For enquiries phone 0508 ENTRUST (0508 368 7878)
Post:
Entrust
Freepost 3539
Private Bag 92016
Victoria Street West
Auckland 1142
Read stories from other beneficiaries here
Want to know if you’re eligible for the dividend? Click Here
The payment is $350 plus $30 extra from Vector. That’s a total payment of $380 this year for everyone who gets an Entrust Dividend.
It comes from the credit Vector receives from Transpower. In previous years this has been passed on to electricity retailers. This year Vector is passing it on directly to customers. For customers in the Entrust District, it has been added to your Entrust dividend.
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 19 September 2018. All beneficiaries were sent a letter on that day with either a cheque or notification that their payment was by direct credit to their bank account or a credit to their power account.
Entrust, which is a private trust that holds the majority shareholding in Vector. Entrust was previously known as the Auckland Energy Consumer Trust (AECT).
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.
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 1 August 2018.
Everyone who was an Entrust income beneficiary on 1 August 2018 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.
This year the dividend is $350. It is the same as last year, even though population growth in the Entrust District means there are 4,000 more people receiving it this year.
All beneficiaries receive $350 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.
Actually, you may be entitled to a refund on the tax paid on this dividend.
As required by the IRD, Entrust pays tax at the rate of 33% on this dividend. If you are on a lower tax rate you may be entitled to a refund of tax paid on this distribution.
Entrust pays $25.37 withholding tax on every dividend paid.
That adds up to more than $8 million paid in taxes on your behalf. As noted above, Entrust tax rate is 33%.
We believe many Entrust income beneficiaries are on a lower tax rate than this so you could be entitled to a tax refund on this payment if you file a tax return.
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.
It may take a few days for the mail delivery to be completed, but if you haven’t received your cheque by Monday 1 October please call 0508 ENTRUST (0508 368 7878).
Call 0508 ENTRUST (0508 368 7878) and we can arrange to reissue your dividend payment. Please note, the original cheque will have to be stopped and the bank charges a fee to do this. This fee may be passed on to you, so please have a good look for the cheque first, and ask anyone else in your household if they have banked it for you.
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 0508 ENTRUST (0508 368 7878) for assistance.
No, you bank it at it your own bank.
If you do not have a bank account, or if you are part of a group such as flatmates who do not have a bank account in the group’s names, you can return your cheque and have the amount credited to your power account. Just use the form that came with your cheque or you can call 0508 Entrust (0508 368 7878). If you have lost the reuseable envelope that came with your cheque, you can post the form and the cheque to: Freepost 3539, Entrust, Private Bag 92016, Auckland 1142.
It is up to your bank, not Entrust. Many banks have decided not to offer Special Answers on cheques any more. Our bank, ASB, is doing Special Answers until the end of November, so if you have an account with ASB you can still get a Special Answer until then. If you are with another bank, you will need to check with them.
Entrust is required to pay the dividend to the person/s named on the power account. The cheque has therefore been made out to that name and we cannot issue a new cheque in another name.
We will action your request as quickly as possible but depending on your electricity retailer’s billing cycle, it may take up to six weeks for the credit to appear on your power account. For instance, if you return your cheque a day or so after the latest billing cycle closes, the credit won’t appear until the next billing cycle. Please note, the credit cannot be transferred or refunded by the electricity retailer.
You will receive a cheque. Because you pre-pay your power and don’t have a power account, we can’t pay the dividend as a credit to a power account. And, for your security, the dividend is not paid by direct credit to a bank account. This is because many pre-pay customers move without notifying their retailer. In that case, payment by direct credit could go to a previous occupier. To ensure the rightful beneficiary receives the dividend, it is paid by cheque to pre-pay customers.
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 payment issued by cheque to ensure it goes to the rightful beneficiary.
So, if you have received a cheque instead of a direct credit, this will be for everyone’s security and we apologise for the inconvenience. If you want to have a direct credit next year, you will be sent a new form shortly before next year's dividend.
And if you switch electricity retailers before next year’s dividend make sure you keep all your customer details the same.
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 Monday 6 August 2018)
- incomplete information was received
- not all people on the power account signed.
- you have moved since providing direct credit details
- you have changed electricity retailers and the customer details were altered and did not exactly match what we had on record.
We apologise for any inconvenience. A request form for direct credit will be sent in time for next year’s dividend.
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 the dividend as a cheque, instead of as a direct credit. We couldn’t do it as a direct credit because the dividend is paid to the person at the address at the time the dividend roll is struck. We are unable to track customer movements as we receive information from retailers only for that date. We apologise for the inconvenience. If you want to have a direct credit next year, you will be sent a new form shortly before next year's dividend.
If you moved out of the Entrust district before the roll date (1 August 2018), 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.
If you didn’t request it to be paid by direct credit in time for this year’s dividend, you will have to wait until next year. All beneficiaries will be sent a form to do this before next year’s payment.
