Medium sized retailers Trust Power, Todd Energy and Pulse have been the key beneficiaries of consumers switching electricity providers over the course of 2014, while large companies Contact, Genesis, and Meridian have all seen significantly more customers moving away.

Electricity Authority Chief Executive Carl Hansen says “we’re seeing competition increase, which can only be good for consumers.

“We’re also seeing several of the smallest retailers expand rapidly. As a group, small retailers have grown collectively by 23% over 2014,” Mr Hansen says.

Another trend from the new report shows that the hot competition in the main centres has expanded into the regions.

“There have been a record number of retail brands expanding into the regions, providing New Zealand consumers with greater choice than ever before.

“The 2014 report shows residential consumers were being supplied by one of 27 retail brands, and that’s a new high,” says Mr Hansen.

“New retailers in a region are a good thing because they offer new choices to consumers, can help raise consumers’ awareness about their options, and encourage existing retailers to offer competitive prices and improve their service quality levels, or else risk losing customers,” Hansen says.

“It’s important consumers realise that their choice of retailer makes no difference to the reliability of their electricity supply – those outcomes are affected by the performance of their local distribution network and by Transpower, and is the same regardless of which retailer consumers choose.

“Ultimately, no matter how many brands are available, the performance of the retail electricity market relies on consumers being willing to take advantage of the wider range of options available to them.”

The What’s My Number website(external link) continues to encourage all consumers to compare their options. Last year over 385,000 households switched electricity providers. Collectively they could have achieved an annual saving of $281 million or an average of $162.

“We encourage everyone to check What’s My Number regularly – the benefits are real, with some families saving around $300” Mr Hansen says.

 

For more information please contact:

Rachel MacGregor
Acumen Republic for Electricity Authority
D: 04 494 5136
E: rmacgregor@acumenrepublic.com

Frances Coles
Acumen Republic for Electricity Authority
D: 04 494 5126
E: fcoles@acumenrepublic.com