{"id":638963,"date":"2026-10-23T10:16:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T10:16:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/638963\/"},"modified":"2026-10-23T10:16:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T10:16:14","slug":"entrust-annual-meeting-beneficiaries-challenge-trustee-accountability-vector-pricing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/638963\/","title":{"rendered":"Entrust annual meeting: Beneficiaries challenge trustee accountability, Vector pricing"},"content":{"rendered":"

The latest total comprised $191.5m of Vector dividends and $2.9m of interest income. Entrust\u2019s 751 million Vector shares were valued at $3.8 billion at June 30, she said.<\/p>\n

This year Entrust paid $377 for each eligible power connection, distributing more than $141m among about 374,000 Auckland households and businesses. Total distributions since 1994 have exceeded $2.5b.<\/p>\n

Lee pointed to an October 2025 beneficiary survey that found 90% wanted Entrust to continue paying dividends, while 87% regarded the payment as important or extremely important.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re providing intergenerational benefit to the community \u2026 So to everyone, I would like to say tonight, if you\u2019ll allow me, that Entrust is in it for the long haul.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lee described Entrust as providing a \u201cstable and consistent majority shareholder for Vector\u201d since the early 1990s.<\/p>\n

\"EntrustEntrust chairwoman Denise Lee says it is providing intergenerational benefit to the community. <\/p>\n

She defended Entrust\u2019s record on infrastructure investment, saying 73.07% of power lines in its district were now underground. <\/p>\n

Its agreement with Vector requires at least $12.5m a year to be spent on undergrounding and resilience projects, with $16.6m spent in the latest financial year, including work at Beachlands, Waiheke, Glendowie and along Maraetai Coast Rd.<\/p>\n

Vector chief executive Chris Blenkiron then gave his address, outlining the company\u2019s investment programme.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in the middle of a 20-year, $10b gross capital expenditure programme for the electricity industry. Already, $4.7b has been spent over the last 13 years, with $5.4b to come,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He argued Vector had kept network charges comparatively affordable despite investment, and said its lines charges remained among the lowest of the six largest distribution businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenge isn\u2019t about building a bigger network, it\u2019s building a smarter and more capable one.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pointed out more than 642,000 homes and businesses were connected to Vector\u2019s electricity network. More than 13,000 connections were added in the past year, which he likened to adding a community the size of Panmure and Point England.<\/p>\n

Auditor appointment questioned<\/p>\n

The meeting became contentious during the usually innocuous resolution to reappoint Entrust\u2019s auditor, Moore Markhams Auckland Audit.<\/p>\n

Tex Edwards, from Monopoly Watch, argued Entrust should appoint a Big Four auditor because the scale and complexity of the Vector investment warranted a larger audit firm.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we look at the cash flows of the Vector organisation, and then we look at the size of the dividend, and then we look at the consistent increase in debt year on year… the dividend is not in context of financial performance of the business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Entrust chief operating officer Helen Keir said Entrust had gone to market about three years earlier but struggled to attract Big Four firms because several performed other work for Vector and therefore faced independence issues.<\/p>\n

The meeting ultimately voted to reappoint Moore Markhams.<\/p>\n

\"EntrustEntrust critic and investment banker Andrew Body. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

That drew an interjection from Andrew Body, an Entrust critic and investment banker, who questioned whether Vector representatives in the room had participated in the voice vote.<\/p>\n

After a show of hands indicated four Vector representatives present were not beneficiaries, Body argued there was a \u201cpotential conflict of interest\u201d if Vector representatives had participated in the decision.<\/p>\n

Lee rejected the objection and declined to rerun the vote, saying it had already been declared carried. <\/p>\n

From there the meeting grew increasingly acrimonious. <\/p>\n

Questions over accountability<\/p>\n

Matt Gilligan, representing subdivision advocate SANZ, asked what formal process Entrust had for assessing the individual performance of its two trustee-directors on the Vector board. <\/p>\n

Entrust trustees Alastair Bell and Paul Hutchison sit on Vector\u2019s board as non-independent directors.<\/p>\n

SANZ has been challenging Vector over the cost and availability of electricity connections for new housing developments. <\/p>\n

Lee said Entrust assessed the two trustee directors\u2019 performance annually, using independent advice and a 360-degree review.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talk with them, we expect them to talk to us very clearly about their performance, and that\u2019s something that we do around June of every year,\u201d Lee said.<\/p>\n

Body then asked how beneficiaries could tell whether they themselves were doing a good job.<\/p>\n

Lee\u2019s initial answer was blunt: \u201cIt\u2019s something called an election, Mr Body.\u201d<\/p>\n

Body responded that only 9.39% of those entitled to vote had participated in the 2024 trustee election and argued that beneficiaries had little information with which to assess the performance of individual trustees.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome may do a good job, some may not. We can\u2019t tell,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Lee said the election remained the most important measure of trustee performance and that candidate information was widely available. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not the only election around New Zealand that struggles with turnout, and we would love to get that turnout up.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said all five trustees underwent performance reviews, including external input, and pointed to Vector\u2019s performance as another way beneficiaries could judge Entrust.<\/p>\n

Entrust\u2019s trustees are elected every three years.<\/p>\n

Vector\u2019s charges<\/p>\n

Body then accused Vector of \u201cdouble dipping\u201d new connection applicants by charging the full cost of connection plus the same monthly line fee as customers who did not pay the full connection cost.<\/p>\n

He used the criticism to call on the trustees to hold a referendum on whether Entrust should continue or be terminated.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, we will not be holding a referendum on the termination of the trust,\u201d Lee said.<\/p>\n

\"VectorVector chief executive Chris Blenkiron argues it has kept network charges comparatively affordable despite investment.<\/p>\n

After the meeting, Blenkiron rejected claims Vector was \u201cdouble dipping\u201d on new connections, saying developers and other new customers were being asked to pay the incremental cost of accommodating growth rather than passing that cost on to existing Auckland power users. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very mindful of electricity costs and that\u2019s why we actually ask growth to pay for growth. So, if you look at our lines charges in today\u2019s money, they are $4 more than what they were in 2013. We have invested, all of us have invested, $4.7b in the network over that time. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo, you know, part of the primary reason we ask growth to pay for growth is so that we avoid socialising that cost on all of Auckland who don\u2019t benefit from that growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the meeting, Lee defended Entrust\u2019s accountability and trustee election processes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my job as chair to make sure that we have four other high-performing trustees, and especially the two of them that are on Vector\u2019s board.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really satisfied with our accountability \u2026 and I don\u2019t need to say one more time that every three years is the ultimate job interview. It really is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stay ahead with the latest market moves, corporate updates, and economic insights by subscribing to our Business newsletter<\/a> \u2013 your essential weekly round-up of all the business news you need.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The latest total comprised $191.5m of Vector dividends and $2.9m of interest income. Entrust\u2019s 751 million Vector shares…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":638964,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[68501,4765,23607,52400,36486,138,6636,16394,278389,67276,36353,3052,1426,685,14575,2374,3805,111,139,2551,69,9366,26264,96225,166231],"class_list":["post-638963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-accountability","tag-annual","tag-approach","tag-attendees","tag-beneficiaries","tag-business","tag-challenge","tag-challenged","tag-combative","tag-dividends","tag-entrust","tag-faced","tag-investment","tag-last","tag-majority","tag-meeting","tag-network","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-night","tag-nz","tag-pricing","tag-shareholder","tag-trustee","tag-vector"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=638963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638963\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/638964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=638963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=638963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=638963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}