Electricity Authority data shows Genesis Energy shed a net 35,000 customers in a year — mainly because of its Frank Energy brand retirement — while Contact, Electric Kiwi and Meridian gained ground.
New Zealand's electricity retail market saw just under 458,000 customer switches in the year to June, with the country's largest gentailers accounting for most of the movement, according to Electricity Authority data covered by RNZ.
Genesis Energy was the biggest loser, shedding a net 35,015 customers over the period — and nearly 51,000 over two years. The primary cause was the retirement of its budget brand Frank Energy, which stopped accepting new customers in June 2025 and had existing customers migrated to the Genesis main brand, unless they chose to leave.
Powerswitch general manager Paul Fuge said the Frank closure was the clearest trigger visible in the switching data. "We saw a significant increase in Powerswitch traffic and switching activity from June 2025, which coincided with Genesis's announcement that its budget brand Frank Energy would be phased out."
Who's gaining, who's losing
The net customer movements across major retailers were:
- Contact Energy: gained 20,577
- Electric Kiwi: gained 11,590
- Meridian: gained 10,288
- Nova: lost 9,059
- Manawa: lost 3,329
- Mercury: lost 2,706
- Genesis: lost 35,015
Meridian added more than 100,000 gross new customers over the year but also lost 93,919 — a high churn rate that saw it net just over 10,000.
Why switching rates matter
Fuge said smaller challenger brands were a key acquisition vehicle for the larger gentailers. "Where the gentailers want to acquire, they have these challenger brands and that's their vehicle for acquisition, generally."
He noted a pattern of customer disengagement in the retail market. "There's a large cohort of customers who just sit with their incumbent retailer and will grumble a bit but tend to stay with them even though they could do better with a lower-cost provider."
The data showed gentailers were becoming more selective. Conversion rates on the Powerswitch platform had been declining — meaning retailers were turning away more applicants than previously, according to RNZ. Fuge said that suggested retailers were growing more nervous about taking on customers they perceived as higher credit risk, and were more carefully screening applicants.
"The market isn't as competitive as people might think in terms of acquisition. Retailers want customers, of course, but they want a certain type of customer," he said.
This article is for general information only and is not personalised financial advice. Seek advice from a licensed financial adviser (registered on the FSPR) for guidance specific to your situation.