Genesis Energy to merge its retail brands into one
Genesis Energy's head office in Auckland.
Photo:
Supplied / Genesis Energy
Genesis Energy is consolidating its three retail brands, Genesis, Frank and Ecotricity, under one unified Genesis brand to simplify its retail business.
Chief revenue officer Stephen England-Hall said the one brand for all customers was part of its long-term strategy to provide a stronger and simpler offer as Genesis looked at more renewable forms of energy.
"Streamlining Genesis to one brand will enable us to efficiently deploy plans and products to best support our customers as the country progresses toward net zero 2050."
He said the changes would reduce duplication and complexity in its customer service, technology platforms and back-office functions, while speeding up the use of new technologies.
The Frank brand would be absorbed into Genesis between June and September, with customers having the choice whether to move or find another supplier.
Ecotricity has been fully owned by Genesis since last November, and its various products will continue to be offered as Genesis looked at long-term options for the business.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter
curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

RNZ News
31 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Marlborough residents speak against council's preferred water plan
By Kira Carrington, Local Democracy Reporter Brendan Kearney speaks at the Marlborough District Council's Local Water Done Well hearing. Photo: LDR/Kira Carrington Residents have spoken against the Marlborough District Council's preferred water services model at a Local Water Done Well hearing on Monday. The Government requires councils to choose from five water service delivery options ‒ a modified status quo (an in-house council department), a single council-controlled organisation, a multi-council-controlled organisation, and two types of trusts. The Marlborough District Council's preferred option is to create a standalone Water Services Organisation owned and controlled by the council. The council said it would find greater efficiencies to deliver better service at a lower cost, and have more borrowing capacity to maintain and improve the region's water infrastructure. But Marlborough residents aren't convinced. Of about 45 submissions made, 58 percent wanted to keep water services in-house, compared to 13 percent who preferred the standalone organisation. The remainder did not indicate a preference. Five people spoke on their submissions at a hearing in the council chamber on Monday, and they were all opposed to a standalone organisation. Brendan Kearney, who used to be chief executive of a council-controlled organisation in Canterbury, said there was no proof that a separate organisation would be more efficient, and setting up and funding a separate entity could cost ratepayers more. It would "inevitably duplicate some overhead costs", Kearney said. He said he saw no reason for water services to be removed from a council that had maintained its water systems relatively well. "[Water] assets are in good or very good condition. That's a credit to the current council and past councils as well. Council also has low debt relative to its peers. "This is compelling evidence, in my view, that the council has performed well and will continue to do so." To create a separate organisation, Kearney said the council would need to appoint directors, manage a new relationship with the organisation, and manage the organisation's own agenda. "A standalone company is no guarantee of good governance." Kearney said there also needed to be balance in who footed the water infrastructure bill between the ratepayers of today and of tomorrow. "It's unfair to gift hundreds of millions of dollars ... to the next generations completely debt free. That means the past generations paid too much. "On the other hand, it's unfair to get those assets, billions of dollars of assets, fully debt funded ... it's unfair on future generations. "Something in between those two extremes needs to happen." Submitter Lauchy Hynd said that creating a separate organisation to take on debt outside the council books was not sustainable. "What happens when we default?" Hynd said. "We're leveraging [water assets] by three to five times to borrow money against them. "This looks to me like Three Waters from the back door. "You can kick the can down the road and borrow recklessly, but I appeal to you to act boldly on behalf of the people." Submitters also voiced concerns about allowing an unelected and "unaccountable" organisation to take control of water services. "How do we maintain the ownership and the status of [water] assets in the hands of the people of Marlborough, when we're divesting them to an unelected group?" Hynd said. Submitter Bob Watson said he was worried about the potential to more easily privatise a separate organisation, pointing how the United Kingdom's water management became privatised. Ten regional water authorities were formed in 1974, which the UK government then sold to the private sector in 1989. "I think that the potential for private ownership ... basically our water utilities to be sold off to another entity, and for us to lose the democratic voice, would be terrible," Watson said. "I like the idea that [we're] here with people that have represented the community who can speak for us." The coalition Government had previously said that privatisation of water services was not on the table. The council would make its final decision on water services delivery on June 26, and submit its plan to the Government for approval by 3 September . LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.


