Power to the people has come in the form of free electricity after Northpower's annual line holiday to 56,500 customers in Kaipara and Whangarei.
The total rebate is worth $5.48 million and means that since 1998 customers have been given back $110 million of Northpower's profits from renting line to electricity companies. In December, the Northpower Trust (NEPT) distributed $50 to every Northpower consumer.
The 2016 line holiday means all consumers connected to the network at 6am yesterday will get between $35 and $145 off their next power bills. The credits are based on annual energy consumption and broken into three tiers: $145 for people who used more than 15,000 units; $95 for consumers who used between 2000 and 15,000 units; $35 for those who used less than 2000 units.
"It is always pleasing to distribute profits to our consumers despite a challenging environment. We are continuing to work hard to improve our business performance," Northpower chairwoman Nikki Davies-Colley said.
Since 2006, shareholder value in Northpower has increased from $204.8 million to $252 million, Northpower revenue has grown from $126.2 million to $324.9 million and total asset value is up from $232.6 million to $442.9 million.
