All about meter reading visits and how to tell if your bill is based on an estimate or meter reading.

All about how to give us a meter reading, when, and what happens next.

All about meter set ups, tarrifs and rates, and replacements.

You’ll need to sign up with us, which involves a credit check, before we can sort out your reconnection.  

Call us and we’ll get the process underway.  

We can arrange reconnection for you on the same day, next day or after hours/Saturday.

Our contractors may need to visit your property to reconnect your power manually. Depending on your meter, we may be able to reconnect your power remotely. Reconnecting gas must be done manually.

See our reconnection fees for costs.

These fees don’t include the cost of work carried out by an electrician or electrical inspector, like a Certificate of Verification (CoV). You will need to check this added cost with your electrician.  

Call us and we'll get the process underway.

We’ll need to check:  

• how long you’ve been disconnected – if longer than six months, you’ll need to a CoV that shows your property is safe to reconnect.  
• that any debts have been paid in full.

You’ll need to pay the full amount owing and top up your account, so your balance is at least $30 in credit.  

Then call us on 0800 266 861 during our call centre hours (7am-6pm Monday to Friday). For safety reasons, someone over 18 will need to be home to get reconnected.  

In most cases, we should be able to reconnect you the same day as long as it’s during our call centre hours.  

Reconnection outside these hours may take longer. While you’re disconnected any charges that are billed daily will still apply.

Usually the same contractor who completed your disconnection will also get you reconnected. Please contact us so we can arrange your reconnection if your network is: 

• PowerCo
• Wellington Electricity 
• Unison Networks 

If you are unsure of your network company you can find out here.

For gas reconnections, please call us on 0800 80 9000 to arrange the reconnection.

If your electricity or gas has been disconnected for six months or more, you’ll need to get a Certificate of Verification (CoV). This shows the property is safe to have the supply reconnected.  A registered electrician, registered gasfitter or electrical inspector will need to inspect the property and issue the CoV. 

For electricity when you have the certificate you’ll need to call us to book a reconnection. We will arrange for one of our technicians to meet you at the property. You’ll need to have the certificate with you so they can check it. You’ll have six months from the date the CoV was issued to reconnect the power. 

For gas we need to reconnect the gas at the same time as the inspection, as the inspector needs flowing gas to do their safety checks. When you book a reconnection, please ensure you have a registered gasfitter available to meet our contractor onsite. We will need their details to request a reconnection.

If you or someone in your household is medically dependent on electricity, call us straight away and we’ll get the process underway.  

We’ll ask you a few questions and work towards getting you reconnected.  

If it is an emergency, call 111.  

Having more than one service with us can save you money and make paying your bills easier.

Simply, head to our Make Changes web page to:

• add an extra property, select add property
• add broadband, piped gas or bottled gas, select change plan.

Alternatively, log into your account and select 'change plan'. 

Sometimes it can be hard to find the correct address in our national electricity registry, this can be because the data is out of date or does not match your postal address.

Information that will help us find the correct address is:

• previous supplier
• meter serial number
• ICP number (you can find this on a bill, sometimes it is on the meter)
• previous occupier details
• name or names of the owner - this may be the landlord

This information can be emailed to us at help@contactenergy.co.nz.

If you are having issues with the address, call us on 0800 494 847.

If you have signed up with us in the past, and used the same contact details, you may need to contact us to sign up rather than using our online sign up journey.

We won’t charge you any fees for switching to us if the power is already on at the property. If the power is off we will need to arrange a reconnection.

We recommend you check your current retailers terms and conditions to check there isn’t any outstanding obligations with them when you switch.

How to generate and sell energy to Contact

If you're generating your own power, we can pay you for any excess power you generate and top you up from the national grid, if you get low.

You'll need to make sure of a few things first. Find out more about how to create and sell your energy to us.

How to create & sell energy to Contact

Your pricing plan will reflect the meter set up that is selected on the Contact application form. If we are unable to install the meter set up you have requested, we will contact you to discuss the pricing plan options for your import meter load. 

For most customers, you will see the amount of distributed generation you’re selling back to us on your electricity bill. 

For our Residential customers, you can contact us on 0800 266 841 or send us an email if you have any questions. 

For our Commercial and Industrial customers with a Time of Use meter, you will need to invoice us for your surplus export meter units. Please contact our sister company Simply Energy on 0800 100 249 who can explain this or click here to send Simply Energy an email.

Most residential solar installations will be under 10kW, your electrician will be able to confirm this for you.

You will find our fees for a meter change on our service fees page.

Our contractor will attend your property to install the meter.

If the contractor attends and finds the meter board or wiring isn’t correct, we’ll be in touch and let you know the options. 

Our field services contractor will install the meter once your application has been approved.

Before arranging the contractor, check with your electrician that all necessary wiring and inspections have been completed, and any certificates have been gained. 

