About Canstar's Most Satisfied Customers Natural Gas Award
Canstar's Most Satisfied Customers Natural Gas Award reveals the bundled utilities 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 Customer Service, Tools & Advice and Value for Money.
Numbers crunched by Canstar’s researchers:
- 588 Customers Surveyed
- 8 Providers Assessed
- 3 Providers Shortlisted
- 1 Award Winner
The best natural gas provider in NZ
The brands rated are listed below in order of best overall satisfaction.
1. Nova Energy
Nova Energy is a New Zealand owned and operated energy retailer, servicing homes and businesses across the country. Nova Energy is part of the Todd Corporation, which also operates its own geothermal and natural gas generators.
It's worth noting that Nova also scores very highly in our latest Broadband Award, which you can read more about here.
2. Genesis
Genesis is a publicly listed company that is 51% owned by the NZ government. Genesis provides electricity, natural gas and bottled gas (LPG) to New Zealand households and businesses, and also generates electricity.
3. Mercury
Mercury is one of the nation's highest-profile power companies, and provides a range of residential and business services across New Zealand.
The Mercury brand was launched in 2016, with the merger of Mighty River Power and Mercury Energy. Mercury is listed on the NZ and Australian stock exchanges. As with Genesis, the NZ government is a 51% stakeholder.
Other natural gas providers not rated by Canstar
Not all natural gas 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 are more natural gas providers to check out before choosing a supplier:
Contact
Energy generator and retailer Contact Energy was founded in 1996 and provides a range of services for residential and business customers across New Zealand, including gas and power supplies.
Pulse Energy
Pulse Energy is a smaller community-owned energy company. It supplies electricity, gas, solar and broadband services to households and businesses throughout NZ.
Firstgas
Firstgas is part of the Clarus group, one of New Zealand’s largest energy companies. It operates over 2500km of high-pressure gas transmission pipelines and more than 4800km of smaller gas distribution networks across the North Island.
Choosing the best natural gas provider
It's understandable that cost is at the forefront of most households' minds when it comes to their gas supply, and 40% of the respondents in our award survey cite Value for Money as their biggest concern when rating their choice of gas supplier.
However, what is surprising is the number of people who cite Bill and Cost Clarity (22%) compared to Customer Service (24%). The close numbers underline the importance of clear information in the billing process.
Here’s the full rundown of what the consumers in our survey say are the main things they consider when rating their gas suppliers:
- Value for Money: 40%
- Customer Service: 24%
- Bill & Cost Clarity: 21%
- Tools & Advice: 15%
