, of course, Entrust. Once Entrust has received this money from Vector, the Entrust dividend can then be distributed to Entrust income beneficiaries.

This year the Entrust dividend was distributed on Wednesday 22 September 2021.

All beneficiaries receive $283 for each installation control point (ICP) on their power account/s. Most beneficiaries have one ICP and receive one payment. But some beneficiaries, such as businesses with branch offices or more than one ICP (who pay more than one power bill) receive more than one payment.

The amount is calculated by Entrust from the dividend it receives as majority shareholder of Vector Ltd. A dividend from Vector's profits is paid to Entrust by Vector and most of this is passed on by Entrust to our income beneficiaries. Also, as the population increases in the Trust District, the number of people receiving Entrust dividend also increases and this has to be included in the calculations each year.

We need to make a list of everyone who is eligible for the dividend, and it is done on one day to ensure the list is fairly and fully compiled.

We can’t send cheques any more because banks are no longer accepting them. So we pay the dividend by credit to a power account or as a direct credit to a bank account.

In June each year we send out payment preference forms so people can choose one of those options.

At dividend time, if we don’t have full information about how you wanted the dividend paid, or if we can’t make payment into your bank account, we send out a dividend notification form for you to complete and return so the dividend can then be paid into your bank account.

It may take a few days for the mail delivery to be completed, but if you haven't received your dividend notification by Monday 4 October please call the freephone number, 0508 ENTRUST (0508 368 7878).

Call the freephone number, 0508 ENTRUST (0508 368 7878) and we can send you a new one.

We have investigated sending the information by email but we don’t have email addresses for everyone, and those that are included in the information we get from the electricity retailers may not be the correct address to use.

We will continue to investigate how this could be done. But for now, the way we get the material out to everyone is in print, by mail.

We are aware of some instances where mail is stolen. We work closely with the fraud teams at all the banks to prevent a person stealing mail being paid your dividend.

However Entrust is not liable if someone else fills in the form and puts their bank account details on the form and they receive your payment. If that happens, we will try and help you sort it out, but we are not liable to reissue the payment to you.

If you are aware of mail theft, please let us know so we can investigate. Call the freephone 0508 368 7878.

Entrust has been paying the annual Entrust dividend since 1994 and it is legitimate.

To pay the dividend, we do need your bank account name and number so we can pay the money into your bank account.

We can’t do anything with that number except pay you.

Please note, we never, ever ask for your password.

We only need the account name and number.

If anyone asks for your password, they are not us, don’t give it to them.

Make sure the bank account number shown in the letter is correct. If it is correct, ask your bank if it is sitting in a UPI (unpaid items) account. Sometimes this happens if your bank wasn’t able to process the payment right away. If it’s not there, call the freephone number 0508 ENTRUST (0508 368 7878) for assistance.

If the form is in your name you just fill out your bank details, sign it and send the form back to us.

If the form is not in your name, and you were not the power account holder on 11 August 2021, you are not eligible for the dividend at this address. You don’t need to do anything further.

If the form is not in your name but you were the power account holder on 11 August 2021 you can apply to have the dividend reissued in your name. You will need to fill in and sign the form and send it back to us with a copy of your ID and a copy of your power bill (or tenancy agreement if you are a prepay customer with Globug or Wise) covering the roll date of 11 August 2021.

You can photograph or scan the form (and other documents) and email it back to: payment@entrustdividend.co.nz

You can send it back by post to: Entrust Dividend, FREEPOST 259884, Private Bag 92913, Onehunga, Auckland 1643. You don’t need a stamp.

Your dividend will be paid into your bank account. If we didn’t have your bank account details we will have sent you a dividend notification form.

If the form is in your name you just fill out your bank details, sign it and send the form back to us.

If the form is not in your name, and you were not the occupant paying for power at this address on 11 August 2021, you are not eligible for the dividend at this address. You don’t need to do anything further.

If the form is not in your name but you were the occupant paying for power at this address on 11 August 2021 you can apply to have the dividend reissued in your name. You will need to fill in and sign the form and send it back to us with a copy of your ID and a copy of tenancy agreement in your name covering the roll date of 11 August 2021.

You can photograph or scan it the form (and other documents) and email it back to: payment@entrustdividend.co.nz

You can send it back by post to: Entrust Dividend, FREEPOST 259884, Private Bag 92913, Onehunga, Auckland 1643. You don’t need a stamp.

It may be because you have moved or changed electricity retailers since the last dividend. The dividend is paid to the person/s named on the power bill at the address at the time the dividend roll is struck. We are unable to track customer movements if there has been a change of occupier at the address or a change of retailer between one dividend payment and the next as we receive information from retailers only at the dividend roll date.

Please note that there are careful processes in place to ensure that the rightful beneficiary receives the dividend each year. In the case of payment by direct credit, all the details provided by the retailer must perfectly match the direct credit details held on file. If there are any changes to any of those details, the direct credit may be declined and a dividend notification form will be sent instead. This is to ensure the dividend goes to the rightful beneficiary.

Something will have changed since we sent out the payment forms.

If you changed address since we sent out the payment forms, we would not have your bank details at the new address. Your bank account details would be on our records at your old address and we can't match those to your new address. Thousands of people move every month and it is not possible to track everyone from their old address to their new address.

Other reasons include:

• You might have switched electricity retailers and your name details might have been changed and they didn’t match what we had on record.
  
  
• Something may have been wrong with the bank account details, in which case the bank will have returned the payment to us and we will have sent you a form to sort that out.
  
