King Country Trust (previously the King Country Electric Power Trust) is an electricity trust, created under the Electricity Industry Reform Act. Beneficiaries are electricity consumers connected to the lines network within the area where the King Country Electric Power Board was licensed to supply. The beneficiaries elect the Trustees. Elections of Trustees take place every two years with two or three Trustees standing down for each election. A board of directors govern the electricity company and there’s an interface between the Trustees and the directors. The electricity company pays dividends to its shareholders, including the Trust. Those dividends support distributions for the benefit of the consumer beneficiaries.

The electricity company shares that the Trust holds forms the base investment. The Trust has changed its nature and shareholdings over time but it currently owns 25% of King Country Energy Ltd (KCE). It also has a diversified share portfolio, which was developed using professional independent advice. Money comes into the Trust from interest, term deposits, general shares and dividends from the KCE shareholding.