Kiwis choose to stay with the same electricity providers

MEDIA RELEASE – 19 JUNE 2019

So much choice, yet New Zealanders choose to stay with the same electricity providers

New Zealanders have such a wide range of electricity providers to choose from, so why are so few of us willing to make the big switch?

That’s the message from a Canstar Blue survey of more than 4,200 Kiwis. It found that although nearly half of us (43%) have compared electricity prices in the last 12 months, only a few bright sparks (13%) have actually followed through and changed providers.

Canstar Blue General Manager Jose George says: “New Zealanders are clearly aware they can shop around for electricity providers, but despite that, the overwhelming majority (87%) aren’t switching. Yet more than a third of those surveyed (38%) admit they’re worried about how much their power bills will be.

“Unless you’re on a fixed-term contract, which often means you may have to pay break fees, It’s actually very easy to switch power companies,” says Jose George.

Now that winter is here and the mercury is dropping, more than half (51%) of those surveyed wrap themselves up in blankets and extra jerseys to keep warm instead of turning up the heating. Nearly half of us (40%) believe our homes aren’t well-insulated.

“With so many retailers in the market, power really does lie with the customer here. It pays to shop around and that could make a big difference to your power bills,” says Jose George.

Canstar Blue is delighted to announce that Powershop has retained its position as the top brand in the New Zealand market, winning the 2019 Most Satisfied Customers Award - Electricity Providers for the seventh time in eight years.

“Winning the award for the second year in a row is a testament to Powershop’s ability to connect with its customers through its attractive plans, excellent customer service, transparency and flexibility. Powershop won 5-stars in six out of the seven drivers of customer satisfaction, and was the only provider to win 5-stars in customer service,” says Jose George.

Accepting the award, Louise Chan, Acting Head of Powershop says: “This marks the seventh year that Powershop has won the Canstar Most Satisfied Customers award, and we couldn’t be more proud. We are all about putting the power in our customers hands so we are delighted to be the only power company which won 5-stars for customer service. These results really are a testament to the hard work and commitment from our amazing local team. They put our customers at the heart of everything they do.”

Notes for editors:

About the survey

Canstar Blue commissioned Qualtrics to survey New Zealand consumers across a range of categories to measure and track customer satisfaction. The outcomes reported are the results from New Zealanders who rated their power company on a range of factors – in this case 4,251 New Zealanders.

About Canstar Blue

Launched in June 2011, Canstar Blue is a customer satisfaction research and ratings business whose core purpose is to help consumers make better purchasing decisions. Based on independent research, our aim is to act as the real voice of the consumer. To date, more than 42,000 Kiwis have rated their customer satisfaction across more than 45 different categories.

Canstar Blue is an initiative of CANSTAR. Active since 1992, CANSTAR is New Zealand and Australia’s premier research and expert ratings agency working with over 30,000 products and more than 300 brands in the financial services industry. CANSTAR is chiefly focused on helping consumers make better financial decisions.

What are the Canstar Blue ratings?

Canstar Blue researches, compares and rates products and services according to customer satisfaction across categories including banking, telecommunications, appliances, electronics, utilities and FMCG. Results are freely available to consumers who are encouraged to use the ratings as a guide to product excellence. The full range of results can be viewed at canstarblue.co.nz

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