If you have just moved into a new property, you are likely interested to find what power and gas companies you are with – or more accurately, who the previous occupants were with. It’s quick simple to find out who supplies piped natural gas to your address if you know where to look.
You’ll need to quickly look up the Gas Industry register to find your details.
Looking for your power distributor?
If you’re interested in power (not gas) then follow this guide to finding your power retailer. Otherwise… read on!
Can your house be connected to natural gas?
In a very similar manner to electricity – if you are connected to natural gas, you will have a gas distributor and a gas retailer.
However, not all properties can access the reticulated (i.e. piped) natural gas network.
In general – if you are in the a major North Island town or city, you are probably going to have gas available. Check out my page on gas network maps.
If you are in the South Island, I’m sorry but you’re out of luck – the South Island doesn’t have a piped natural gas network in New Zealand. Why? Well basically there is no pipe from the gas fields off Taranaki across Cook Strait!
If you have gas (or are looking to connect) on the mainland your best bet is bottled 45kg cylinders.
Finding your gas network and distributor
The gas distributor is the company that owns, operates and maintains the piped gas network in your area. They take gas from the high pressure national gas transmission network and (after a number of gas pressure changes) connect this into individual properties.
There will only be one gas distributor in your area, and unless you have an issue with the piping on your property, you will likely never need to deal with them.
The main distributors in NZ are Vector (Auckland), Powerco (Takanaki, Manawatu, Wairarapa), Nova Energy, Gasnet (Whanganui, Marton and Bulls) and First Gas (primarily gas transmission).
A gas retailer is who you actually pay for your gas connection and day to day usage. They purchase wholesale gas and re-sell it to you, they will be your main contact for any gas supply issues.
How to find out what gas company you are with
The Gas Industry Co is the gas industry body in New Zealand. They have a really useful page on their website which allows you to look up the details on your individual piped natural connection by either address or ICP number (found on your gas bill, if you have one).
First, go to the Gas Industry Co website.
You’ll be prompted to enter either an ICP number, which is an individual identifier associated with your gas connection, or an address. Your ICP number will be on a recent gas bill, so we’ll assume you don’t know this.
Type in your address and hit go.
If you are not the only dwelling at your address (e.g. apartments, subdivided property, flats etc) you may get multiple results.
In this case, I have looked up who supplies power to my favourite local takeaway! To make this work I had to look up the land parcel (335 Lake Road) which resulted in the sub-addresses popping up.
Once you have selected your property, you’ll by rewarded with an extract from the registry with the data on your individual property.
I’ll point out some of the key bits of info you might be interested in.
If you have just moved into a property, it will be the gas company that the previous occupants were signed up with. Even if the gas is disconnected, you should have a gas retailer associated.
In the instance of who supplies gas to the above address, you can see the code is “GENG”, which is for Genesis Energy.
Why is my gas disconnected?
With rising gas prices and a growing aversion to burning fossil fuels, an increasing number of properties are seeking to disconnect from piped natural gas.
It may be that your property was connected in the past, but is no longer. This is the case with my home residence – which helpfully shows that the property with a status of disconnected, along with my local gas distributor and historical retailer.
Choose a gas retailer
Once you have established who supplies gas to your address, you don’t have to stick with them. You have the freedom to choose your gas retailer.
Remember to take a gas reading as soon as you move in, and provide them with this reading when you sign up. This way you can make sure you are not paying for the previous occupant’s usage!
Here’s a complete list of NZ gas companies with contact details.
If you are happy with the gasretailer who is currently associated with your address, then you can contact them to arrange continued supply. They will then add your details to the account.
If there is anything I’ve missed or you are interested in knowing more about your power connection, use the contact form.
– TPG