  
• A request for a direct credit could not be processed if:
  
  
• the name on the bank account was not the same as the name on the power account
• the request was received too late (after Friday 6 August 2021)
• incomplete information was received
• not all people on the power account signed.

Yes. But here’s a tip. If you’re currently getting the dividend paid direct to your bank account, make sure you keep ALL your customer details exactly the same when you switch. That way we will still be able to match up your dividend payment details with the new customer details your new electricity retailer sends us when we are preparing the dividend. 

If you moved within the Entrust district, and are still an eligible beneficiary you will have received a dividend form instead of a direct credit. We couldn’t pay a direct credit at your new address because we didn't have your bank details at that address. We are unable to track customer movements as we receive information from retailers only on the roll date. 

If you moved out of the Entrust district before the roll date (11 August 2021), you are no longer an Entrust beneficiary and therefore are not eligible for the dividend. The form you signed requesting a DC was only applicable if you were still an eligible beneficiary when the dividend roll was struck.

The Entrust beneficiary is the person or persons named on the power bill. The form is made out to the name or names that appear on the power account. If you don't have a bank account in those names, use the form to request a reissue in a different name and send a statement signed by the others agreeing to have the dividend paid into your bank account.

If the name on the form is yours but it’s not exactly correct, you will need to update those details with your electricity retailer for future dividends. For this time, you can send the form back with ID to show that the dividend belongs to you. See the details on the form.

If the name on the form belongs to someone else, but you were the power account holder on 11 August 2021, you can apply to have the dividend reissued in your name. You will need to fill in and sign the form and send it back to us with a copy of your ID and a copy of your power bill (or tenancy agreement if you are a prepay customer with Globug or Wise) covering the roll date of 11 August 2021.

You can photograph or scan the form (and other documents) and email it back to: payment@entrustdividend.co.nz

You can send it back by post to: Entrust Dividend, FREEPOST 259884, Private Bag 92913, Onehunga, Auckland 1643. You don’t need a stamp.

If you weren’t the customer on 11 August 2021, please forward the letter to the previous occupier or write ‘Gone No Address” on the envelope and post it back to us.

We have to pay the dividend to the person/s named on the power bill on the roll date. That information is provided by the electricity retailer when they send us the roll.
The electricity retailers will send us a new roll of customer details next time we do the dividend. The information on that roll is what we will use to pay the next dividend. So you have to get your name right with your electricity retailer first. Then it will be right with us too.

If the form is addressed to the previous occupiers, please forward it to them if you know their new address. If you don’t know their address, please return it to Freepost 3539 Entrust Private Bag 92016 Auckland 1142.

Or if the person whose name is on the form has moved out and you were paying the power bill on 11 August 2021 you can apply to have the dividend reissued in your name. You will need to fill in and sign the form and send it back to us with a copy of your ID and a copy of your power bill (or tenancy agreement if you are a prepay customer with Globug or Wise) covering the roll date of 11 August 2021.

You can photograph or scan the form (and other documents) and email it back to: payment@entrustdividend.co.nz

You can send it back by post to: Entrust Dividend, FREEPOST 259884, Private Bag 92913, Onehunga, Auckland 1643. You don’t need a stamp.

If the power account for the person named on the form is still being used by the person’s family, the dividend may be reissued to the estate of the deceased person, however copies of relevant documents will be required. Use the 'Reissue to a different name' section of the form to apply for this.

If the power account is still in your old name, the dividend may be reissued to your correct name, however copies of relevant documents will be required. Use the 'Reissue to a different name' section of the form to apply for this.

It will be because your dividend was paid as credit on your power account last year.

A form confirming this was sent in June. If we didn’t receive any reply to that notice, the dividend will have stayed as credit on your power account.

It is too late to change the way your dividend is paid this year. But you will be sent a form before next year’s payment which gives you the choice about how to have your next dividend paid.

The addresses originally come from your electricity retailer and should be the same as the address on your power bill or account. If that is not correct, you’ll need to get it fixed with your electricity retailer.  But if your electricity retailer does have the correct address, it may have been changed by NZ Post to meet their delivery requirements. This is outside our control, and you will need to query it with NZ Post.

Please don’t, as we can’t do anything. We get the names of all the people on the roll from the electricity retailers when we strike the roll each year. So make sure you keep them informed. 

If you were a customer on the Vector electricity network in the Entrust District on 11 August 2021 you are entitled to receive the dividend. If your mail has not been re-directed to you, please contact the current occupiers to see if they are holding it for you. If you don’t receive it at all, call 0508 ENTRUST (0508 368 7878).

The dividend payment is made only to people who were an Entrust income beneficiary on 11 August 2021. You are an Entrust income beneficiary if you were paying Vector electricity lines charges (included in your power bill) for a property in the Entrust district on that date. If you moved out any time before 11 August 2021, you are no longer eligible to receive the dividend. The dividend payment will have gone to the new person paying the account on 11 August 2021.

Under the Trust Deed that governs the way the Entrust dividend is paid, there is no provision for part-payment of the dividend. To receive the dividend you must be an eligible beneficiary on the roll date. Under the Trust Deed that is the only time you are an eligible beneficiary. This year, the roll date was 11 August.

You can see a copy of the Trust Deed here

It is possible that you didn’t receive a dividend payment because:

• You are not a customer on the Vector electricity network in the Entrust district. The Entrust district is Auckland, Manukau, northern Papakura and eastern Franklin.

