Invercargill City Holdings Ltd has been asked to make a special donation to the new museum fund from the impending sale of Electricity Invercargill Ltd’s share in Powernet.

The Invercargill City Council’s Finance Committee made a recommendation led by Deputy Mayor Tom Campbell that if the sale went ahead, a donation/dividend be paid – which was expected to be between $5 million and $6 million.

EIL owns and operates the electricity network in Invercargill which includes 663km of predominantly underground cables.

A report to council from Patricia Christie – Group Manager, Finance and Assurance said it was one of the best performing networks in New Zealand in terms of reliability and efficiency and has more than 17,500 connections.

EIL has partial ownership of PowerNet Limited, the network management company. The continued ownership of Powernet Limited is under review, and the group intends to divest of its interest in Roaring Forties Energy Limited Partnership which owns generation assets including wind and hydro; OtagoNet and Lakeland Network, which operate electricity distribution networks in Otago and Central Otago; and Is considering its investment in PowerNet Limited during the 2023/24 and 24/25 year.

The proceeds received by Invercargill City Holdings from this restructure will be utilised to reduce debt and reinvest to seek returns that satisfy the strategic and commercial requirements of the Group.

The report said at this time, a final decision has not been made on that future investment.  ICHL will work with Invercargill City Council to ensure that any investment is aligned with the commercial and strategic objectives agreed.

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