Electricity Providers – 2014 Ratings
Posted by Canstar Blue May 8th 2014
You are viewing the archived 2014 ratings for electricity providers. Go to the current electricity provider ratings.
Powershop surge to the top for this year’s electricity provider awards
It may have been a couple of year since you’ve compared electricity providers. Are you ‘currently’ overpaying? Do you experience outages a little too often? Is your supplier’s customer service up to scratch?
We asked everyday New Zealanders how they felt about their electricity provider. In our 2014 results, Powershop customers were the most satisfied overall, leading the brand to its third Canstar Blue award win.
Powershop triumphed in all the criteria we rated, making the New Zealand owned utilities company a hot prospect for your shopping list.
Also rated were Energy Online, Meridian Energy, TrustPower, Mercury Energy, Genesis Energy, Contact Energy, and Nova Energy.
Overall customer satisfaction
Award-winner Powershop achieved a five star rating for overall customer satisfaction in this category – launching ahead of the four star competition: Energy Online, Meridian Energy, TrustPower, Mercury Power, Genesis Energy, and Contact Energy. Nova Energy finished with three stars for overall customer satisfaction.
Value for money
If you’re overpaying on your electricity bill, perhaps it’s time to shop around for a better deal? Powershop secured five stars for value for money, and was followed by four star recipient Energy Online. Next with three were our other rated brands: TrustPower, Meridian Energy, Nova Energy, Contact Energy, Genesis Energy, and Mercury Energy.
Uninterrupted supply
New Zealand plays host to some wild weather, so homeowners would be smart to find an electricity company that offers a reliable stream of power to homes on this side of the Tasman. Powershop achieved five stars for its uninterrupted supply of electricity to homes, and stayed ahead of four star recipients Energy Online, Meridian Energy, TrustPower, Mercury Power, Genesis Energy, Contact Energy, and Nova Energy.
Availability of payment plan options
Powershop is well known for its selection of ‘Powerpacks’, which afford customers freedom of choice when paying electricity bills. Customers of this brand were most satisfied with the availability of payment plan options from their power company, and so Powershop secured five stars in this area.
Energy Online, Meridian Energy, TrustPower, Mercury Power, Genesis Energy, and Contact Energy all received four stars for payment plans, and Nova Energy achieved three.
Service (e.g. email, telephone service)
Keeping the lines of communication open to your utilities company is important – whether it’s during a blackout or when you have a billing enquiry. Powershop customers felt most satisfied with the customer service they received from their power company. This brand earned five stars in this area; Energy Online, Meridian Energy, TrustPower, Mercury Power, Genesis Energy, and Contact Energy all received four, and Nova Energy achieved three.
Billing (e.g. clarity, accuracy)
Does your electricity company clearly detail the fees and costs associated to your account, and do they offer various facilities to pay your bills? Powershop was first and foremost for customer satisfaction for billing, which is why it received a five star rating. All other brands – Energy Online, Meridian Energy, TrustPower, Mercury Power, Genesis Energy, Contact Energy, and Nova Energy – received four stars for billing.
Information / advice about using electricity efficiently to save money
Are you trying to save money each quarter on your bill? Most electricity providers are happy to provide you with information on how to do this – over the phone or online. Powershop earned a five star rating for the information and advice it provided to customers in this area. Mercury Energy, Genesis Energy, TrustPower, and Meridian Energy all received four stars for their energy saving tips, and Contact Energy, Nova Energy, and Energy Online all finished with three.
Canstar Blue commissions Colmar Brunton using the SSI panel to regularly survey 2,500 New Zealand consumers across a range of categories to measure and track customer satisfaction. The outcomes reported are the results from customers within the survey group who have an electricity account and pay the bills – in this case, 1,985 people.
Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included. Results are comparative and it should be noted that brands receiving three stars have still achieved a satisfaction measure of at least six out of 10.