• Your property is connected to an ‘embedded network’ or a ‘customer-owned network’ which is not owned by Vector. This means you are not a Vector customer and therefore not an Entrust beneficiary. Embedded networks and customer-owned networks in the Entrust area include:

• Metropolis Apartments
• Princes Wharf Apartments
• Q City Apartments, 15 City Rd
• The Docks, 6 Dockside Lane
• The Orange, Newton Road
• Parts of Wattle Downs Manurewa, including:
• Aberdeen Cres
• Allerton Place
• Belfry Place
• Bells Hill Close
• Blantyne Court
• Brechin Place
• Elie Place
• Girvan Terrence
• Scotsmoor Drive
• Stranraer Cres
• Turnberry Drive
• Parts of Dannemora including:
• Artisan Place
• Askerne Drive
• Beros Place
• Bickerton Way
• Bilancia Place
• Birchlands Road
• Brancott Place
• Briar Vale Place
• Broberg Lane
• Charo Place
• Chateau Rise
• Concepts Way
• Fernhill Place
• Gibbston Cres
• Hawkden Drive
• Jeffs Rd North
• Kaituni Drive
• Kourau Place
• LeBurn Cres
• Madival Avenue
• Manchester Drive
• Manning Rise
• Mazuran Place
• Mebis Way
• Melness Place
• Mission Heights Drive
• Muirlea Drive
• Norwood Drive
• Packspur Drive
• Parts of Jeffs Road
• Sendemeer Place
• Seresin Cres
• Sileni Place
• Soljans Place
• Solstone Place
• Vidal Way
• Vin Alto Drive
• Woolaston Place
• Parts of Ryan Place, Manukau City
• Bolderwood Place, Manukau City
• Athy Place, Manukau City
• Popokatea Drive, Takanini
• Parts of Tarapiroe Ave, Takanini
• Puweto Ave Takanini
• Tawaki Ave Takanini
• Compass Point Way, Pigeon Mountain, Half Moon Bay
• Fonteyn Village, Avondale

• The Vector charges on your power account are paid by a third party such as your body corporate or your landlord. Therefore the third party is the Entrust beneficiary and will have received the dividend payment.
  
  
• Your power charges are included in your rent (see questions below)
  
  
• Or, if you were in the process of switching electricity retailers around 11 August, your name may have been removed from your old retailer and not yet included in the roll from your new retailer. If so, call us on the freephone number 0508 ENTRUST (0508 368 7878).

See Who Qualifies for more details.

If you are an Entrust beneficiary and the situations above do not apply to you, please call the freephone number 0508 ENTRUST (0508 368 7878). or send an email to entrust@entrustnz.co.nz with your name, address, phone number and ICP number. The ICP number can be found on your power account.

If your address is part of an embedded network or customer-owned network it means you are not connected to Vector's electricity network and do not pay any lines charges to Vector. You pay lines charges to the network owner, which in this case is not Vector.

As you are not part of the Vector electricity network, you are therefore not eligible for the Entrust dividend.

The decision about whether to use the Vector network or an embedded network customer-owned network is made by the developer, not by Vector or an electricity retailer. The network has been installed as an entirely separate network to Vector, and it would be up to the developer, property manager or network owner to decide if it can be changed.

This is something to watch out for in apartment living. The reason you haven't received a dividend is because you are not directly connected to the Vector network, with your own ICP (installation connection point). The number of ICPs in apartment buildings is determined by the developer.

Some developers set up an ICP for every apartment and leave the occupier to arrange electricity supply (and to pay the lines charges) with their preferred retailer. In this case each is individually connected to the Vector network, and the occupant qualifies as an Entrust income beneficiary.

Other developers set up one ICP at the entry to the entire site. The electricity network beyond the ICP is then managed by the developer, owner or property manager who negotiates with electricity retailers for the bulk supply of electricity to the development. The retailer will bill one party for this bulk supply, including Vector's line charges. This means that occupiers are not individual customers of an electricity retailer. Instead, these customers pay the developer or the property manager for the electricity and lines charges. The developer (or property manager) is the only customer with an ICP and a connection to the Vector network. Their name appears on the roll and therefore they receive the dividend.

This arrangement is usually done to give apartment occupiers access to bulk electricity rates, but it is at the expense of forgoing entitlement to the Entrust dividend by each apartment owner or tenant.

No. The dividend is paid to the person or organisation named on the power bill.

The power bill will be in your landlord’s name. That means your landlord will receive the dividend. If your landlord has received the dividend you could ask to have it passed on to you. Or you could arrange to have the power bill set up in your own name.

No. The dividend is paid to the customer who is liable for the Vector lines charges. In this case, that is the landlord or the organisation that you pay, not you. This includes rental agencies and landlords such as:

IMPRESSION REAL ESTATE
AUCKLAND CITY LIVING MANAGEMENT
MC RENTALS
DC ARDERN COLLECTIVE
ER MEILI
CITY POWER
SUPERCITY POWER
Star BNB
One Citi Property Management

This may include apartments in buildings such as:
ZEST APARTMENTS
VOLT APARTMENTS
ECLIPSE APARTMENTS
THE FEDERAL CITY APARTMENTS
HARVARD ON HOBSON APARTMENTS
C-VU APARTMENTS
HARBOUR GREEN APARTMENTS
ST PAUL APARTMENTS
32 EDEN CRESCENT
ALTITUDE APARTMENTS
SCOTIA TOWER
508 QUEEN ST
22 BERESFORD SQUARE
CONNAUGHT
AVOKA BUILDING
METRO CITY
ARGENT HALL
WERI APARTMENTS
COUNTRY CLUB APARTMENTS LTD / QUEST ON MOUNT
ELLIOTT STREET APARTMENTS
HARBOUR CITY APARTMENTS
WHITAKER APARTMENTS
CITIZEN APARTMENTS

Please note that the dividend IS paid to customers in these buildings who do have power bills in their own name from electricity retailers listed below. But if your power bill is from an agency or property manager and/or your electricity is included in your rent or management costs, you may not be eligible and the person or organisation who pays the power bill for you may receive the dividend. Check with the person or organisation that pays the power bill for you.

