Trust subsidies help people stay warm and safe

John Newland.

The Hawke's Bay Power Consumers' Trust is continuing its programme to see more homes in the region insulated.

The trust has made home insulation subsidies a priority for more than 10 years, while the current programme sees more than 500 homes insulated annually.

The trust attracts additional financial support from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA). This further reduces the cost for local consumers to have their homes insulated.

Trust chairman John Newland said the criteria for entitlement had recently been broadened. "We know private rental housing is in worse condition than owner-occupied housing. For this reason, we are now supporting owners of rental homes to insulate these, to improve conditions for their tenants."

A new study from Otago University has found retrofitting insulation to current standards in existing houses reduces hospitalisation rates for all children by 6 per cent. Department of Public Health Research analysed data from the "Warm Up New Zealand" programme and found hospitalisation rates for children in households where any member carried a Community Services Card were reduced by 12 per cent.

Another programme the trust promotes is subsidised safety checks for electric blankets, before they are put back on the beds. These checks are done at Hector Jones in King St, Hastings, and Butler and Hewitt in Munroe St, Napier. The trust subsidy halves the cost of these checks.

"Each, year around 10 per cent of electric blankets are found to be unsafe. We want potential injuries and damage avoided."