Southland Warm Homes Trust 5000th Home
10 October 2015
And their work has only just begun
Operating since 2008, the Southland Warms Home Trust is very proud to have achieved a great milestone of installing insulation in over 5000 Southland homes.
The Southland Warm Homes Trust (SWHT) was established in June 2008 by Electricity Invercargill Limited (EIL) and the Southland Electric Power Supply Consumer Trust (SEPSCT) to provide an umbrella to facilitate the project after Neil Boniface had called a meeting of key community groups in 2007.
At this meeting, all agreed that something needed to be done Southland wide but there had been no Southland wide initiative because there was no driver for the project. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) had been encouraging a Southland wide initiative for some time and have been very supportive of this project.
The Vision of the trust is to ensure Southlanders have a more energy-efficient home, an improved living environment, improved well-being, better health, and greater energy efficiency awareness
Working with EECA and local funders the trust has been able to provide this vision to more than 5000 families living here in Southland. SWHT has raised approximately $15m over the past 8 years, research has shown that for every $1 spent on insulation their is a $4 return on that investment to the NZ Government and local economy by providing warm insulated homes reducing the need of hospital requirements, time off work and school and local employment.
In association with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), the Southland Power Trust, Electricity Invercargill Limited, Invercargill City Council, Gore and Southland District Councils, Environment Southland, Invercargill Licensing Trust, ILT Foundation, Community Trust of Southland, Southland Primary Health Organisations, Te Ara a Kewa Health Trust, The Southern Trust, have also contributed to the project over the years providing valuable funding to allow support for warmer, healthier homes by providing insulation and heating assessments and retrofits for Southland homes.
The Southland Times and Work and Income New Zealand have also provided indirect support for the project. The Trustees of the Southland Warm Homes Trust are Neil Boniface (Chair), Graham Sycamore, Jim Hargest and Anne Gover. PowerNet provides administration and financial reporting services on behalf of the SWHT and Awarua Synergy is proud to be delivering this project in partnership.
