Gas suppliers

Satisfaction with suppliers of reticulated (piped) gas was lower (at 70 percent) than for electricity. The happiest customers – at 83 percent satisfaction – received their gas as LPG in 45kg cylinders.

Reticulated gas

With a 79 percent satisfaction rating, Energy Direct NZ still tops the list of reticulated (piped) gas suppliers. But it’s down 4 percent from last year.

Contact Energy again holds the wooden spoon, although its 63 percent rating this year is an improvement on last year’s 61 percent.

Three-quarters of those on reticulated gas also used the same supplier for their electricity – and they were slightly more pleased with the supplier (compared with customers who used two separate companies for gas and electricity). They especially liked the “dual fuel” discounts and the convenience of receiving a single bill.

4 percent had had problems with their reticulated gas supplier – most commonly poor communications and inaccurate estimates.

See the Survey results for full details of all the ratings.

Bottled gas

In areas where there’s no reticulated gas, people can buy "bottled" LPG gas in 45kg cylinders. They pay an annual fee and then a fee for each cylinder delivered. These customers have more contact with their supplier because whenever an LPG cylinder bottle is empty they have to contact the company and arrange a replacement. So customer service and delivery times are important.

Overall customer satisfaction was high, at 83 percent. Elgas was the clear leader: 88 percent of its customers were satisfied. The other companies rated between 79 and 83 percent (there was little difference between them).

7 percent of bottled-gas users reported problems, most commonly delays in delivery.

We didn’t include responses relating to gas in 9kg cylinders for use in cooktops or barbecues because most people take their bottle to a filling or "swappa" station.