Edwina urges 'yes' vote in the Energy Trust poll
Edwina O’Brien is one of those people who knows how to motivate others, especially when it’s for community good. Last weekend she helped organise the Gravity 6 Hour Adventure Race, for the fourth year running. This week, she is urging her community to vote ‘yes’ in the Eastern Bay Energy Trust’s consumer poll. The poll will determine whether the Energy Trust can grow its shareholding in Horizon, the local lines company, from 77.29% to 100%.
Mrs O’Brien has been a Trustee on the Energy Trust for four years and in this time has overseen grants to hundreds of Eastern Bay organisations including marae, schools, clubs, preschools and district councils. “It’s really important that people put up their hands and vote ‘yes’ to the share purchase,” she said. “Purchasing all Horizon shares will make a huge difference, as then all Horizon profits will go to the Energy Trust and can be used to do even more good in the community.”
The Eastern Bay Energy Trust currently grants $1.5 million per year and, over the past 20 years, has returned more than $30 million to the community. This community-minded woman is very proud of the contribution the Trust makes to Kawerau and sees it as the ideal vehicle for helping those organisations that would not otherwise get funding. “The Trust funds all kinds of energy related projects such as education courses, scholarships, home energy checks, insulation retrofit, and electrical services and equipment for clubs, kohanga and marae.”
She is particularly happy to see education and opportunities funded by the Energy Trust for year 12 and 13 students wanting to see if a career in the electrical industry is for them. “I’ve seen young people transformed through the electrical industry taster course. At the end of the week-long course they are more grown up and focused on where they are headed.”
She noted that Energy Trust funding had leveraged millions of dollars of central government and private sector funding for insulation retrofits in hundreds of Kawerau homes. “It’s satisfying to know that we’re helping create warmer healthier homes through our insulation retrofit programme. I love being part of it. There is still a lot of work to do and I really want to see people vote ‘yes’ for the share purchase so that the Trust fund can help even more Kawerau clubs and community organisations to achieve their goals.”
The Energy Trust will borrow $20 million dollars in order to purchase the shares. Mrs O’Brien said that the Trust aims to pay pack the loan over ten years with repayments made from increased earnings from Horizon. Mrs O’Brien advises that anyone with a power account in the Eastern Bay is eligible to vote in the consumer poll. Account holders will receive voting documents by mail from Friday 5 June and will have until midday on 26 June to vote.