Scoop
4 hours ago
- Scoop
Avanti Finance Group Appoints Matthew Craig As Head Of Lending Operations At Branded
Press Release – Avanti Finance Matthew Craigs appointment marks a strategic step for both Branded and the broader Avanti Finance Group, as the organisation continues to invest in experienced leadership to drive long-term success. Auckland, 10 June 2025 – Avanti Finance Group is thrilled to welcome Matthew Craig to the team as the Head of Lending Operations at Branded Financial Services (Branded). Matthew brings a wealth of experience and expertise from across the retail banking, mutual banking, and fintech industries. In his new role, Matthew will oversee key areas including credit, settlements, accreditations, and sales support, leading Branded's efforts to optimise and streamline lending operations for customers and business partners alike. With his extensive background in leadership, sales, operations, product management, and project delivery, Matthew is well-equipped to lead Branded's operations as the company continues to grow and expand its services in the Australian market. Liesl Knox, CEO of Branded Financial Services, commented: 'Matthew is a great addition to the team at Branded. His leadership experience and his customer-first mindset will be instrumental in driving the continued success of our lending operations'. Matthew Craig said: 'I'm excited to join the team at Branded Financial Services and to lead lending operations at such an exciting time for the business. With a strong focus on delivering exceptional outcomes for customers, I look forward to working with the talented team at Branded to drive operational excellence and innovation in our services.' Matthew's appointment marks a strategic step for both Branded and the broader Avanti Finance Group, as the organisation continues to invest in experienced leadership to drive long-term success. ABOUT BRANDED FINANCIAL SERVICES Branded Financial Services (BFS) has been providing premium motor vehicle finance in Australia since 2011. In 2019, BFS was acquired by Avanti Finance, an award-winning New Zealand-based specialist lender that has been providing tailored property, auto, personal and business lending solutions for over 35 years. As a progressive and introducer-centric business, we're built to back people, move lending forward, and deliver the best possible outcome for both our introducers and their clients.

RNZ News
4 hours ago
- RNZ News
Tech experts fear cybercriminals will exploit end of Windows 10 support
Photo: 123RF New Zealand technology experts are increasing calls for people and businesses to upgrade their Microsoft devices, as Windows 10's support expiration looms. From 14 October onwards, devices running Windows 10 will no longer receive free security updates, technical assistance or software patches. Jamie Hall of technology distributor Ingram Micro NZ, said while systems will continue to operate, they'll be increasingly vulnerable to cyber threats and operational disruptions. "So ultimately that's going to create some risks potentially for not only business users but any users of Windows 10," he said. "Without those security patches or updates coming through, you're potentially going to be at risk or vulnerable to attacks or other things that might be targeted to devices that are still on Windows 10. "All of a sudden that's opening up businesses to potential risk, but it goes a step further because, for example, if a business had cybersecurity insurance, which many do, if you've got an unsupported piece of software, it's likely it's not going to be included in that policy. "So it's also opening up businesses to risks that they may not even be aware of," Hall said. His encouragement that all eligible Microsoft users make sure they upgraded to Windows 11 as soon as possible was echoed by Consumer NZ product test writer Nick Gelling. "But the real issue comes for people that are not eligible for that upgrade, Microsoft suggests that all its customers just migrate to Windows 11. "Obviously if you can upgrade to Windows 11 you should do that as soon as possible, but if you're not, if your computer isn't compatible with the upgrade, you can look into installing a new operating system, something like a Chrome OS Flex or a Linux distribution like Mint. "They'll take some getting used to, but you will be better protected." Gelling said he was worried cyber criminals could target older members of society and people who can't afford a new computer. "We think in New Zealand there's hundreds of thousands of computers that will be stuck on Windows 10 and unable to make that upgrade, and they'll be unable to receive security support, which means that the computers are unsafe to use," he said. Ingram Micro NZ's Jamie Hall said he was informed by Microsoft that New Zealand had "only just crossed over a tipping point" in the past few weeks. "There's more Windows 11 devices in market now than there is Windows 10 so that would tell me that there's still a huge amount of devices out there in businesses and in homes that are potentially at risk of not being replaced in time or upgraded in time and that's a real danger at the moment. "The good news is that a lot of those devices don't necessarily need to be replaced, they can be upgraded but if those minimum requirements aren't met, then yes, a new device might need to be placed with." Gelling said that this could lead to environmental impacts not just in New Zealand, but globally with Consumer NZ estimating as many as 400 million Windows 10 devices worldwide could become ineligible for a Windows 11 upgrade. He estimates about 50 percent of the PC market currently uses Windows 10. "Microsoft has these really ambitious sustainability goals, it wants to become carbon neutral by 2030. "The end of Windows 10 support has the potential to be a really catastrophic waste event. We know that most e-waste does end up in landfill, so we expect this policy to send a bunch of New Zealand computers that are otherwise healthy to the tip, and that's just totally unnecessary. "It results in heavy metal pollution and a whole lot of extra emissions from building the replacement computers that people have to buy and, you know, mining for rare earth minerals and all that." Hall said it was important users understand that they don't necessarily have to throw away their old devices. "My call out would be don't leave it to the last minute, think about it now and have a strategy in place for how you're going to go through it and upgrade or replace these devices and then on the replacement side, consider the recycling piece of it as well. "It's very easy to throw these devices into landfill, but we all should take on the responsibility of thinking about how we ethically and sustainably dispose or recycle these devices and there's lots of great providers out there that will take these devices, often even buy them back off individuals, and then recycle those parts and recycle those materials so that they don't all end up in landfill." In the meantime, Microsoft is offering consumers another extra year of support for Windows 10, which will cost US$30. "So that's about 50 New Zealand dollars to extend support out to October 2026, we welcome that, however, that program is available for up to three years for business customers, while it's only available for the 12 months for consumers, and we sort of question why that is. "We think it also shows that Microsoft is able to extend this support if it wants to, and for those that are willing to pay for it, it shows that it's sort of not a technological problem to continue supporting Windows 10. So why is Microsoft not willing to extend that support to everyone that can't necessarily afford to pay that extra $50," Gelling said.