Complaints against New Zealand power companies have surged by 500% over the past five years, raising fresh concerns about accountability and customer service standards across the energy sector.
The trend worsened over the last year alone, with complaints climbing a further 62%.
The complaints were lodged with Utilities Disputes, a taxpayer-independent, not-for-profit body that helps consumers resolve disputes with power companies.
Utilities Disputes Commissioner and Chief Executive Neil Mallon said the organisation received a record 13,554 complaints over the past year.
Utilities Disputes data showed affordability has become a growing concern for households, frequently appearing in complaints relating to power bills, credit issues, and disconnections. In 2021, affordability was cited in just 90 complaints, but that figure has since surged to 1,029.
Billing issues accounted for nearly half of all complaints received by Utilities Disputes, making up around 47% of the total. Many customers raised concerns about disputed usage charges, unclear or confusing bills, and the growing challenge of keeping up with rising electricity costs.
The organisation also reported cases where faulty meters, inaccurate estimates, and other administrative issues contributed to unexpectedly high bills, affecting customers’ ability to pay.
“At the really pointy end, the most desperate cases where they’re facing a disconnection, that’s where we jump in and get involved straight away. And often there’s a whole lot of wraparound support that can go for people if they’re facing disconnection.”
“But it’s dependent on them engaging with the company and the company doing the right thing,” Mallon said.
Mallon said that despite Utilities Disputes having operated for 25 years, many New Zealanders are only now becoming aware of the service.
“We’ll be on every energy bill. So if you look down at your next bill, you’ll see us there with our 0800 number.”
“We get about 25,000 Kiwis coming to us every year, so we’ve got really rich data, and our work is involved in fixing those issues for them, resolving complaints.”
“But we also scoop up all of that data, and if we see anything systemic or a problem that’s affecting everyone, we feed that back into the system and get that fixed.”