The 5 Best Power Companies in NZ Compared and Reviewed
Can’t decide which electricity provider in NZ to sign up with? We can help you with that as we’ve reviewed and compared the best electricity providers in NZ today.
We selected the ones that have a simple application process, decent rates, and great customer service. Some of these NZ electricity providers also let you do your bit in caring for the environment.
But before we proceed to our top choices, let’s first discuss the average cost of power in NZ. Doing so will help you decide which provider to pick whether you’re looking for the cheapest power company in NZ or the ones with the best deals and bundles.
The Average Power Usage Cost of Energy Providers in NZ Compared
It’s crucial to know how much power you’re using every month or year to know if you’re paying more than you should. Who doesn’t want to save up on their power costs?
If you’re overpaying, that’s a big blow to your budget. Correcting this can help you save NZ$100 or NZ$200, or even more, out of the year.
The main factors that influence your power bill are the appliances you use, the number of users in your home, and the particular city that you live in.
Considering all those, we made a table below comparing the power usage costs of typical homes with 4 to 5 family members from different cities in New Zealand.
Moreover, we took into account the kinds of appliances that families use the most and the type of insulation in their homes.
Provider | Auckland | Christchurch | Wellington | Hamilton |
Powershop | $2,045 | $1,830 | $2,039 | $2,245 |
Flick Electric Co. | $2,214 | $2,019 | $2,180 | $2,491 |
Genesis | $2,625 | $2,537 | $2,463 | $2,761 |
Electrickiwi.co.nz | $2,036 | $1,825 | $2,038 | $2,116 |
Mercury | $2,250 | $2,290 | $2,424 | $2,575 |
Smart Energy | $2,117 | $2,114 | $2,301 | $2,542 |
Contact | $2,187 | $1,985 | $2,188 | $2,432 |
Ecotricity | $2,264 | $2,007 | $2,275 | $2,555 |
Meridian | $2,280 | $2,157 | $2,228 | $2,413 |
Pulse Energy | $2,321 | $2,255 | $2,257 | $2,522 |
Furthermore, here is the annual power consumption we used for our data. These numbers lie within the range of energy use that Kiwi families would use in a year:
Auckland: 8,119kWh/yr
Christchurch: 8073kWh/yr
Wellington: 8,807kWh/yr
Hamilton: 8,807kWh/yr
You can measure what you’re currently paying against our data above. If you find that you’re paying too much for energy usage, you can take active steps to lower your bill.
By simply turning off the lights when not in use, switching off your heat pump earlier, taking shorter showers, and the like, you can considerably lower your power expenses each month. This helpful practice will save you hours of searching for the cheapest power company reviews in NZ!
The Best Power Companies in NZ Reviewed and Compared
Having gone through that, we now present to you the very best power companies in NZ!
1) Flick Electric Co.
BEST FOR | Customer satisfaction |
SERVICES | Personal Business Moving house |
ADDRESS | Kent Terrace, Wellington, New Zealand 6011 |
CONTACT DETAILS | +64 800 435 425 [email protected] |
OFFICE HOURS | Monday – Wednesday: 8.00 AM – 8.00 PM Thursday – Friday: 8.00 AM – 4.30 PM Saturday – Sunday: 8.30 AM – 5.00 PM |
PLANS & PRICES | Fixie plan Freestyle plan (currently available due to high prices) Find out how much you will pay here |
Flick Electric Co is dedicated to supplying power to Aotearoa fairly and honestly, to benefit the people and community they’re in.
They were shown to have the highest satisfaction score of 76% by Consumer NZ. They also bagged Canstar Blue’s Most Satisfied Customers award for 2020.
If there are any savings to be had from your local grid, they will accordingly pass them to you, so that you get a good deal.
You can choose to pay monthly, fortnightly, or weekly. They have two power plans: Fixie and Freestyle—the latter being temporarily halted due to high prices.
Furthermore, they let you track carbon emissions produced for your power via the Choice app. And to balance those, you can donate to their partner organisation Trees That Count.
Flick Electric’s flexible payment schemes, high consumer satisfaction rate and sustainable energy efforts are what made us consider them to be the one of the best NZ power companies.
Pros
- Top-rated customer service
- Fair and transparent pricing
- Carbon emission tracker with Choice
- Flick app available
Cons
- Freestyle plan is currently unavailable
2) Electric Kiwi
BEST FOR | Great power savings |
SERVICES | Power service |
ADDRESS | Level 4/99, Quay Street, Auckland Central, Auckland 1010, New Zealand |
CONTACT DETAILS | Chat with them here [email protected] |
OFFICE HOURS | Live chat Monday – Friday: 8.00 AM – 10.00 PM Saturday – Sunday: 10.00 AM – 8.00 PM |
PLANS & PRICES | Kiwi Loyal Kiwi Stay Ahead 200 Find out how much you will pay here |
If you want to get big savings for your power, consider switching over to Electric Kiwi—considered by many to be the best and cheapest NZ power company.
First, the power company offers upfront competitive prices with guaranteed savings. To take it even further, you get one hour of free off-peak power every day.
This means that you can choose any off-peak hour in the day where you can maximise the use of your appliances as you want at no charge at all!
What’s more, it takes just 2 minutes to sign up online or through their app. Should you change your mind, you can easily call it off as there are no joining and breakage fees.
You can pick from their Kiwi, Loyal Kiwi, and Stay Ahead 200 options. Monthly, fortnightly, and weekly payments are offered.
Also, their customer service team is ready to assist you via email or live chat during working hours.
