Both company directors and accountants PwC have recommended that the Unison Group remain wholly owned by the Hawke's Bay Power Consumers Trust.
The Unison Group, which includes electricity distribution firm Unison Networks Ltd., is wholly owned by the Hawke's Bay Power Consumers' Trust (HBPCT) on behalf of power consumers in Hawke's Bay connected to Unison's electricity network.
The trust is made up of five elected trustees, who hold all the shares in Unison on behalf of the electricity consumers. Trustees review the ownership of shares in Unison every five years.
A five-year review of the company's performance, done by PwC last month, put forward several options for consumers to consider.
Besides the existing wholly owned structure, the review assessed the potential benefits of the company being run as a joint venture, the possibility of merger through equity exchange, the long-term lease of the assets of Unison Networks to a third party, the sale or distribution of 24.9 per cent or 49.9 per cent of shares to beneficiaries, the public, industry or institutional investors, or the sale or distribution of 100 per cent of shares to beneficiaries, the public, industry or institutional investors.