Show us the money, say community groups as WEL Trust debates rebates

Friday, 27 March 2026

Householders get a rebate on their power bill thanks to the WEL Energy Trust, but community groups say grants to specific initiatives could make a bigger impact in areas like housing.

Cash-strapped community organisations want a bigger slice of the annual rebate many Hamilton households rely on to ease rising power bills, arguing targeted funding of things like housing initiatives makes more impact in the long run.

WEL Energy Trust considered public submissions on its annual plan on Tuesday - and community organisations, starved of government funding, were queuing up to urge a rethink on how the trust distributes money.

The community-owned power trust owns lines company WEL Networks and distributes its proceeds either in grants or rebates on the lines portions of power bills for its 102,000 customers.

WEL Energy Trust owns lines company WEL Networks.

The trust’s 2026/27 annual plan has been adopted by trustees and will increase the annual electricity discount pool, by $2.45m to $18.74m for the 2026/27 year.

It also increased the maximum individual household rebate cap from $200 to $240.

Rebates will be paid out as a discount on customer power bills in April or May, 2027.

The Annual Plan also allocates $10.5m for community grants, unchanged from the previous year.

The effect of households getting a rebate is ‘modest per connection’, whereas investment in affordable housing can have a bigger impact, Bridge Housing Trust chairperson Simon Perry said.

Public submissions were reminiscent of debates from nearly two decades ago around how to split money between community grants and consumer rebates, and like then, were heavily slanted towards favouring community grants.

Bridge Housing Charitable Trust expressed support for reconsidering the household discount model in favour of redirecting funding “toward long-term community infrastructure’’.

“A universal household discount is modest per connection and may have limited impact on addressing energy hardship,’’ Bridge Housing chairperson Simon Perry said.

“By contrast, targeted capital deployment into affordable housing, for example, builds household equity, strengthens community stability, and delivers measurable long-term change.

The Cancer Society said there’s not enough government funding for health and welfare, leaving ‘a significant gap between aspiration and delivery’. Pictured is the view from the Hamilton Lions Lodge.

“If the Trust is serious about reducing energy hardship, structural housing affordability is an important part of that equation. Cold, damp homes are an energy issue as much as they are a housing issue.’’

Creative Waikato suggested “rebalancing’’ WEL Energy’s focus between customer discount and community distributions would result in more meaningful intergenerational impact.

“The evidence shows that targeted investment in communities, particularly through community-led initiatives, systems change work, and locally grounded partnerships, builds lasting impact.’’

The Waikato Environment Centre suggested the trust commission or reference analysis on “the true social return on investment (SROI)’’ of the discount programme as compared to targeted community infrastructure investment.

It says the trust should “interrogate’’ whether ‘’a one-off, undifferentiated rebate’’ represented the highest possible social return on investment.

A submission from The Cancer Society also encouraged WEL Energy Trust to increase support for community-based health and welfare organisations.

“Lack of government funding for these services continues to fuel a significant gap between aspiration and delivery. We call on WEL Energy Trust to use its financial resources to bridge the gap for a thriving community.’’

Hamilton City Council, which holds a 63% shareholding in the trust, acknowledges the benefits of the customer discount but wants to see a shift towards “more targeted support’’ through grant mechanisms.

The trust’s Capital Beneficiaries are the Hamilton City Council (63%), Waikato District Council (35%) and the Waipa District Council (2%).

Meanwhile, one submitter criticised the existing levels of customer discounts, saying his rebate has fallen to just $95 when it had been as high as $225 in previous years.