A proposal for the Dunedin City Council to sell Aurora Energy seems to be struggling to secure enough backing to go ahead.
However, Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich said the information-gathering process continued and he believed councillors had yet to decide how they would vote at a meeting next week.
Mr Radich said he expected a few minds might have been made up.
"A great many are not", he said.
The present council had demonstrated "a good degree of open-mindedness when it comes to difficult decisions".
Council staff have yet to present a report on the subject.
"It is a big decision", Mr Radich said.
"Everyone is taking it very seriously."
Aurora Energy owns and operates the electricity distribution networks for Dunedin, Central Otago, Wānaka and Queenstown.
Documents suggest the company could be expected to sell for more than $1billion.
The Otago Daily Times talked to five Dunedin city councillors yesterday to try to gauge sentiment ahead of the vote.
One felt the vote could be close, another believed the proposal was "dead in the water" and a third expected Aurora would be retained by the council by a margin of 10-5 or 11-4, assuming there is full attendance at the meeting and nobody abstains.
Eight votes would be enough to defeat the sale.
A councillor who had yet to make up their mind said the council had to weigh up public opinion and professional advice.
Another indicated the weight of public feedback would be difficult to set aside.
Cr Marie Laufiso was the only elected representative present at a meeting in March to vote against pitching a proposal to the public, while Cr Jim O’Malley was absent.
The vast majority of more than 700 public submissions were opposed to a possible sale and opposition during a hearing in May was emphatic.
There have since been workshops run by the council and by Dunedin City Holdings Ltd (DCHL), which had recommended a sale of Aurora.
Aurora is the largest trading company in the DCHL group, which is owned by the council.
Mr Radich told a public meeting in April selling Aurora could put the council on a sustainable footing.
Key reasons for the proposal to sell have included avoiding the need for the combined debt of the council and its companies increasing to fund Aurora’s substantial future capital requirements.
It has not paid a dividend to DCHL since 2017.
Reasons for retaining the company include that it is set to grow in value.
