17 Candidates For Auckland Energy Consumer Trust Elections

Auckland , Sept. 1 - Seventeen people have registered as candidates for the five Trustee positions available on the Auckland Energy Consumer Trust.

Nominations for the Trust election closed at 5 p.m. on Friday, August 29 and approximately 260,000 electricity consumers will soon have the opportunity to elect the five trustees, who represent New Zealand's largest elected consumer trust.

Voting documents will be posted out on Wednesday October 15 and eligible consumers will have until 5pm on Friday October 31 to vote on who will represent the Trust for the next three years.

AECT executive officer Gary Sturgess said the number of candidates recognises the important role the Trust plays in the New Zealand infrastructure industry.

"The Auckland Energy Consumer Trust has a vital role to play in terms of representing consumers at both a community and national level, and I would encourage all eligible voters to take part in the election," Mr Sturgess said.

The AECT is the owner of network infrastructure company VECTOR Ltd. VECTOR Ltd pays an annual dividend to the AECT and the Trust then distributes these dividends to eligible consumers within a defined district. That district is the electricity supply area of the former Auckland Electric Power Board and covers all of the Auckland City Council and the Manukau City Council areas and parts of the Papakura District Council area.

Five trustees are elected to the Trust and the current trustees have offered themselves for re-election. The 17 registered candidates for the 2003 election (with party affiliations in brackets) are:

Buczkowski, Michael (Citizens & Ratepayers Now)

Chambers, Shale (Powerlynk)

Collinge, John (Citizens & Ratepayers Now)

Dearing, Rodney (Advancing Auckland)

Faleauto, Ted (Citizen's Power)

Johnston, Malcolm (Citizen's Power)

Kyd, Warren (Citizens & Ratepayers Now)

Montgomery, Robyn (Independent)

Nash, Stuart (Powerlynk)

Ovens, Jill (Powerlynk)

Parkin, Barry Ian (Independent)

Ryan, Paul

Sherry, Karen (Citizens & Ratepayers Now)

Van Camp, Coralie (Powerlynk)

Vickers, Jennie (Independent)

Voyce, Margaret (Citizens & Ratepayers Now)

Winter, Pauline A (Powerlynk)

Election Details In Brief

The 2003 election to fill five trustee positions will occur by postal ballot concluding on Friday 31, October 2003.

Those eligible to vote at this election will be consumers of VECTOR Ltd within the district as at the close of the Roll at midnight Sunday 7 September 2003.

Voting documents will be sent to all eligible consumers, by post, from Wednesday 15 October 2003.

Only one voting document will be issued to each consumer, no matter how many connection points or properties a consumer may have. For joint consumers (e.g. where the power account is in more than one name), only one voting document will be issued.

Consumers may post their completed voting documents back to the Returning Officer using the pre-paid envelope provided. Completed voting documents may also be hand delivered during the voting period to a ballot box at the Returning Office, Independent Election Services Ltd, Ground Floor, Bledisloe House, 24 Wellesley Street West, Auckland;

To be counted, all completed voting documents must be in the hands of the Returning Officer by 5pm, Friday 31 October 2003.

Further details of the election process are available on the Trust's website: http://www.aect.co.nz

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