For the first time in over a decade, Consumer NZ has decided not to award an annual People’s Choice accolade to any energy retailer.
The People’s Choice award recognises businesses that do right by their customers and earn high customer satisfaction scores in Consumer’s surveys.
“This year, no retailer met the threshold of having both highly satisfied customers and our backing that they are doing a stellar job of looking after their customer base,” says Jessica Walker, campaigns manager.
Consumer says that the number of energy customers who class themselves as very satisfied has been on a steady decline for the last three years – which is at odds with the other sectors it tracks.
“Customer satisfaction is rising across other sectors – including KiwiSaver, internet service providers and even insurance.”
The price of power is a problem
The cost of energy is a key concern for more than half of New Zealand households.
“We have seen a rise in the number of people saying they are very concerned about the cost of energy. That’s now climbed to 34% of New Zealanders”, says Walker.
Consumer’s surveying has found that the majority of New Zealanders see energy profits as excessive, their bills as unfair and the recently announced half-year profits for gentailers (companies that both generate and sell electricity) as unjustifiable.
“The areas people are most dissatisfied with are value for money from their energy retailer, and a lack of competitive pricing,” says Walker.
Mercury satisfaction scores were significantly below average in four categories tracked by Consumer’s annual energy retailer survey – value for money, competitive pricing, helping you save energy and helping you select an appropriate plan.
“This is particularly concerning given Mercury has the highest market share.”
Switch to save
Over the past two years, power prices have gone up for all households. However, the price increases vary by region, plan type and retail brand too.
Almost 40% of New Zealanders think all energy providers charge about the same – but this is not true, Consumer says.
“There are savings available to people who shop around for power.
“People who use our free Powerswitch website save an average of $450 a year. We recommend people check to see what they could save by switching power plans or providers before the big winter bills hit.
“With satisfaction falling and power bills rising, there has never been a better time to test the market. Vote with your feet, shop around and see what you could save.”