Electricity retailers brands operating on the Vector lines network are:

Ampere Energy
Black Box Power
Body Corporate Power
Community Power
Comtricity
Contact
Deep Energy
EcoSmart
Ecotricity
Electric Kiwi
Energy Online
Flick
For Our Good
Genesis
GLOBUG
Grey Power Electricity
Hanergy
ID Power
Just Energy
MegaTEL Energy
Mercury
Meridian
Nova
Octopus Energy
Orange Energy
Orcon
Pioneer Energy
Plus Energy
Power Edge
Powershop
Prime
Pulse Prepay
Simply Energy
Slingshot
South Pacific Energy
ST Power
Stack Energy
Switch Utilities
Trustpower
Vector NS
Vocus
Wise Prepay
Yes Power
50 Hertz

Other organisations charging you for your electricity are not electricity retailers. They are most likely third party agents who may have a bulk buying arrangement with one of the retailers listed above. The actual power bill will be in the agent’s name, not the occupier. If this applies to you, ask your agent about passing the dividend on to you.

Yes, if the branches are in the Entrust District.

The payout goes to Entrust beneficiaries, and they are customers on the Vector electricity network residing in Auckland, Manukau, northern Papakura and eastern Franklin. The customer is the person whose name is on the power bill. For rental properties, this is usually the tenant rather than the owner.

Your dividend payment is ‘live’ for two years from the day of distribution. For this year the distribution was on 22 September 2021, so it expires on 21 September 2023. After that date, any dividends that have not been banked or claimed are forfeited and credited to the income of the Trust, as covered by the Trust Deed. You can see the Trust Deed here

If you still have a cheque from 2020, you have until 22 September 2022 to get in touch and arrange a reissue. The reissue will be paid to your bank account. For assistance, call freephone 0508 ENTRUST (0508 368 7878) or email: dividend@entrustdividend.co.nz

As provided in the Trust Deed that governs payment of the Entrust Dividend, each dividend is ‘live’ for two years from the day of distribution. If you have a cheque from 2019 or earlier, it will be too late to get it reissued unless you had made a claim before the two year expiry date and are still waiting to complete that claim. You can see the Trust Deed here 

For a copy of the standard tax certificate click here

For a copy of the tax certificate for those with an RWT-exempt certificate, click here

Please note, prior to 2016 Entrust was known as the Auckland Energy Consumer Trust (AECT). Dividends prior to 2016 will still have the Auckland Energy Consumer Trust (AECT) name.

We did a lot of work in regard to this legislation including taking specialist tax advice and have been advised by IRD that Entrust is not required to collect IRD numbers for the Entrust dividend. This is because Entrust is a trust, not a company, and people who receive the Entrust dividend are not investors. They receive the dividend simply by being a consumer with an electricity retailer. The new legislation applies only to companies and not trusts like Entrust.

That aside, we are aware it would be helpful to Entrust beneficiaries if IRD numbers were provided and IRD could process any tax refunds to individuals where applicable.

Unfortunately this was not feasible because so many of our beneficiaries are paid the dividend under a joint name and the dividend is not split out to each person as IRD requires. Additionally, around 42% of people receiving the Entrust dividend move or change customer details every year. This would have meant significant additional costs would be incurred gathering and matching IRD numbers each year.

Because everyone has different tax rates we are not able to provide calculations for the tax on a share of the dividend. You will need to ask your tax advisor or Inland Revenue. Visit www.ird.govt.nz. or call Inland Revenue on 0800 227 774.

When we sent out the forms in June there was a section advising people wanting an RWT-exempt dividend that they need to provide their IRD number. This is due to the new IRD rules which came into effect on 1 April 2020. 

The new rules require anyone paying an RWT-exempt dividend to check that the IRD number is on the RWT-exempt register. If we don’t have the IRD number, we can’t check the RWT-exempt status and we are not allowed to pay the dividend as RWT-exempt.

Unfortunately, if we did not receive your IRD number we had no way of checking on the register that you could be paid an RWT-exempt dividend. So we had to pay it as a standard dividend.

We can’t do a reissue for you as we have already paid the tax to IRD. You will need to request a refund at www.ird.govt.nz

Yes, provided you are also an Entrust beneficiary.

No. Entrust is not a council entity. Entrust is a private trust and is not affected by the establishment of the Auckland ‘supercity’. The annual Entrust dividend will continue to be paid to Entrust income beneficiaries only. Entrust income beneficiaries are customers on the Vector electricity network in the Entrust District only, which is the area that used to be the Auckland Electric Power Board (AEPB) which covered the old Auckland city, Manukau, northern Papakura and eastern Franklin.

Entrust was set up to take care of the assets in the old Auckland Electric Power Board area when the electricity industry was reformed in 1993. At that time, consumers in other areas, such as the North Shore and Waitakere, received shares individually for their power boards so they are not entitled to any further payments.

