Latest news with #Powerswitch
Scoop
3 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
The Sale Of A Top-Rated Power Company Signals A Shrinking Market
Flick Electric has been named New Zealand's top-rated power company in Consumer NZ's latest energy retailer survey - but the win comes with an unexpected twist. Flick achieved a standout satisfaction score of 71% (very satisfied), earning a People's Choice award. Flick was recently sold to Meridian Energy – the parent company of Powershop, which failed to meet the People's Choice standard in 2025. In contrast to Flick, Powershop, a seven-time People's Choice winner since 2015, has seen a notable drop in satisfaction – from 67% in 2024 to just 60% this year, pushing it out of the top tier for the first time in years. 'Flick has consistently rated well in our surveys, so it's disappointing to see it absorbed by a larger player,' says Jessica Walker, Consumer NZ acting head of research and advocacy. 'Flick customers have been typically among the most satisfied. We don't know what the future holds for Flick customers, but there is a risk it will be consumers who will bear the brunt of reduced competition.' The poorest performers this year are Pulse Energy (41%), Contact Energy (44%) and Mercury (47%). Contact Energy and Mercury are two of the largest energy providers in the country and are known as 'gentailers', electricity companies that both generate and retail electricity directly to households. Meridian Energy was the third-best performing power provider in the survey results and notably the highest-ranking of this country's four gentailers. Frank also earns People's Choice, but sector-wide ambivalence is up Frank Energy joins Flick in receiving a People's Choice award, with 65% of its customers reporting high satisfaction. However, broader trends across the industry point to a decline in overall positivity and a rise in customer ambivalence. 'More people are rating their power providers as 'just OK' rather than great,' says Walker. 'It's a clear sign that satisfaction is softening, and the market isn't delivering the value or the service that New Zealanders expect.' Frank's parent company is also a gentailer, Genesis Energy, which falls into the middle-of-the-pack category. Key findings from the 2025 survey Value for money scores have dipped across much of the sector. Fewer problems were reported. Amongst those who did, there was a slight drop in satisfaction with the retailers' handling of issues. Confidence in the electricity market is low. 36% say it's working poorly for New Zealanders. Signs of hardship are rising. More missed payments, overdue fees, borrowing to pay bills and disconnections. Loyalty won't lower your bill - shop around Walker urged consumers not to stay loyal to underperforming providers. 'Power is the same no matter who you buy it from – but price and service vary widely,' she says. 'There's no reason to stick with an expensive or unhelpful provider.' Powerswitch, Consumer NZ's free and independent power comparison tool, helps people find better plans and providers. On average, people who check power options through Powerswitch can typically save around $500 a year. 'With satisfaction falling and pressure on household budgets rising, take action now,' Walker says. 'More than half a million New Zealand households in the past year alone have used the Powerswitch service. It's quick and easy to switch!' Note: Consumer NZ energy retailer survey data is from a nationally representative survey of 1,985 New Zealanders, aged 18 years and over, carried out in March and April 2025. Satisfaction rating shows the proportion of respondents who scored their retailer 8, 9 or 10 on a scale from 0 (very dissatisfied) to 10 (very satisfied). Ratings are for retailers that had 30 or more responses in our survey. View the results here.
Scoop
29-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
New Online Dashboard Shines A Light On Regional Power Prices
The Electricity Authority Te Mana Hiko (Authority) has published a new retail price dashboard showing average monthly power bills by region across New Zealand. The Authority developed this dashboard, using pricing data it requires from retailers, to provide price transparency and encourage New Zealanders to get more engaged in choosing their power plan and provider. Authority General Manager Retail and Consumer Andrew Millar explains: "We want to support New Zealand households and businesses to make more active, informed decisions about their power use and costs by providing them with better information. "Greater retail price transparency will enable consumers to understand where their power use and costs sit against the average in their region. We hope the new dashboard will encourage people to compare their power use and costs against the averages and see if there's an opportunity to reduce their power bill. "We want New Zealanders to be empowered to switch their power plan or company if they believe they could be getting a better deal, either by calling their retailer and asking for other available plans or by using Powerswitch to compare retailers," Millar says. The Authority sought price increase information from retailers in response to this year's increased in lines charges. There are large regional differences in these increases, with average households seeing $10 per month increases and some rural regions facing increases of up to $25 per month. The Authority used its monitoring powers to require retailers to provide details of any planned price increases by region after 1 April, and ongoing monthly updates. "We think it's important to understand the impact these increased lines charges have had on power bills by region and to make this information publicly available," says Millar. "It also important that if households and small businesses are concerned about the impact of higher prices that they get in touch with their retailer to discuss what support options are available to them."
