Cheaper power bills, sustainable energy systems and ending power poverty - all actions Jonaan McLeod hopes to set in motion if she’s elected to the Entrust board.
This month, 365,000 households and businesses in Tāmaki Makaurau get to vote for the trust that owns 75 per cent of the listed energy company Vector.
McLeod (Ngāpuhi, Te Whakatōhea) has launched her campaign for this year’s election, becoming Entrust’s first Māori candidate.
“Power poverty is a huge issue for whānau. And what we do know is one in five people struggle to pay their power bills,” she says.
“Māori and Pasifika, low-income whānau, renters. We do need to pivot in terms of changing the way that power is received and distributed.”
“Essentially, people who have power account,\s [have] a share in the Entrust trust,” McLeod says.
Entrust dividend
The trust primarily acts on behalf of its beneficiaries (Vector customers) in central, east, and south Auckland. Its main responsibilities include distributing cash payouts (dividends) from Vector to its stakeholders, overseeing the management of Vector, and representing peoples’ interests.
“Essentially, people who have power accounts [have] a share in the Entrust trust,” McLeod says..
“Every year, whānau receive a $350 dividend, and that’s essentially the profit that comes off the asset that Vector holds for us. So, if we take it back, whānau are the major shareholders of Vector.”
The significance of this dividend, McLeod says, is the opportunity to grow it and to work on solutions to lower power bills.
“[Because] at the moment we’re receiving this dividend and it’s not [growing] at the right rate with inflation.”
Entrust holds elections every three years to select its five trustees, who oversee the trust’s operations and management.
More solar technology
McLeod is a senior leader at Papakura Marae with an extensive background in community work, the public sector, tertiary education, and governance. This year, she stands as a candidate with the More for You, Better for Auckland team.
“I will bring the voices of whānau and the voices of Papatūānuku to the table.”
McLeod is pushing for more solar technology, saying it will not only cut power bills in homes, but can be a profitable venture.
“We [know] that power prices are already a challenge for whānau. [If] we consider investing into solar energy systems, the rate - because it’s all on the sun - it doesn’t change. So that’s one solution to power poverty.”
Only nine per cent of eligible voters voted in the last election - accounting for 29,750 beneficiaries in Tāmaki Makaurau.
“I think whānau feel disempowered like, why vote in something that we already feel defeated in?” she says.
Postal voting
“The other challenge is the type of voting - it’s postal voting. So already whānau have to go out of their way to vote.”
But McLeod says she wants more whānau at decision-making tables.
“It’s important that we vote for people who are willing to put in different solutions, to grow our profit and to ensure our mokopuna inherit a really robust energy system.”
“We don’t feel we have power, control over living costs. [But] with whānau, what I want them to understand is that we have power over this - this is our community asset.”
McLeod also advocates for climate resilience, reflecting on the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods.
“We know that disasters are inevitable and solar technology is part of ensuring that we’ve got enough power, if the grid went out, to sustain the region.”
Voters can mail their papers back or drop them into the orange ballot bins at Woolworths stores across the Entrust district. Voting closes on October 25th with results released by the end of the month.