Contact Energy rated worst power company in Consumer NZ survey
Wednesday, 2 June 2021
Contact Energy has been rated as the worst performer in Consumer NZ’s latest electricity satisfaction survey.
While its website claims the company makes “electricity easy and efficient, with competitive rates, friendly local service and flexible payment options”, Contact achieved a customer satisfaction score of just 42 per cent.
Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy said Contact also rated below average for competitive pricing, helping customers save energy and value for money in the annual survey.
“Contact’s rating was considerably lower than the industry average of 52 per cent. It’s the worst score for the company in the past four years,” Duffy said.
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Trustpower was the other big player to score below average for value for money (29 per cent). It was also the lowest rated for competitive pricing (28 per cent) and the lowest equal with value for money (29 per cent).
In last year’s survey, Trustpower was the lowest-rated retailer with an overall satisfaction score of 43 per cent.
Top performers this year were Powershop (77 per cent) and Electric Kiwi (70 per cent), both of which were rated above average for competitive pricing, helping them save energy and being value for money.
Contact’s chief customer officer Matt Bolton said the company was disappointed in the findings.
”From the survey findings, we can see there are 42 per cent of our customers who are ‘very satisfied’, 40 per cent are ‘somewhat satisfied’ and 9 per cent are neutral. We'd love to see more people move up the satisfaction curve over the next 12 months.”
He said Contact was working on initiatives to make customers’ lives easier including new support channels, including Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, and changing bills to make it easier for customers to understand what they were being charged.
For one in four Kiwis, household power costs remain a major concern. Consumer NZ’s survey found 18 per cent had trouble paying their monthly power bills in the past year.
“As the temperature drops, we’re seeing energy prices rising. Low hydro lake levels are driving up prices on the wholesale electricity market,” Duffy said.
“In the year to March, wholesale prices for electricity generation spiked a sizeable 29 per cent,”.
Consumer NZ’s free Powerswitch website allows people to compare plans and check if they can get a better deal.
“Our analysis has found that households that have used Powerswitch to change providers have saved $388 on average.
“With one in five consumers saying they’ve been on the receiving end of poor service, it doesn’t pay to be loyal.”
Powershop, Electric Kiwi and Flick Electric received people’s choice awards, given to providers that stand out for customer service and meet Consumer NZ’s other criteria.