Best-Rated Natural Gas Suppliers

Compare natural gas suppliers in New Zealand at Canstar Blue. Genesis, Mercury, Contact, Nova Energy and Frank Energy were compared on Overall Satisfaction, Bill and Cost Clarity, Customer Service, Tools & Advice and Value for Money.

See our Ratings Methodology.

Most Satisfied Customers | Genesis

Genesis delivers gas and customer satisfaction, rated the No.1 supplier of natural gas by Kiwi consumers.

How we rate natural gas suppliers

Our review compares natural gas suppliers on customer satisfaction, so you can discover what other Kiwis think about our natural gas retailers before you make your own choice. Think of it like asking hundreds of your closest friends which natural gas suppliers they think deliver the best value and service!


Canstar Blue surveyed 555 Kiwis who have a mains gas account for their feedback on the supplier they use.

  • The outcomes reported in these ratings are measured via accredited research panels managed by Qualtrics.

Respondents rate their satisfaction with their natural gas suppliers from zero to ten, where zero is extremely dissatisfied and ten is extremely satisfied. Brand satisfaction was rated by respondents on the following criteria:

  • Overall Satisfaction: measures consumer satisfaction with a natural gas supplier as an individual score NOT a combined total of all criteria.
  • Bill & Cost Clarity: the billing provides accurate details of gas usage and associated costs.
  • Customer Service: the customer service provided by the natural gas retailer is helpful, prompt and of a high standard.
  • Tools & Advice: the natural gas supplier provides tools and advice, for example online or via apps, to ensure a smooth supply of natural gas and to allow customers to optimise their gas usage.
  • Value for Money: the natural gas supplier offers great value for money when comparing service, product and price.

The winning natural gas supplier is the one that receives the highest Overall Satisfaction rating once all the scores from the Overall Satisfaction criteria are combined and averaged.

  • Overall Satisfaction is asked as a specific question and represents an individual measure, not a combined total of all criteria.
  • When we cannot determine a clear winner from the criteria for the Overall Satisfaction rating, we will then look at the other criteria measured in the rating.
    • The brand with the highest number of five-star ratings within the supporting criteria will become the five-star recipient in overall satisfaction, and thus win the award. If a clear leader still cannot be determined from the supporting criteria, joint winners will be declared.

Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included, so not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The brands rated in this survey are listed below in order of best overall satisfaction.

  • Genesis
  • Mercury
  • Contact
  • Nova Energy
  • Frank Energy


Find more information on our Most Satisfied Customer methodology.

Natural Gas Suppliers in New Zealand

  1. Genesis
  2. Mercury
  3. Contact
  4. Nova Energy
  5. Frank Energy

Genesis

Ratings Results

This year’s award result marks back-to-back wins for Genesis. It’s the second year in a row that Genesis has won Canstar Blue’s top award for mains gas, and also the second year in a row that the power company has won our top Bottled Gas Award, too.

And it’s clear that the energy company is delivering plenty of customer satisfaction along with its mains gas supply. For not only does Genesis earn a top 5-Star rating for Overall Satisfaction, it’s a consumer rating it achieves across all categories in our award ratings except Bill & Cost Clarity, for which it earns a great 4-Star rating.

Editor’s Notes

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, natural gas and LPG.

For more details, check out Genesis’ website.


mercury energy logo yellow

Mercury

Ratings Results

Second in our award ratings this year, Mercury scores a great set of scores from its many satisfied customers. For Bill & Cost Clarity and Value for Money, which is always an important category, it achieves top 5-Star ratings, and in all other categories it earns 4 Stars.

Editor’s Notes

Energy retailer and generator Mercury 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.


Contact Energy Logo NEW

Contact

Ratings Results

In total, Contact earns a tally of three 4-Star rating, including for Overall Satisfaction, Value for Money and Customer Service. Importantly, it achieves a 5-Star rating for Value for Money. It earns just one 3-Star rating, for Tools & Advice, which the consumers in our survey rated the least important factor when it comes to their satisfaction with their natural gas providers.

Editor’s Notes

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.


Nova Energy

Ratings Results

Scoring a 4-Star rating for Overall Satisfaction, Nova earns its best rating, 5 Stars, for Bill & Cost Clarity. However, Nova also earns the less praiseworthy distinction of being the only mains gas provider to earn a 2-Star rating, which Nova customers award it for its Tools & Advice offerings.

Editor’s Notes

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.


Frank Energy

Ratings Results

Frank Energy rounds out our awards table with a consistent set of 3-Star ratings. While not a top rating, 3 Stars still indicates that Frank’s customers are happy with the products, service and value offered by the power brand.

Editor’s Notes

Originally established in 1999 as Energy Online, the company was purchased by Genesis Energy in 2002 and rebranded as Frank Energy in 2021.

Frank Energy offers electricity and gas plans, along with LPG bottled gas. The power company focuses on providing not only smart apps and online services, but great customer service, too.

What’s the difference between natural gas and bottled gas?

While bottled and natural gas perform the same tasks – both are used for heating and cooking in the home – there are differences between the two:

Natural gas

Natural gas is often referred to as mains gas or piped gas. It is primarily methane, unlike bottled gas, which is usually butane or propane.

There are over 2500kms of high-pressure supply pipelines across New Zealand’s North Island.

This mains gas network provides a natural gas supply to over 60,000 households. The gas is supplied via a meter, and customers pay a bill for their usage, in the same way as they are charged for water and electricity.

Bottled gas

Bottled gas is either butane or propane gas that has been compressed into a liquid form and bottled. When release from its pressurised container, the liquid reverts to a gas, which can then be burned to fuel heating or cooking in the home.

Because the mains gas network is limited to the North Island, and new mains gas connections are prohibitively expensive, bottled gas is the only option for many households if they want a gas supply.

For more information on our bottled gas award, click here.

About the editor of this page

This report was written by Canstar’s Editor, Bruce Pitchers. Bruce has three decades’ experience as a journalist and has worked for major media companies in the UK and Australasia, including ACP, Bauer Media Group, Fairfax, Pacific Magazines, News Corp and TVNZ. Prior to Canstar, he worked as a freelancer, including for The Australian Financial Review, the NZ Financial Markets Authority, and for real estate companies on both sides of the Tasman.

More Information

Key statistics

Understand info on gas bill: 52%

Know how to turn off gas at mains: 41%

Understand benefits of gas as a fuel in home: 39%

Gas provider delivers good value for money: 38%

Use gas because it’s cheaper: 29%

Have compared gas suppliers online: 25%

Gas supplier provides the tools to enable efficient gas usage: 27%

Understand how to check safety of gas appliances: 27%

Average monthly gas bill: $100

Canstar Blue surveyed 5046 New Zealand consumers across a range of categories to measure and track customer satisfaction, via ISO 26362 accredited research panels managed by Qualtrics. The outcomes reported are the results from respondents who have a natural gas account. In this case, 555 New Zealanders. 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. Not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The ratings table is first sorted by star ratings and then by mean overall satisfaction. A rated brand may receive a ‘N/A’ (Not Applicable) rating if it does not receive the minimum number of responses for that criterion.

The past winners from Canstar Blue’s Natural Gas ratings:

  • 2022: Contact Energy
  • 2021: Frank Energy
  • 2020: Mercury Energy
  • 2019: Mercury Energy
  • 2018: Mercury Energy

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