About Canstar's Most Satisfied Customers Electricity Provider Award
Canstar's Most Satisfied Customers Electricity Provider Award reveals the electricity provider that delivers the best consumer satisfaction to its customers.
We ask Kiwi power customers to rate their satisfaction with their providers by Overall Satisfaction, as well as important criteria such as Bill Cost & Clarity, Customer Service, Ease of Sign-up and Value for Money.
Numbers crunched by Canstar's researchers:
- 3697 Customers Surveyed
- 15 Providers Assessed
- 12 Providers Shortlisted
- 1 Award Winner
The best electricity provider in NZ
The brands rated are listed below in order of best overall satisfaction.
1. Ecotricity
Ecotricity is a provider of 100% renewable and carboNZero Certified electricity. This year it takes home our Most Satisfied Customers Electricity Provider Award thanks to a great set of ratings from its customers, who award it top 5-Star ratings for Value for Money and, understandably, given its green credentials, Focus on Sustainability.
Ecotricity is NZ's only Toitū climate positive certified electricity provider, sourcing its electricity exclusively from wind farms, solar farms and hydro dams, as well as from its solar customers.
As its logo indicates, the Ecotricity brand is owned by Genesis, NZ's largest supplier of electricity and gas.
Ecotricity offers the option to go for a fixed rate of power, regardless of time or day, or to choose a plan with peak and off-peak rates. All plans offer buy-back solar rates. There are four plans to choose from:
- ecoANYTIME: one power rate 24/7, fixed for three years
- ecoSAVER: save by switching power to off-peak times to make the most of up to 50% discount on peak rates
- ecoSOLAR: one power rate 24/7, plus solar buyback: peak: 21c per kWh | off-peak: 16c per kWh
- ecoWHOLESALE: prices linked directly to the wholesale market. This can lead to very cheap power in times of high production, but the reverse can also apply. In times of low national power supply and high demand, you could pay dearly for the electricity you use.
2. Electric Kiwi
Electric Kiwi is the current winner of Canstar's Bundled Utilities Award, for its great broadband + power deals.
Electric Kiwi offers three power plans, each includes one free Hour of Power every day and no contract, so you're free to change providers whenever you want.
Customers can also add one of Electric Kiwi's three broadband plans. Electric Kiwi also offers great value mobile phone plans.
Everyday
- One flat rate for power
MoveMaster
- Three different rates for power (peak, off-peak shoulder, off-peak night)
- Half-price power overnight (11pm-7am)
- Solar buyback rate: 23c/kWh peak & 11.5c/kWh off-peak
Sunday Saver
- Prepaid balance of $250, topped up when balance reaches $0
- Two different rates for power (peak and off-peak) – move your power usage off-peak for the biggest savings
- Free power all day Sundays for first 12 months of contract
- Note: Sunday Saver only available with broadband or mobile bundles
3. Globug
A retail brand of Mercury, Globug is a prepaid power retailer. Globug offers simple pricing, with a fixed daily charge and a variable kWh charge. Plus, because it's a prepaid provider, there are no contracts, bonds or credit checks involved. Consumers can check Globug's pricing for standard user and low user plans via its website.
4. Pulse Energy
Pulse Energy's Anytime Plan has a single rate for power 24/7.
For those who can make the most of off-peak power periods, Pulse Energy's Power Shift Plan offers:
- Peak, off-peak, and night rates: discounted off-peak power
- Half-price weekends: from 12am Saturday to 12am Monday
Peak: 7am-11am & 5pm-9pm | Off-peak 11am-5pm & 9pm-11pm | Night 11pm-7am
Pulse also offers:
- All Energy Discount: combine your electricity and LPG/natural gas to receive a discount
- Occasional bundle deals if you sign-up for Pulse broadband
- No long-term contracts
5. Slingshot
Slingshot offers electricity and mobile when bundled with broadband.
It offers just two power plans based on the standard user tariffs: low user & standard user. Its plans feature:
- Bundle broadband and power to receive a 10% discount on your power bill
- No contracts or break fees
- One bill to cover electricity, broadband and mobile
- Pay weekly, fortnightly, or monthly on a day of your choice
6. Mercury
Mercury is 51% owned by the government and its generation comprises 100% renewable hydro and geothermal. It offers two plans:
Open term: no fixed term or break fees, prices are not fixed
1-year fixed: $300 signing-on credit, lower fixed rates, break fee applies
Across both plans you can choose either a flat power rate, which remains the same 24/7, or flex rates that provide cheaper off-peak power (11am-5pm & 9.30pm-7pm), but more expensive peak power (7am-11am & 5pm-9.30pm).
Mercury offers a range of fibre and wireless broadband plans that can be bundled with electricity services for discounts and Samsung appliance offers, as well as multi-fuel and mobile phone bundle discounts.