Consumers in the old AEPB area did not receive shares. Instead, ownership of their asset was held by a consumers trust, Entrust, and consumers in the Entrust area continue to receive a dividend every year from Entrust.

In other power board districts here’s what happened:

• The Waitemata Electric Power Board (North Shore, West Auckland, Orewa, Whangaparaoa). People were given shares in the power board which they could sell. Became a public company (UNL), which was bought by Vector in 2002.
• The Franklin Electric Power Board (in southern Papakura, Counties and Franklin Districts) Now called Counties Power. Owned by Counties Power Trust which pays out discounts to consumers’ power accounts.
• North Auckland Power Board (includes Kaipara area). Now called Northpower. Owned by Northpower Electric Power Trust which pays out credits to consumers’ power accounts.

Vector is required to run as a commercial company and make returns to its shareholders, including Entrust, by means of a dividend. The dividend comes from profits earned by all Vector’s businesses, not just the electricity lines in the Entrust district. For more information about all Vector’s businesses see www.vector.co.nz

Also, please note that Vector charges are only a part of the total power costs. Along with the electricity retailer’s own charges, and Vector lines charges, the power bill also includes transmission charges from Transpower, rates from Council, and regulatory levies from the Commerce Commission and Electricity Authority.

The dividend is paid by Entrust to our beneficiaries. The money originally comes from dividends paid by Vector to its shareholders. Entrust is the majority shareholder of Vector.

The advertising is necessary to ensure that everyone who is eligible knows the dividend has been paid, especially those people who may not have received the mail because they have moved or switched electricity retailers since the last dividend. Every year around 45% of all our beneficiaries - about 146,000 people - move or switch retailers. The advertising helps to make sure all those people know about it.

The advertising also alerts people that the Entrust dividend information is in their letterbox. The dividend is valuable, so it is important that people know to look out for it.

It is also a practical time to build awareness about Entrust. Before advertising started a few years ago, fewer than 4% of beneficiaries knew about the Trust and that it pays them a dividend. Now more than 60% of people in the Entrust District know that Entrust pays a dividend to electricity consumers in Auckland.

The advertising is done to a strict budget, to reach as many beneficiaries as possible at the lowest possible cost. The design of the ads is intended to generate as much attention as possible. They are researched every year to ensure they are being effective.

It is a free card for the friends of the trust that gives discounts at well known local outlets:

Armstrong Locksmiths
Away To Go gift vouchers
Big Save Furniture
Carters
Dulux Trade Stores
Give Plants
Gruzo Tyres
Hertz 
Ideal Electrical
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels
Office Max
Repco
Thrifty Car Rentals
Torpedo 7

Print a copy of the card which you can find on entrustnz.co.nz here

Until June 2016 you may have known us as the AECT, or simply the organisation which sends you a dividend every year. You may have thought we were part of the council or government. The fact is we are a private trust that owns the majority of Vector on behalf of our 346,000 beneficiaries. So to help clarify who we are and what we do, we changed our name. It’s not a major change, just a simple combination of energy and trust. Entrust.

To send your comment or question right now, you can send an email here to dividend@entrustnz.co.nz

Or you can call freephone 0508 ENTRUST (0508 368 7878).

Or you can write to Entrust, PO Box 109626, Auckland 1149.

Beneficiaries are also welcome to attend the annual meeting of beneficiaries, at 7.00pm, Thursday 28 October 2021, at the Ellerslie Event Centre at Auckland Racing Club, 80-100 Ascot Avenue, Greenlane.

Note that the meeting will be conducted with full compliance of all COVID-19 safety requirements in place at the time.

Entrust (previously the Auckland Energy Consumer Trust or AECT) is a private trust that owns the majority shareholding in Vector. Every year, we send out a dividend to energy consumers who are connected to the Vector electricity network in our district. We will be getting ready for the dividend soon, but first we are getting in touch with everyone who is currently on the dividend roll to see how you want to receive your dividend when it is paid later in the year.

Because banks are no longer accepting cheques, the Entrust dividend will be paid like this:

• As a direct credit to your bank account OR
• As a credit on your power account.

You need to choose if you want the money in your bank account or on your power account. (Prepay customers will be paid to your bank account.)

If you don’t choose one of these two options, or if you move or switch retailers and change your customer details before September, we will send you a dividend notification form at dividend time. You will need to return this form with your bank account details so we can then pay you the dividend.

The Entrust dividend is paid to all customers on the Vector electricity network in the Entrust district as at the roll date each year.

• Customers are the person/s named on the power bill.
• The Entrust district is Auckland, Manukau, eastern Franklin and northern Papakura.
• The Vector electricity network is where Vector owns the power lines.
• The roll date is the date, at midnight, where we start preparing the roll of people who will receive this year’s Entrust dividend. You have to have your name on the roll to get the Entrust dividend.

Just keep your customer details up to date with your electricity retailer. Your electricity retailer sends us the names of all the electricity customers on the Vector network inside the Entrust district on the roll date when we are getting ready to pay the dividend. 

Yes, as long as you’re still in the Entrust District on the roll date and the power account is in your name and includes Vector electricity line charges.

If you move out of the Entrust District, you won’t be eligible for the dividend.

You must be a Vector electricity customer in the Entrust District on the roll date to receive the dividend.

If you leave the Entrust District before the roll date, you won’t receive any dividend payment.  Under the Trust Deed, there is no provision for part or pro rata payments. 

Please don’t, as we can’t do anything. We get the names of all the people on the roll from the electricity retailers. So make sure you keep them informed. 