Pros
- Low prices
- Simple sign-up process
- Free hour of off-peak power daily
- Electric Kiwi app available
Cons
- No other online tools
Customer Reviews
People raved about their amazing prices, simple sign-up process, and free hour of power. Here are some client testimonials from their website:
Jamie, one power user, said this:
“Customer service cannot be faulted, low prices and the Hour of Power motivates our family to go hard at the cleaning for an hour each day.”
Also, another customer left this comment:
“They were quick to respond and get the power running for my house. Everything is online, which is quite cool!”
3) Meridian
BEST FOR | Renewable energy |
SERVICES | Home Business Farm Moving |
ADDRESS | Level 2, 55 Lady Elizabeth Lane, Queens Wharf, Wellington 6011, New Zealand |
CONTACT DETAILS | 0800 496 496 [email protected] |
OFFICE HOURS | Monday – Friday: 8.00 AM – 5.00 PM Saturday – Sunday: closed |
PLANS & PRICES | Home and bach plan Electric car plan Solar plan Find out how much you will pay here |
Although others make great efforts to take care of our planet, Meridian goes all out to provide NZ with renewable energy by wind, sun, and water.
They can supply environmentally-friendly power to your home, business, and farm. However, as expected, it’s not exactly the cheapest NZ power company, but this is easily overlooked by its amazing sustainable plans.
They have plans for home and bach where you only pay whenever you use the electricity, an EV car plan for $300 and the energy-efficient solar plan.
Meridian also provides a round-the-clock support team who can help you determine the right power plan with the best rates. You can also call on them if you encounter a problem or emergencies regarding your plan.
Pros
- 100% renewable energy
- $200 credit upon joining
- 24/7 customer support
- Reliable app
Cons
- Expensive rates
4) Powershop
BEST FOR | Smart online tools |
SERVICES | Personal Business |
ADDRESS | Level 2, 55 Lady Elizabeth Lane, Queens Wharf, Wellington Central, Wellington 6011, New Zealand |
CONTACT DETAILS | 0800 1000 60 [email protected] |
OFFICE HOURS | Monday – Friday: 8.00 AM – 7.00 PM Saturday – Sunday: closed |
PRICES | Find out how much you will pay here |
Thanks to its smart online tools and fantastic customer service, Powershop has the edge over other electricity providers in NZ
Through their online shop app, you can buy Powerpacks to supply power to your home for a set number of days.
The app also gives you real-time insights into your power usage. Thus, you can adjust your habits to lower your bill or lessen your power use at certain times to help the environment.
When you sign up with Powershop, you are not locked into a contract. There are no penalty fees and you are free to continue your plan or leave as you see fit.
Also, you can choose whether you want to make regular payments on your chosen date or whenever you receive your salary—you get total flexibility with them!
We absolutely love Powershop’s flexibility and usage tracker as these are important features when looking for the best power company in NZ.
Pros
- Excellent customer service
- Has a Powershop mobile app
- No lock-in periods
Cons
- Some would prefer traditional power plans
- Higher rates than other providers
Customer Reviews
Customers find that being able to pay weekly with them to reduce your bill at the end of the month a very convenient feature. Plus, they also said that Powershop’s customer service is exceptional.
One customer named Liz said of the power company:
“Thank you Power Shop for helping my elderly mother out of a sticky situation your credit team went above and beyond and went that extra mile appreciate the excellent customer service and professionalism again thank you.”
Also, check out a review from another satisfied customer, Jessie:
“I love everything about Powershop! From the moment I switched over to them a couple of months ago, everything has been a breeze. all the insights on the app are super handy and it allows you to Prepay power and chip away at it weekly, taking the stress out of having a big bill at the end of the month. I have the ability to enter a meter read (Smart Meter) and it keeps the estimate honest! Their customer service and communication is second to none! Would highly recommend switching to Powershop!”
5) Energy Online
BEST FOR | Easy application |
SERVICES | Personal Business Moving house |
ADDRESS | 94 Bryce Street, Hamilton Central, Hamilton 3204, New Zealand |
CONTACT DETAILS | +64 800 086 400 [email protected] For a live chat, click here |
OFFICE HOURS | Monday – Friday: 8.00 AM – 6.00 PM Saturday – Sunday: closed |
PLANS & PRICES | Standard User Daily Charge: 230.91 cents/day Uncontrolled: 25.49 cents/kWh All-Inclusive: 23.67 cents/kWh Controlled: 20.35 cents/kWh Day: 28.72 cents/kWh Night: 15.19 cents/kWh Low User Daily Charge: 30.00 cents/day Uncontrolled: 34.58 cents/kWh All-Inclusive: 32.76 cents/kWh Controlled: 29.45 cents/kWh Day: 37.69 cents/kWh Night: 24.63 cents/kWh |
Energy Online keeps everything easy with an application procedure that can be done within 5 minutes. They also provide affordable prices without any gimmicks and surprises, always a plus for us when searching for the best power companies in NZ.
They are a full utility company offering electricity, LPG, and natural gas products.
For electricity, they offer Standard User and Low User plans with a wide range of options to suit your needs and budget.
The standard option is great if you consume more than 8,000kwH per year, while the low user plan gives more value if you use under 8,000kwH of power per year.
To figure out the best plan for you, you can get in touch with the team by phone or live chat from Monday to Friday from 8.00 AM to 6.00 PM.
Pros
- Competitive prices
- Easy application process
- Mobile app available
Cons
- No smart online tools
- No eco-conscious features
FAQS about the Top Power Companies in NZ
And that completes our review of the top power companies in NZ. If you’re looking to save more on your power use, these electricity providers are great options!
Has everything been clear so far about our list? If you have any questions, you can drop us a line, and we’ll sort you out promptly.
Need a speedy Internet service? If so, you may want to look up the best internet providers in NZ where you can get great value for money as well.