All Mercury plans offer:
- Regular free power days
- Complete fun challenges on the Mercury app, earn Mercury Dollars, then exchange them for bill credits or rewards
7. Genesis
Genesis offers electricity across two residential power plans. Genesis customers enjoy Power Shout offers of regular free electricity:
PowerHome plan:
- Flexible leave anytime contract with no exit fees
- Bonus 50 Power Shout hours for new customers
- Choose either a flat power rate, that remains the same 24/7, or time-varied rates that provide cheaper power overnight (9pm-7pm), but more expensive peak power
EVHome plan
- Half-price power from 9pm-7am every night
- Charge your EV for home rates at ChargeNet fast charging stations
- Bonus 50 Power Shout hours for new customers
Bundle power and natural gas for a $10/m credit, or power and LPG for $15/m.
8. Powershop
Powershop works differently from other electricity companies. For in addition to allowing you to pay for your power each month like a regular power company, Powershop also has a prepay option, via a range of power packs that are available through the Powershop website and app.
Many of the prepaid packs come with discounts. Packs on offer include:
Staying Power: a super-discounted special pack that is available once a month. The Staying Power discount starts at 20% in your first year, then increases by 1% each year you stay with Powershop, to a maximum of 25%.
Regular Specials: available for a limited time each month. The Staying Power and the limited-time specials together contribute to your Special Rates.
Future Packs: allow you to squirrel away power for future use. The further out you buy Future Packs, the bigger the discount. Buy six months ahead to save the maximum 10% against your Standard Rate for the month.
Fixed-price Value Packs: smallest discounts of the special packs, but come in a range of sizes.
Standard Power Top-up Packs: power priced at your standard rate.
9. Nova Energy
Nova Energy is part of the Todd Corporation, which also operates its own geothermal and natural gas generators. Nova Energy offers electricity, broadband, mobile and gas, plus a range of discounts for bundled utilities. It has two basic plan structures:
Electricity
- No fixed term or break fees
Multisaver
- No fixed term or break fees
- Bundle and save with gas, broadband or mobile
Nova also offers a smooth payment option, which spreads your average power costs evenly across the year.
10. 2degrees
2degrees offers just two plans based on the standard user tariffs: low user & standard user.
Plans feature:
- One bill to cover electricity, broadband and mobile
- Receive a 10% power bill discount each month when you bundle power and broadband
11. Contact
Contact has a 25-year history built on a largely renewable portfolio of electricity generation assets. It owns and operates 11 power stations, and produces 80-85% of its electricity from renewable hydro and geothermal stations.
In addition to its broadband and gas bundles, it offers the following electricity plans:
- Basic: simple power rates, no fixed term
- Good Weekends: free power 9am-5pm every Saturday and Sunday, no fixed term
- Good Nights: free power 9pm-midnight every night, no fixed term
- Good Charge: half price power 9pm-7am every night
12. Meridian
The NZ government is the major shareholder in Meridian, which is one of the country's biggest power generators and retailers. All of Meridian's power is derived from 100% renewable energy sources. It has the following plans:
Freedom plan
- No contract term
- Electricity prices subject to change (with 30 days' notice)
- $10 per month credit for first 12 months
- Solar buy-back: summer 15c/kWh | winter 24c/kWh
Night Saver plan
- No contract term
- Electricity prices subject to change (with 30 days' notice)
- $10 per month credit for first 12 months
- Solar buy-back: summer 15c/kWh | winter 24c/kWh
EV plan
- Fixed plan for two years
- Cheaper night rates (9pm-7am)
- $35 per month credit for first 6 months
- Solar buy-back: 12c/kWh
Bach plan
- No daily charges
- Fixed pricing for two years
- Solar buy-back: 12c/kWh
- Designed for holiday homes using less than 3000kWh per year
- Only available to customers with another residence or business with Meridian
Other electricity providers not rated by Canstar
Not all electricity providers in the market qualify for our ratings (based on minimum survey sample size), but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth considering. Here is another electricity provider to check out before making a decision:
Octopus Energy
Founded in 2015, Octopus Energy is a global power company. Based in London, it has operations in nine countries, including across Europe, America, Australia and, since 2022, in certain parts of Aotearoa. Octopus' plans offer peak, off-peak and night rates for standard and low users, plus competitive solar buyback rates.
Choosing the best electricity provider
Electricity, whichever company you purchase it from, does the same job. The only real difference in supply is the cost. So it's no surprise that Value for Money is the biggest driver of satisfaction for Kiwi energy consumers: cited by over a third (35%) of those in our survey.
Communication and customer service are also important factors for Kiwi power customers. In our survey, Bill & Cost Clarity and Customer Service were each cited as important by around a quarter of respondents.
Overall, here's what the consumers in our survey say are their most important considerations when rating their electricity providers:
- Value for Money: 35%
- Bill & Cost Clarity: 25%
- Customer Service: 24%
- Ease of Sign-up: 10%
- Focus on Sustainability: 6%