Don’t worry. If you are still eligible when we do the dividend roll, we will send you a new form so you can tell us your bank account details and then we will complete your payment.

They are included in your power bill. Generally this includes all properties in the Entrust district but there are some exceptions:

• Some apartment buildings and subdivisions have their own electricity network
• Some people pay a third party for their power.

See the Qs below for more about these exceptions.

These details came from your electricity retailer. They should be the same as what’s on your power bill. If they’re not right, you need to ask your electricity retailer to fix them.

TOP TIP: Check the name on your power bill is the same as your bank account so it is easy to bank your dividend.

We did a lot of work in regard to this legislation including taking specialist tax advice and have been advised by IRD that Entrust is not required to collect IRD numbers for the Entrust dividend. This is because Entrust is a trust, not a company, and people who receive the Entrust dividend are not investors. They receive the dividend simply by being a consumer with an electricity retailer. The new legislation applies only to companies and not trusts like Entrust.

That aside, we are aware it would be helpful to Entrust beneficiaries if IRD numbers were provided and IRD could process any tax refunds to individuals where applicable.

Unfortunately this was not feasible because so many of our beneficiaries are paid the dividend under a joint name and the dividend is not split out to each person as IRD requires. Additionally, around 42% of people receiving the Entrust dividend move or change customer details every year. This would have meant significant additional costs would be incurred gathering and matching IRD numbers each year. We are continuing to liaise with IRD officials to try and find a solution to this issue.

That’s so you can have the dividend paid as a direct credit to your bank account. We have to pay the person/s named on the power bill. If the name on your power bill is not exactly the same as your bank account, we may not be able to match the names and may have to send you a notification form at dividend time which means it can take a bit longer to get the money. 

We have to pay the dividend to the customer as named on the roll that we get from the electricity retailers. So the name has to be fixed with the electricity retailer then they will give us the correct details.

Due to the volume of forms being received we can’t confirm if individual forms have been received or processed.

In many cases, this is because forms may still be in the stack of envelopes to be opened. Or a form may be in the manual sorting stage so it hasn’t been scanned yet.

Processing the forms goes on right up to the time we start setting up the dividend. It is only then that we have a complete set of all the forms that have been received.

Whether we receive your form or not, you will still receive the dividend provided you are still eligible when the dividend roll is completed later in the year.

Yes so long as you’re still the customer in the Entrust District on the date when the dividend roll is done. Your electricity retailer will send us all the customer names on the roll later in the year. The payment forms just tell us how you want to receive the dividend. 

You will, provided you are still an eligible beneficiary when the actual dividend roll is struck later in the year. If you move out of the Entrust district or are no longer paying the power bill at that time, you will no longer be eligible. (See Qs below)

A couple of things to consider:

• If you have recently moved in, your name might not have been included in time to receive the newsletter and payment forms. The roll for this mailing was taken at midnight on Wednesday 12 May. The roll will be updated again before the dividend is paid, and you will be sent payment details at dividend time.
  
  
• You might not be eligible because you must be paying Vector electricity line charges. Vector electricity lines charges are usually included in the power bill you receive from your electricity retailer. It doesn’t matter which electricity retailer you use. But some new residential or commercial developments and some apartment buildings do not use the Vector electricity network. People in these places are not customers on the Vector electricity network and are not eligible for the dividend.

      Places that are not connected to the Vector electricity network include:

• Metropolis Building, Kitchener Street
• Princes Wharf Apartments
• Q City Apartments, 15 City Rd
• The Docks, 6 Dockside Lane
• Parts of:
   Wattle Downs
   Pigeon Mountain
   Dannemora
   Flat Bush.
• Bolderwood Place, Manukau City
• Athy Place, Manukau City
• Popokatea Drive
• Westfield Shopping Malls at St Lukes; Customs St West (Downtown), Broadway, Pakuranga, Manukau City.
• Auckland International Airport
• AMP NZ Property Retail Ltd: Botany Downs shopping centre
• MacQuarrie Goodman Property Group: Penrose business park, Great South Road
• You are not eligible if the Vector charges on your power account are paid by a third party such as your body corporate, your landlord or an agent who handles various utilities such as internet / water / electricity. This agent holds the actual power bill with the electricity retailer so they are the ones eligible for the dividend. They just pass the charges onto you, but they are NOT an electricity retailer. You may be able to change this by arranging to have your own power bill with your own choice of electricity retailer.

No, the dividend is paid to the person/s named on the power bill. If your power charges are included in your rent and paid by your landlord or body corporate, they receive the dividend.

This includes agencies such as:

IMPRESSION REAL ESTATE
CITY POWER
AUCKLAND CITY LIVING MANAGEMENT
MC RENTALS
DC ARDERN COLLECTIVE
ELECTRICITY DIRECT (SMART POWER)
STAR BNB
ONE CITI PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

This may include apartments in buildings such as:
ZEST APARTMENTS
VOLT APARTMENTS
ECLIPSE APARTMENTS
THE FEDERAL CITY APARTMENTS
HARVARD ON HOBSON APARTMENTS
C-VU APARTMENTS
HARBOUR GREEN APARTMENTS
ST PAUL APARTMENTS
32 EDEN CRESCENT
ALTITUDE APARTMENTS
SCOTIA TOWER
508 QUEEN ST
22 BERESFORD SQUARE
CONNAUGHT
AVOKA BUILDING
METRO CITY
ARGENT HALL
WERI APARTMENTS
COUNTRY CLUB APARTMENTS LTD / QUEST ON MOUNT
ELLIOTT STREET APARTMENTS
HARBOUR CITY APARTMENTS
WHITAKER APARTMENTS
CITIZEN APARTMENTS

Please note that the dividend IS paid to customers in these buildings who do have power bills in their own name from electricity retailers such as Contact, Energy Online, Genesis, Mercury, Meridian, Powershop, Pulse or TrustPower.

