Small electricity retailers have gained 10 percent of all New Zealand customers for the first time.
Photo: Paul Moss Photographer Artist NZ [CC BY-SA 2.5]
The Electricity Authority's 2016-17 annual report shows that five new retailers entered the market in that time.
Overall, small retailers gained 33,953 customers.
The standouts were Electric Kiwi, Flick Electric and Pulse Energy.
However, Flick went on to lose customers at the end of the reporting period, when the winter drought pushed up spot prices, leaving households exposed.
Total customers fell from a peak of 23,323 to 20,822 at the end of August.
Of the majors, only Mercury gained significant numbers of customers.
The report shows that the electricity industry appears to have handled the winter hydropower shortage well, but it is still working on a more thorough investigation.