Contact Energy has been rated as the worst performer in Consumer NZ’s latest electricity satisfaction survey.

Its website boasts making "electricity easy and efficient, with competitive rates, friendly local service and flexible payment options”, but with a satisfaction score of just 42%, their customers were less enthusiastic about the company’s performance.

Contact Energy, which owns and operates Clyde and Roxburgh Dams as well as a host of other energy assets, employs hundreds of Central Otago locals. 

Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy says the organisation’s annual survey found Contact also rated below average for competitive pricing, helping customers save energy and value for money.

“Contact’s rating was considerably lower than the industry average of 52%. It’s the worst score for the company in the past four years,” Jon says.

Trustpower was the other big player to score below average for value for money (29%). It was also the lowest rated for competitive pricing (28%) and the lowest equal with value for money (29%).  

In Consumer NZ’s 2020 survey, it was the lowest-rated retailer with an overall satisfaction score of just 43 percent.

Consumer NZ rated a satisfaction score of just 42% of Contact Energy for customers. Image: Consumer NZ. 

Top performers this year were Powershop (77%) and Electric Kiwi (70%). Customers rated these companies above average for competitive pricing, helping them save energy and being value for money.

Flick Electric, the best performer in 2020, only received 29 responses. Of those, 83% were very happy with the service they received from the company.

For one in four Kiwis, household power costs remain a major concern. Consumer NZ’s survey found 18% had trouble paying their monthly power bills in the past year.

“As the temperature drops, we’re seeing energy prices rising. Low hydro lake levels are driving up prices on the wholesale electricity market. 

“In the year to March, wholesale prices for electricity generation spiked a sizable 29%,” Jon says.

Consumer NZ encourages households to use its free Powerswitch website to compare plans and check if they can get a better deal.

“Our analysis found that households using Powerswitch last winter could save $388 on average by switching to the cheapest plan. With one in five consumers saying they’ve been on the receiving end of poor service, it doesn’t pay to be loyal.”

Powershop, Electric Kiwi and Flick Electric received Consumer NZ People’s Choice awards. These are awarded to providers that stand out for customer service and meet Consumer NZ’s other criteria.

Consumer NZ’s survey results are from a nationally representative survey of 1511 New Zealanders, aged 18 and over, carried out from April to May 2021. 

One in five Contact Energy customers say they’ve been on the receiving end of poor customer service. Image: Consumer NZ.

Contact Energy Chief Customer Officer Matt Bolton says the company was disappointed with the news.

“We are obviously disappointed with the survey findings. 

“We know we can always do better. From the survey findings we can see there are 42% of our customers who are ‘very satisfied’, 40% are ‘somewhat satisfied’ and 9% are neutral. 

“We'd love to see more people move up the satisfaction curve over the next 12 months,” he says. 

Matt says the company has been working hard on a raft of things for customers to make their lives easier.

He says it includes launching new support channels such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp to make it easier to get in touch; overhauling our bills to make it easier for customers to understand what they are being charged. 

He also included regular updates to the “highly rated iOS and Android apps” as well as being rated NZ's fastest growing broadband provider too as we know customers appreciate the convenience of bundled services.

“We relish the challenge of looking after nearly 530,000 customer connections across electricity, broadband and gas alongside ever-increasing customer expectations,” Matt says. 

“The ConsumerNZ findings are at odds with other data that we have seen, including our own research and the recent Readers Digest survey where Contact collected the award as the most trusted electricity/gas provider in NZ. 

Consumer NZ reports results for companies that had 30 or more responses. 

Consumer NZ is a non-profit organisation, with 60 years of helping New Zealanders get a fairer deal. 

In addition to product tests, it investigates consumer issues and campaign to improve consumer rights. 

It does not take advertising and relies on revenue from membership and occasional grants to fund its work.