But if your electricity is included in your rent or management costs you may not be eligible and the person or organisation who pays the power bill for you may receive the dividend.

Check with the person or organisation that pays the power bill for you.

The amount of the 2021 Entrust dividend has not been set yet. It will depend on how many people are eligible to receive the dividend and how much profit is made by Vector, which is 75.1% owned by Entrust. Last year’s payment was $280.

The dividend is usually paid in late September each year. For security reasons, the exact date is not disclosed before the payment is made but we expect it will be around the usual time this year.

It is close to the dividend payment date. For security reasons the roll date and the payment date are not disclosed in advance. 

For security reasons, the exact date is not announced before the dividend is sent out. The amount is announced once we know how much money we will receive from Vector.

Yes. Just call us on 0508 ENTRUST (0508 368 7878). But be quick, your form needs to be sent back to us by Friday 6 August 2021.

Yes. But here’s important information:

If you’re currently getting the dividend paid direct to your bank account, make sure you keep ALL your customer details exactly the same when you switch. That way we will still be able to match up your dividend payment details with the new customer details your new electricity retailer sends us when we are preparing the dividend. 

If we can’t match the details, we will send you a notification form at dividend time. You will need to return this form with your bank account details so we can then pay you the dividend.
Note that we can’t always match the details if things change like this:

• You previously had the power account in two names, but it is only in one name with your new retailer. Or vice versa.
• You changed your name.
• The spelling of your name is different at the new retailer (even if it is a spelling mistake).
• Your previous retailer had your name in full, your new retailer just has your initials. Or vice versa.

These changes mean we can’t always be sure we will be paying the right person if we pay a direct credit to the old name. So, if we can’t be sure, we will send you a dividend notification form and get the right information before paying the dividend.

Yes, don’t worry. You’ll still receive your dividend if you’re an eligible beneficiary when the dividend roll is prepared later this year. Please note:

If your name is incorrect on the form:

The customer details shown on this form were provided by your electricity retailer. They are the same as on your power bill. If those details are not correct, you will need to update them with your electricity retailer. Entrust cannot alter or update details on your power bill. Only your electricity retailer can do that.

Our records will be updated when your electricity retailer sends us the roll for the dividend later this year.  The dividend will be paid to the person/s named on the power bill at that time.

If your address is incorrect on this form:

If you have recently moved and your mail has been forwarded to you, this form will no longer apply to you. You do not need to do anything with this form.

If you have moved to an address in the Entrust District and the power account at your new address is in your name and you are still paying Vector electricity line charges, you will continue to receive the dividend. You don’t need to let us know if you’ve moved. Our records will be updated when your electricity retailer sends us the roll for the dividend later this year. You will receive the dividend at your new address. But because we will have new details for you, we won’t be able to pay the dividend to your bank or power account even if you’ve requested that previously. Instead we will send you a notification form at dividend time. You will need to return this form with your bank account details so we can then pay you the dividend by direct credit to your bank account.

If you have moved out of the Entrust District you will no longer be eligible to receive the dividend.

No, just keep it for your records. We only need your form back if you are changing your payment details. So, if it’s all good, help us keep costs down – don’t send the form back if nothing needs to be changed.

Just fill out the form and send it back. You need to fill out the form because your signature is needed.

If we don’t receive your updated details and can’t direct credit your dividend, you will be sent a notification form when the dividend is paid later in the year. You will need to return this form with your bank account details so we can then pay you the dividend to the correct bank account.

Just fill out the form that we recently sent you and send it back.

A request for a direct credit cannot be processed if:

• the request is received too late (Note: this year’s requests must be returned by Friday 6 August 2021)
• incomplete information was received
• not all people named on the power account sign the request
• you changed address after returning the form

To arrange payment by direct credit this year, just fill out and return the form.

If the name on your bank account is similar to the name on your power bill, we may be able to make the payment to your bank account. For instance, we accept requests like these:

If the differences between the name on your power bill and on your bank account are more than those examples, you may be able to update your details with your electricity retailer. In that case, our records will then be updated when your retailer sends us the roll for the dividend later this year. We will then send you a notification form at dividend time. You will need to return this form with your bank account details so we can then pay you the dividend.

The details we currently have on file for you were provided by your retailer before you updated your details with them.

When the roll for the dividend is struck later in the year, the electricity retailers send us the roll with the latest records of all the eligible beneficiaries. This will include any details you have updated with your retailer.

We match the roll provided by the retailers with the details we have on file. For everyone’s security, we must make sure all details are exactly matched for a direct credit. That ensures we don’t make a payment to someone who may have moved out since the last roll.

Because your details will have changed since our last records were compiled, they won’t be an exact match to the records we have on file. In that case, we will send you a notification form at dividend time which enables us to be sure we are paying the correct person. You will need to return this form with your bank account details so we can then pay you the dividend.

Yes, everyone named on your power account has to sign the form to have your dividend direct credited to your bank account. This prevents one person receiving the dividend when it belongs to a number of people. If you don’t have a bank account in the same name, you can arrange to have the dividend credited to your power account. Just tick the box and sign the form that came with the recent newsletter and send it back.

