By Nick Gelling
Product Test Journalist | Kaipūrongo Whakamātautau Hautaonga
With gas prices doubling over the past five years, anyone burning gas for space heating, water heating or cooking wants the best possible price. We can help you find the cheapest natural gas and LPG provider.
Through our independent comparison site, Powerswitch, we at Consumer know the details of just about every piped gas plan up and down the country – so we’re in a unique position to judge who will give you the best deal.
If you have gas appliances but can’t get piped gas at your home, you’re likely stuck with expensive bottled LPG. Powerswitch doesn’t cover LPG, but we can tell you where we found the cheapest LPG bottles when we last did our nationwide price survey in March 2026.
We can also help you determine whether bundling gas with your electricity will save you money – or whether it might be time to get off gas for good.
Natural gas vs bottled LPG
Natural gas, also known as fossil gas or methane gas, is available via piped (or reticulated) connections to most towns in the North Island. It can be used for space heating, efficient water heating and cooking, where it offers precise temperature control. A few short years ago, it was a very appealing option economically – particularly for water heating – but recent price hikes have made electricity a cheaper option.
LPG usually comes stored as a liquid in metal bottles, but you can get piped LPG in parts of Canterbury and Otago. These days, LPG is mostly used for cooking – with both indoor hobs/ranges and outdoor barbecues. Some homes still use LPG for water and space heating, but it’s become very expensive.
How we compared piped gas plans
There are five main suppliers of piped gas in New Zealand – Genesis Energy, Contact Energy, Mercury, Nova Energy and Pulse Energy.
We crunched the numbers on every plan currently on Powerswitch, including low-user and dual-fuel options, across all regions and networks.
For each plan, we estimated the total monthly bill for a household that uses 250 units of gas per month, like a couple, and for one that uses 600 units, like a family with two or more kids. The bill included 30 days of connection fees and any daily discounts available.
We were expecting different results depending on region, but, to our surprise, a clear price leader emerged across the majority of the North Island.
The cheapest piped gas providers in NZ
The cheapest bottled gas providers in NZ
Should I get off gas?
Variable natural gas prices have skyrocketed 48% on average since 2024 and 106% since 2021. Annual gas production is falling faster than expected, and prices show no sign of returning to previous levels.
If a gas appliance like your water heater or stove needs replacing, it makes sense to decrease ongoing costs by electrifying, with a heat pump water heater or induction cooktop. Once you’ve replaced everything in your home, you can stop paying your daily gas connection fees, which average about $830 a year.
There are also health benefits to removing pollutants from gas appliances from your home, especially if any occupants are asthmatic.
When you’re ready, our in-depth guide to getting off gas can help you make the transition. You can also use our new Electrify Your Home calculator to see which energy upgrades could save you the most money.
Do you save money by bundling electricity with gas?
Because New Zealand’s piped gas providers also provide electricity, they want you to buy power through them too.
Providers usually apply some sort of bonus to customers who have gas and electricity on the same account. For example, Genesis adds a $10 credit to your account each month, while Mercury applies a discount of 17 cents per day (which amounts to $5.25 per month).
However, retailers can easily raise prices to offset the “discount”, so it’s hard to know if you’re actually reducing your total bill. We recommend comparing plans annually, to make sure.
For more on the risks – and potential benefits – of bundling utilities, see our recent research about bundling electricity with broadband.
