Compare natural gas suppliers in New Zealand at Canstar Blue. Nova Energy, Genesis Energy and Mercury were compared on Overall Satisfaction, Bill & Cost Clarity, Customer Service, Tools & Advice and Value for Money.
See our Ratings Methodology.
Nova Energy is trated No.1 by Kiwi consumers.
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 friends, family and colleagues which natural gas suppliers they think deliver the best value and service!
Canstar Blue surveyed 549 Kiwis who have a mains gas account for their feedback on the supplier they use.
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:
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.
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.
Find more information on our Most Satisfied Customer methodology.
Nova earns a great set of ratings from its customers, including three 5-Star ratings, including for Overall Satisfaction and, importantly, Value for Money.
Across all other categories, Nova has great 4-Star ratings.
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.
It’s worth noting that Nova also scores very highly in our latest Broadband Award, which you can read more about here.
Genesis Energy earns three top 5-Star ratings, and is the only provider to earn a top rating for Customer Service. However, it also has the lowest approval rating on our table for Value for Money.
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.
Rounding out our awards table, Mercury earns strong 4-Star ratings for Customer Service and Value for Money. However, ultimately, it places third due to a 3-Star rating for Overall Satisfaction.
Mercury is one of the nation’s highest-profile power companies, and 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.
Not all natural gas providers in the market qualify for our ratings (based on minimum survey sample size), but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth considering. Here are more natural gas providers to check out before choosing a supplier:
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.
Pulse Energy is a smaller community-owned energy company. It supplies electricity, gas, solar and broadband services to households and businesses throughout NZ.
Firstgas is part of the Clarus group, one of New Zealand’s largest energy companies. It operates over 2500km of high-pressure gas transmission pipelines and more than 4800km of smaller gas distribution networks across the North Island.
It’s understandable that cost is at the forefront of most households’ minds when it comes to their gas supply, and 40% of the respondents in our award survey cite Value for Money as their biggest concern when rating their choice of gas supplier.
However, what is surprising is the number of people who cite Bill and Cost Clarity (22%) compared to Customer Service (24%). The close numbers underline the importance of clear information in the billing process.
Here’s the full rundown of what the consumers in our survey say are the main things they consider when rating their gas suppliers:
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 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 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.
Bruce Pitchers is Canstar NZ’s Content Manager. An experienced finance reporter, he has three decades’ experience as a journalist and has worked for major media companies in Australia, the UK and NZ, including ACP, Are Media, Bauer Media Group, Fairfax, Pacific Magazines, News Corp and TVNZ. As a freelancer, he has worked for The Australian Financial Review, the NZ Financial Markets Authority and major banks and investment companies on both sides of the Tasman.
In his role at Canstar, he has been a regular commentator in the NZ media, including on the Driven, Stuff and One Roof websites, the NZ Herald, Radio NZ, and Newstalk ZB.
Away from Canstar, Bruce creates puzzles for magazines and newspapers, including Woman’s Day and New Idea. He is also the co-author of the murder-mystery book 5 Minute Murder.
Use gas for cooking because more controllable: 34%
Have compared gas suppliers over past 12 months: 26%
Use gas because it’s cheaper: 22%
Have switched gas suppliers over past 12 months: 11%
Canstar Blue surveyed 5037 New Zealand consumers across a range of categories to measure and track customer satisfaction, via ISO 26362 accredited research panels managed by PureProfile. The outcomes reported are the results from respondents who have a natural gas account. In this case, 588 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:
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