Yes, you can use the money for any purpose you wish. If you want to use it to pay your power bill just return the cheque with the form that came with your cheque or you can call 0508 ENTRUST (0508 368 7878). If you have lost the reuseable envelope that came with your cheque, you can post the form and the cheque to: Freepost 3539, Entrust, Private Bag 92016, Auckland 1142.
The Entrust beneficiary is the person or persons named on the power bill. The cheque is made out to the name or names that appear on the power account. If you are unable to bank the cheque, you can return it for a credit on your power account. Just use the form that came with the cheque.
No, unless the cheque is made out to the wrong person altogether – see below.
If the name on the cheque 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 cheque back and have it credited to your power account. See the details on the back of your letter.
If the name on the cheque belongs to someone else, we may be able to reissue the dividend to you if you were the customer on 1 August 2018 but it does take time and you will need to have a copy of the power bill for that date. Call us on 0508 Entrust (0508 368 7878). If you weren’t the customer on that date, please forward the cheque 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 cheque belongs 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 cheque has moved out and you were paying the power bill on 1 August 2018 you can sign the form and return the cheque to have it credited to the power account, provided the power account is still in the same name. Please note, we will need to make some additional checks before authorising the credit to your power account, and this may take longer than the usual process for crediting a dividend to the power account.
If the power account for the person named on the cheque is still being used by the person’s family, the cheque can be returned for a credit to the power account. Just use the form that came with the cheque. Or call 0508 ENTRUST (0508 368 7878) for further assistance. The dividend may be reissued to the estate of the deceased person, however copies of relevant documents will be required.
If the power account is still in your old name, you can return the cheque for a credit to the power account. Just use the form that came with the cheque. Or call 0508 ENTRUST (0508 368 7878) for further assistance. The dividend may be reissued to your correct name, however copies of relevant documents will be required.
It will be because your dividend was paid as credit on your power account last year, most probably because you weren’t able to bank the cheque.
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 dividend belongs to the person who was the Vector electricity customer at the property at midnight on Wednesday 1 August. If that was not you, please return the dividend in the reusable envelope supplied, and mark it ‘Gone No Address”. If you don’t have the envelope, post it to Freepost 3539 Entrust Private Bag 92016 Auckland 1142.
If you were the customer on Wednesday 1 August, please call us on 0508 ENTRUST (0508 368 7878).
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 1 August 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 1 August 2018. 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 1 August 2018, you are no longer eligible to receive the dividend. The dividend payment will have gone to the new person paying the account on 1 August 2018.
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 1 August.
You can see a copy of the Trust Deed here
It is possible that you didn’t receive a dividend payment because:
See Who Qualifies for more details.
If you are an Entrust beneficiary and the situations above do not apply to you, please check your bank statements to confirm the payment has not already been deposited. If you have not received your cheque by 1 October, please call 0508 ENTRUST (0508 368 7878). or send an email to [email protected] 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
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
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.
How do I know if I get my power bill from an electricity retailer?
Electricity retailers operating on the Vector lines network are:
Body Corporate Power
Bosco
Community Power
Contact
EcoSmart
Electrocity
Electrica
Electric Kiwi
emhTrade
Energyclubnz
Flick
Future Energy
Genesis
GLOBUG
Hunet
ID Power
Lighthouse Energy
MegaEnergy
Mercury
Meridian
Nova
Opunake Hydro
Orange Energy
Pioneer Energy
Powershop
Prime
Pulse
Simply
Stack Energy
Supercharged Energy
Switch Utilities
Trustpower
Vector NS
Wise Prepay
Yes Power
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.
Electricity retailers operating on the Vector lines network are:
Body Corporate Power
Bosco
Community Power
Contact
EcoSmart
Electrocity
Electrica
Electric Kiwi
emhTrade
Energyclubnz
Flick
Future Energy
Genesis
GLOBUG
Hunet
ID Power
Lighthouse Energy
MegaEnergy
Mercury
Meridian
Nova
Opunake Hydro
Orange Energy
Pioneer Energy
Powershop
Prime
Pulse
Simply
Stack Energy
Supercharged Energy
Switch Utilities
Trustpower
Vector NS
Wise Prepay
Yes Power
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 19 September 2018, so it expires on 18 September 2020. 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.
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.
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.
Yes, provided you are also an Entrust beneficiary.
No. Entrust is 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:
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 payout 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
Auto Super Shoppes
Beaurepaires
Carters
Dulux Trade Stores
Give Plants
Hertz
Mo Money
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels
Office Max
Placemakers
Reduced to Clear Shops
Repco
Thrifty Car Rentals
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 331,000 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.
Ballot papers for the 2018 election of Trustees will be sent out from 11 October 2018. Polling closes at 5pm on 26 October 2018. More information about the election is available at www.electionservices.co.nz or call the Returning Officer on 0800 922 822.
To send your comment or question right now, you can send an email here to [email protected]
Or you can call 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 25 October 2018, at the Auckland Racing Club and Ellerslie Event Centre, 80-100 Ascot Avenue, Greenlane.
Need help with your dividend? Email us the details and we will be back in touch as soon as we can.
Contact Us