If your bank account details are included on the form, and are correct, you don’t need to do anything. Your dividend will be paid into the bank account showing on the form, provided you are still an Entrust beneficiary at that address when the dividend roll is compiled later in the year.

If your bank account details were not included on the form that came with the recent newsletter, you will need to fill out the direct credit form again and send it back.

There are several reasons why your bank details may not be showing:

• If you have moved since the last dividend payment
• If you have changed electricity retailer since the last dividend payment and changed your name or address details
• If the name on the bank account did not match the name on your power bill
• If we received your details too late last year
• If an error was made when your details were entered previously

Just tick the box called CREDIT YOUR POWER ACCOUNT and sign the form and send it back.

Yes. Just complete and return the form that was sent to you recently. Please note, the direct credit will be paid to the person/s named on the power bill sent by your electricity retailer. If you don’t have a bank account in that name the direct credit may be declined. In that case it will be better to continue with the current arrangement and have your dividend paid as a credit on your power account.

You need to make sure your electricity retailer has your correct name on their customer list. That’s the same as having your name on a power bill. 

All prepay customers will be paid the dividend as a direct credit to your bank account. Just fill in the form and send it back by Friday 6 August.

We can’t pay the dividend to your power bill because prepay customers don’t get a power bill.

No. Your actual signature is required on the original form in order for your payment request to be accepted. So you need to send back the original form with your signature/s by mail.

The Entrust dividend goes to everyone at the same time. It cannot be paid to individuals at a different or earlier time.

If you need assistance paying your power bill we suggest you call your retailer and discuss payment options or assistance from support agencies to help with your power account.

Provided you give us all the correct details it is very unlikely that your dividend would go to another account. However, in the unlikely situation this does occur, the usual banking procedures for solving a problem like this will apply so that the right person receives the dividend.

No. The dividend is paid to the person/s named on the power bill. It cannot be transferred to someone else or paid to an account in someone else’s name.

No. The Entrust dividend is paid to the person/s named on the power bill. That information is provided by your electricity retailer. We do not have access to the records held by the electricity retailers so we cannot change that name. If the details on your power bill are not correct, please contact your electricity retailer. 

The electricity retailers provide us with the information we need to pay the dividend. We do not have any access their records so we cannot make those changes for you. You need to contact your retailer directly to update your information.

Entrust can only use your bank account number to pay your dividend directly to your bank account. We have no authority to do anything else, and we have no passwords or numbers other than the number of the account where you want your money paid. Under the Privacy Act the details you provide are kept confidential and used only for the purpose of paying your dividend by direct credit. 

RWT means Resident Withholding Tax. When the Entrust dividend is paid, we are required to pay withholding tax on each dividend. Some people and organisations such as charities are approved by the IRD so withholding tax does not have to be taken out of their dividend. If you are registered as RWT-exempt with IRD you need to include your IRD number on the form and return it to us, and your dividend will be paid without withholding tax being deducted.

More information about RWT exemption is available from the IRD at www.ird.govt.nz

IRD is no longer issuing RWT-exempt certificates. Anyone approved as RWT-exempt has to be included on the IRD register. We have to check that register before we pay the dividend. If we don’t have your IRD number we can’t check that you are on the RWT-exempt register. In that case we will have to pay you a standard dividend. 

If your organisation is exempt from having RWT (Resident Withholding Tax) deducted from your Entrust dividend you must include your IRD number on the payment preference forms for all the ICPs that are eligible.

To ensure this also applies to your local branches, please send them a copy of your number, and remind them to include it on their form when they send it back to us.

Until 2016 you may have known us as the AECT, or simply the organisation which sends you a dividend every year. You may have thought we were part of the council or government. The fact is we are a private trust that owns the majority of Vector on behalf of our 344,500 beneficiaries. So to help clarify who we are and what we do, we changed our name. It’s not a major change, just a simple combination of energy and trust. Entrust.

Entrust is a private trust that was formed out of the old Auckland Electric Power Board (AEPB) in the electricity reforms of the 1990s. Other Aucklanders are in areas that were served by other power boards (see below). Each power board had the choice of what to do with the shares in their company.

On the North Shore and West Auckland for example, people were given shares in the company. People could keep or sell those shares. 

In the old AEPB district, people were not given shares. Instead, a private trust, now known as Entrust, was set up to hold the shares on behalf of the customers so they could get a dividend every year.

Other old power board districts were:

• The Waitemata Electric Power Board (North Shore, West Auckland, Orewa, Whangaparoa). Now part of Vector. People were given shares in the power board which they could sell.
• The Franklin Electric Power Board (in southern Papakura, Counties and Franklin Districts) Now called Counties Power. Owned by Counties Power Trust which pays out discounts to consumers’ power discounts.
• North Auckland Power Board (includes Kaipara area). Now called Northpower. Owned by Northpower Electric Power Trust which pays out credits to consumers’ power accounts.

The advertising is necessary to alert people that Entrust information is in their letterbox
The information, especially the update forms, are important and valuable, so it is important that people know to look out for them.

It is also a practical time to build awareness about Entrust. Before advertising started some years ago, fewer than 4% of beneficiaries knew about us and that we pay them a dividend. We now have more than 60% awareness.

The advertising is done to a strict budget, to reach as many beneficiaries as possible at the lowest possible cost. The design of the ads is intended to generate as much attention as possible. They are researched every year to ensure they are being effective

Call us on 0508 ENTRUST (0508 368 7878).

We’re available Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.

Or email dividend@entrustdividend.co.nz