The installation of the meter can take up to 30 working days to complete. The contractor may attend any working day within that time frame but will contact you or your electrician to confirm the day. 

If you have further questions on distributed generation, we are happy to help! 

Distributed generation output for:

• less than 10 kilowatt (kW): Send us an email or call us on 0800 266 841.
• greater than 10 kilowatt (kW): Contact our Collaborative Solutions Team on 0800 100 249 or send us an email. 

If there are serious concerns for your health or wellbeing because of a power cut or a piped gas outage, call an ambulance.

It is vital that medically dependent customers have an emergency response plan in place in the event of a power outage or a piped gas outage.  Outages can happen suddenly during bad weather or emergency repair work.

What to do in the event of an unexpected outage: 

• Make sure you have a standby battery fully charged. 
• Go to a friend’s or family members house that still has energy supply. 

If neither of these options are available, seek assistance from your nearest hospital or medical centre.

Please let us know immediately if you or someone in your house depends on mains electricity or piped gas for critical medical support - where no electricity or piped gas could result in loss of life or serious harm. This applies to both medical and other equipment needed to support treatment.

Register with us as medically dependent by:

1. Downloading the medical dependency form. 
2. On the form, please ensure you have either authorised that we can confirm medical dependency with a health provider (e.g. your GP) for the medically dependent person, or completed the entire form, including the section that needs to be filled in by a health provider.

Once you have done either of these, please send, post, or scan the form back to us at: 

• Email: contact.medicalqueries@contactenergy.co.nz 
• Post: Contact Energy, PO Box 624, Wellington 6140 

When we receive the form, we will assess whether you or someone at the property meets the criteria for Medically Dependent and register the account accordingly. 

For any further questions, contact us.

A customer is vulnerable if the disconnection of electricity to that domestic consumer presents a clear threat to their health or wellbeing due to: 

• Age  
• Health 
• Wellbeing 

Or if it is genuinely difficult to pay for electricity bills because of severe financial insecurity whether temporary or permanent. 

We take our obligation to assist customers in vulnerable circumstances seriously. 

If you or someone in your household fits this description, please contact us immediately. 

We will discuss options like: 

• setting up a payment arrangement 
• applying to Work and Income for advice or assistance 
• approaching another social agency for assistance, advice, and budgeting 

Also, if you think you may have issues with future payments, or communicating with us, you can appoint an alternate contact(s) who agrees to assist if a disconnection or payment issue is pending. An alternate contact could be a family member, friend, or social agency support person. 

If you’re having work done to your property and are worried about safety, you can arrange for your power or gas to be temporarily disconnected.

You may also need to temporary disconnect your electricity if you are:

• trimming trees around power lines or,
• making repairs to your electricity service line.  

In most cases we’ll need two working days’ notice to arrange a temporary disconnection. 

In most areas, you’ll need to contact your lines company, as they will be doing the disconnection.

If you are unsure of your lines company, you can check here.

In the following areas, we will contact the lines company for you. 

• Wellington Electricity 
• PowerCo 
• Unison Networks 

If you are in one of the areas above, contact our call centre on 0800 80 9000 to arrange the disconnection.

All about when you should and how to temporarily disconnect your gas.

You’ll need to get a Certificate of Verification (CoV) for electricity if you have: 

• disconnected your property for more than 6 months 
• any wiring work that requires a change at the mains (for example adding a second phase) or a new switchboard. Additionally you will need a Record of Inspection (RoI) to certify the new wiring on site
• if the temporary disconnection was following a fire or another safety related reason 

If you no longer need electricity at your property now or in the future, then it can be disconnected and the metering removed.  

You may need to permanently disconnect electricity:  

• before demolition of a property 
• before relocating a building 
• following a fire at the building 
• for safety 
• before decommissioning of the ICP (Installation Control Point) 

Please contact us to arrange the disconnection.

It is important that our contractors do this work, rather than an electrician, to ensure we get the correct meter reading.  

The meter owner also needs to collect the meter. If a meter is lost or removed, you may be charged a fee by the meter owner. 

If you are unsure of your meter company, you can check it on this website.

A disconnection can take 10-30 business days to complete. 

If you are demolishing a building, relocating a property, or there has been a fire, you may need to permanently disconnect the property which includes the removal of the electricity or gas meter. 

It's important that our contractors do this work so that we can reclaim the meter and ensure we gain a correct final reading to bill you on. If a meter is lost or removed you may be charged a fee by the meter owner.   

Depending on which region you are in, we can arrange a permanent disconnection for you. We charge a fee for this, and there may be additional costs from the network and any contractors. In some regions this process is handled by the network directly.  

We need a minimum of 10 working days for a permanent electricity disconnection and it can take up to 30 days to complete. Gas disconnections may take longer. We will need to sign you into the property while this process is taking place.