RNZ News
27-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Power prices rise faster than rate of inflation
Photo: RNZ Power prices are now rising faster than the rate of inflation, and Powerswitch is worried that the current model is thriving on customer "confusion and inertia". Stats NZ data shows electricity prices were up 2.3 percent month-on-month in April. Gas prices were up 1.1 percent. Powerswitch data showed, year on year, the fixed daily charge for gas was up 25 percent year on year on average, and 33 percent on average on a per kilowatt hour basis. For electricity, the fixed charge was up 21 percent year-on-year, while a 24-hour price per kilowatt hour was up 12 percent and a night rate 13 percent, on average. Powerswitch general manager Paul Fuge said electricity pricing was highly variable and complex. His data used the most common standard plan and did not take into account low fixed charge plans. "There are thousands of plans, prices change unevenly across retailers and regions, and a plan that was once cost-effective may no longer be. Individual household needs also change over time, further complicating matters. "Many people are surprised by how much prices vary. Those who switch plans using Consumer NZ's free Powerswitch tool save nearly $500 per year on average. Even non-switchers can use the tool to negotiate better deals. There are thousands of electricity plans available across the country, and what one household pays can differ markedly from another-something that often surprises people. "Retailers often don't notify customers when cheaper plans become available, so consumers need to be proactive in checking their options regularly." He said things like fixed and variable charges affected households differently. "For example, rising fixed charges may have little effect on high-usage households but more on low-usage ones. This makes it difficult to generalise about annual price changes. The opaque and inconsistent nature of electricity pricing leads to confusion, apathy, and mistrust. Consumer NZ argues this is unnecessary and advocates for greater transparency, consistency, and simplicity in pricing." He said electricity prices were now rising above the rate of inflation. "Some retailers have highlighted that electricity prices were below inflation over the past five years. While technically true, this is somewhat misleading. The key reason is how line charges - the regulated part of your bill - are set. The Commerce Commission regulates these charges in five-year cycles. The most recent cycle began on 1 April this year and brought significant increases. By contrast, line charges fell in real terms during the previous cycle, when inflation was lower." He said the retail model thrived "not on value or service, but on confusion and inertia. As a result, countless households are overpaying by hundreds each year." Bridget Abernethy, chief executive of the Electricity Retailers Association, said data from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment showed the energy component of power bills had come down in real terms over the past ten years. The lines component had come down in real terms between 2014 and 2024, she said, as had the overall cost per unit of electricity.
RNZ News
09-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Homeowner blindsided as daily power charges increase 600%
A South Island property classified as remote now incurs a might higher power lines fee for electricity. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly The owner of a Marlborough Sounds property facing a 600 percent increase in daily power changes says he's been blindsided. Mark, who did not want to be identified, has owned the bach for five years. He said his power bill had previously been $50 or $60 a month but he had just been advised of a large increase in his daily fixed charge, which would rise from 60 cents to $4.24. "I have spoken to one or two other residents who are also a bit shocked but apathy or lack of awareness is also out there. "I am seriously considering going off-grid if I keep the property, though selling is definitely an option. Property values will likely drop though as the appeal of owning a property where supply is so expensive will wane." He said Powerswitch now estimated his bill would be more than $3000 a year if he spent 60 days a year there. "We are told that the cost to supply to remote areas is the problem, but the infrastructure is in place and there is almost no expansion as there are no more sections being developed. "I was also told by Genesis call centre that there is no option to suspend supply if not occupying a property for a few months - the daily charges would still apply and even to decommission altogether would face a charge." Lines charges are increasing around the country after the Commerce Commission approved transmission price increases from the start of April. On top of that, the low-user scheme is being phased out , which means a 30c-per-day increase in fixed charges for people affected. There was pressure on the price of electricity as well. Mark said he had been quoted up to $30,000 to go off grid but it could pay for itself in a decade. Genesis said the price increase had been heightened because of a change specific to Mark's circumstances. "The local lines company in Marlborough service the area and classify the customer as remote, due to their location in the Marlborough Sounds. "The lines company's daily charge has increased from $3.11 to $4.00. Previously, only 60c of the fee was passed on to the customer who was on a low-user plan. "That low-user plan is not available for this customer now based on the lines company rating the property as remote and being a secondary property (bach). "The full charge from the lines company is now being included in the bill." Marlborough Lines said, if the connection was remote, it should have been on its remote price plan. It had a ministerial exemption that allowed it not to offer low-user prices to remote connections. "The daily fixed charge for that is much higher than a low-user daily fixed charge - note though that our variable charges for low users is considerably higher than variable charges for other connections. "It's possible that the retailer had their customer on a low-user plan, but we did not as they were remote and not eligible. "The retailer may have at some point moved them off their low-user plan after realising we had them on a remote plan." Powerswitch general manger Paul Fuge said there was no obligation for power companies to offer a low-fixed charge option to baches. "When customers sign up with a retailer, they are usually asked whether the property is their primary residence. However, it's unclear what verification processes - if any - retailers use to confirm this. "While I don't have specific data, it wouldn't be surprising if some consumers have signed up secondary residences with retailers as their primary home to access the LFC option. "It's unlikely to be straightforward for a retailer or lines company to determine otherwise," Fuge said. "They might attempt to use other data sets - or assess consumption patterns, but with today's diverse household usage profiles, that approach would be challenging and unreliable. "In our experience, some retailers and lines companies are more diligent than others when it comes to checking this. "That said, I've never seen a case where a household already on an LFC option was removed based on a determination that the property wasn't a primary residence - though it may happen occasionally, it doesn't appear to be common, at least based on the complaints we receive." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
