We're here to help
Electricity is essential to the wellbeing of you and your whānau, so if you're facing any sort of financial, health or functional vulnerability, we're here to help.
Vulnerability is complex and can affect us all in many ways throughout the course of our lives, and we want to make sure that we're giving you the assistance you need, when you need it.
Our Customer Care Policy outlines our commitment to you, as a Z customer, to do our very best to support you and continually bring you top-notch service. Our policy complies with the Consumer Care Obligations set by the Electricity Authority.
If you have any questions about our Consumer Care Policy or our compliance with the Consumer Care Obligations, you can email us on helpwithpower@z.co.nz or call us at 0800 935 328.
Having trouble paying your power bill?
Sometimes life throws challenges your way, and that can make it hard to keep on top of your electricity bills. We get it, and that's a big reason why we don't charge late payment fees or exit fees.
Our priority is to do right by you, so if you think you might have difficulty paying a bill, email our Payments team at helpwithpower@z.co.nz as soon as you can so that we can help.
We'll work with you to:
• Find a payment option that fits with your needs
• Help you to keep your power bill to a minimum
• Seek financial support on your behalf, if you need us to
It's really important that you communicate with us so that we know what's happening in your world, and we're giving you the support you need.
Are you medically dependent on electricity?
It’s critical that you let us know if you or someone in your home, either staying with you temporarily or permanently, is dependent on electricity for medical reasons and the loss of electricity may cause serious harm. You can read more about how the Electricity Authority clarifies medical dependency on their website.
We'll record it on your account so that we do our best to ensure that you continue to have power and can advise you of any planned or unplanned disruptions to your power supply.
Please let us know as soon as possible if you think you or anyone living with you is medically dependent. You can do this by:
1. Calling us on 0800 935 328; or
2. Completing a Medical Dependency form, which you can download from the link below, and return the completed form to us by email at helpwithpower@z.co.nz.
You’ll need to make sure the entire form is completed, including the section that needs to be filled in and signed by the medically dependent individual’s health practitioner (usually a doctor).
Download a Medical Dependency form.
If you have any questions about medical dependency or the Medical Dependency form, our Customer Team is here to help. You can phone us on 0800 935 328 or email helpwithpower@z.co.nz and we'll guide you through it.
You can read more on our helpful information for medically dependent customers page.
Helping you communicate with us
We're proud to provide power to people of all cultures, backgrounds and languages here in Aotearoa.
We'll do everything we can to support you if English is not your first language, or if you need help communicating with us.
Appointing other people to your account
To help you communicate with us, you have the option to appoint an alternate contact person or a support person to your Z account.
An alternate contact person is someone we can reach out to if we are unable to contact you. They can assist with communications, especially if you are experiencing payment difficulties. This person can be a family member, friend, or your nominated support person.
A support person is someone that can assist you in communicating with us, including providing language support or support to you in other situations where you’ve let us know you’d like to involve them. They may also engage with us directly to discuss anything on your account, but they won’t be authorised to make any changes to the account.
For our medically dependent individuals, we can also contact the nominated alternate contact person or support person if we are unable to contact you in the event of any planned or unplanned power outage.
If you’d like to appoint an alternate contact person or support person and have this added to your Z account, call us on 0800 935 328 to tell us their name and contact details. Before you do this, please make sure you have their permission to nominate them and share their information with us.
We also have an interpreter service available.
Helping you through
There's lots of support available to make life a little easier – please know you're not alone.
You may be able to receive financial assistance from Work and Income. You can contact them on 0800 559 009 to find out if you're eligible. We may also engage with Work and Income on your behalf if given approval to do so.
Use MyMSD to book a time for someone to call you.
You can also call them for general enquiries on 0800 559 009.
Money Talks
This free service offers everything: connections with local food banks, guidance on WINZ processes and entitlements and help managing finances and debt, including budgeting advice.
You can also contact them on 0800 345 123.
GenLess
A great place to find tips and tricks on how to use your electricity efficiently and save money on your power bills.
Get in touch with them through their online contact form.
The New Zealand Federation of Family Budgeting Services on 0508 283 438 for advice on bill management.
Resolving complaints
If, for any reason, you have a complaint or dispute with us, let us know as soon as possible so that we can do our best to resolve it.
Contact our team by email at helpwithpower@z.co.nz or phone us on 0800 935 328 (+64 4 472 0080 if you're overseas), and we’ll take you through our free internal complaints process.
You can read about the steps involved in this process in our General Terms and Conditions under section 13, ‘Resolution process and contact details’.
If we’re unable to resolve your complaint within 20 working days, you can take your complaint to Utilities Disputes, who provide a free independent complaints resolution service. They’re available to chat on 0800 22 33 40 or you can email them at info@utilitydisputes.co.nz
To discuss any privacy-related issues or questions you can contact our in-house Privacy Officer at general@z.co.nz. Our Privacy Policy is available for you to read at any time.