Kia ora Isabel,

Thank you for your request, which we are treating as a request under the Official Information Act (OIA).

You have requested; the total budget/spend for Christmas events for 2023. A break down the cost by expense type for each event, i.e. catering (food and beverage), alcohol (please keep this separate from the catering budget), decorations, entertainment, venue, travel, and accommodation. Total budget/spend on alcohol in the 2023 calendar year up until today (2 December 2023), as well as the budget for any planned alcohol spend for the rest of December 2023. If possible, separate the budget/spend on alcohol by event.

We received your request on 4 December 2023 and are processing it. We will respond to you as soon as we can, but in any event by Tuesday, 23 January 2024.

Kind regards,
Transpower's OIA team

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Kia ora Isabel,

 

You have requested:

 

1.            The total budget/spend for Christmas events for 2023,
including a break down the cost by expense type for each event, i.e.
catering (food and beverage), alcohol (please keep this separate from the
catering budget), decorations, entertainment, venue, travel, and
accommodation.

2.            Total budget/spend on alcohol in the 2022 and 2023 (calendar
year up until 2 December 2023), as well as the budget for any planned
alcohol spend for the rest of December 2023. If possible, separate the
budget/spend on alcohol by event.

 

We have collated the information and respond to each of your queries in
turn below.

 

1.            Total budget/spend for Christmas Events for 2023.

The budget for the end of year celebrations is based on a per person
locational basis. We budgeted $45 per staff member located in each of the
relevant five Transpower Offices.  Our overall spend was slightly under
budget.

 

We have outlined below the itemised Christmas Event spend for 2023

 

 

2.            Total alcohol spend per event in 2022 and 2023.

We have outlined below the alcohol spend per Transpower event held in 2022
and 2023 - we have categorised the events into those events for Transpower
staff or cohorts of such staff only, and those which are stakeholder
events.  We explain further about stakeholder events below.

For staff events, any alcohol bought and not used for a given event is
then used for the next event.  Our total spend for alcohol (including some
non-alcoholic drinks) in 2023 was $15,717.13 (the equivalent of $14.40 per
staff member) and in 2022 was $14,270.91 (the equivalent of $13.15 per
staff member).  We used current staff numbers to provide an easy
comparison of the per staff member number.

The stakeholder events have a large number of external stakeholders
attending. 

In 2023 we held the STAR awards (which are held two-yearly).  Transpower's
STAR Awards show our thanks and give recognition to the people who build,
operate and maintain the National Grid – the people who are keeping the
lights on for everyone in New Zealand.  The STAR Awards – which stands for
‘Safety Thanks and Recognition’ – are held every two years and champion
best practice in our field.  This year there were 202 people attending the
STAR Awards.

In 2022 Transpower hosted the inaugural Engineering and Technology
Excellence Awards in Wellington. These will be held every two years.  The
purpose of the Engineering and Technology Excellence Awards is to
celebrate some of the best engineering and technology specialists the
electricity transmission sector has to offer. In 2022 there were between
180 and 200 people attending the Engineering and Technology Excellence
Awards.  Note the spend for the Engineering and Technology Excellence
Awards is an All-Inclusive Spend, in that it includes the cost for the
provider to provide catering, beverages, and equipment.

 

Kind regards

OIA Team

 

 

 

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