Contact and support

Control-a-bill

Control-a-bill lets you take control by evening out your payments, so you pay the same amount weekly, fortnightly or monthly.

• Payments will be automatically debited from your nominated bank account

• Your prompt payment discount will be applied each month when your bill is produced

• We’ll make sure your payments are in line with your usage and let you know if they need to change

• You can easily make changes to your payments

To set up Control-a-bill, call us on 0800 300 400 for residential customers and 0800 600 900 for business customers and we can discuss what your payment amounts would need to be.

Am I eligible for Control-a-bill?

Control-a-bill is available to all existing and new Genesis Energy residential and small to medium enterprise customers for electricity, reticulated natural gas and/or bottled LPG supply, provided that you must not be in arrears on any of your energy accounts.

How are my Control-a-bill payments calculated?

Your payments are calculated based on your average energy usage over 12 months and takes into account any balance on your account.

If your previous usage is not available, this will be estimated based on the information you provide.

You can calculate your payment amount using our online Control-a-bill-Calculator.

How are my payments reviewed?

We'll review your payments at least once every 12 months, or sooner if it appears that they're are not covering your usage.

If your account is in credit or debit when we complete the review, your fixed payments may change accordingly.

How will I be invoiced/billed by Genesis?

You'll be billed monthly regardless of whether your Control-a-bill payments are weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Your Control-a-bill payment(s) will show up on your Genesis monthly Invoice as ‘Direct Debit Auto' line item(s).

How will I know my payments have changed?

We’ll tell you at least 10 days before the change becoming effective by email or letter.

For Control-a-bill why do I have to pay via direct debit?

Control-a-bill is a fixed (auto) direct debit payment option only, and only works when paying via direct debit. We cannot set-up Control-a-bill via any other payment method. Note, we also need your direct debit details and the agreed Control-a-bill payment amount and frequency to be able to process and calculate your first month's payment free discount.

What if I'm paying too much and my account is in credit, can I get a refund?

Your payments average your usage over 12 months, so you’ll likely see a credit build in summer which will be used in winter.

If your credit gets too high, we’ll review your payments and potentially lower this.

You may request for a credit balance to be refunded. This will be at our discretion and your payment amounts may need to increase to ensure that your usage is covered.

What if I'm paying too little and my account has a debit amount, what does this mean?

If we see your account is in debit your fixed payments may be adjusted up accordingly to correct this. We'll notify you prior to changing it. We may also request your debit balance to be paid off.

What if I need to defer a payment?

We need a minimum of 1 days’ notice before your payment date. You can defer a payment by calling us on 0800 300 400 for residential customers and 0800 600 900 for business customers and following the steps in our IVR.

• Your payment will be split across your next two payments.

• Once the deferred balance has been paid, your payments will return to the normal.

Can I cancel a scheduled Control-a-bill payment?

You are not able to cancel a scheduled payment as your regular Control-a-bill payments are set to be consistent with the amount of energy that you use. You can defer a scheduled payment by up to five days.

What will happen if I miss a payment?

If you miss any of your payments, we may cancel the Control-a-bill and tell you in writing. A late payment fee and/or a dishonour fee may apply to your account. 

If you wish to resume your Control-a-bill, please chat with us to discuss on 0800 300 400 for residential customers and 0800 600 900 for business customers.

Who reviews and adjusts my payments?

We will review your Control-a-bill arrangement at least once every 12 months, or sooner if it appears that your payments are not covering your usage. But you're best to keep an eye on it too. If your account is in credit or debit when we complete the review, your fixed payments may be adjusted up or down to cover your energy consumption. We also may request any debit balance be paid off.

How will I know my payments have been adjusted?

If your payment amounts are adjusted, we will advise you at least 10 days prior to the date the new amount becomes effective.

Cancelling my Control-a-bill arrangement 

If you wish to cancel your Control-a-bill arrangement but remain a Genesis customer, please contact us at least 2 business days before your next payment is due, and you can revert to regular monthly invoicing. Any debit or credit amount on your account, will be applied to your next energy bill.

If you're signed-up to a Control-a-bill 24-month or 12-month fixed term plan, and you want to switch away from Genesis there may be an early cancellation fee charged of up to $200 including GST per customer for a 24 month plan, or $100 incl GST for a 12 month plan.

What if my bank account details change or I want to change the frequency/amount of my payments?

Call us at least two business days before your payment is due and let us know so that we can update your details and ensure that your arrangement can continue without any interruptions.

Can I transfer my Control-a-bill to a new address?

If you change address and you request or authorise us to transfer your Control-a-bill arrangement from your old address to the new one, you will not need to create a new arrangement.

If you or someone in your home is dependent on mains powered electricity for critical medical support, it’s important that you let us know. 

Chat with us so we can start the process of flagging your account for medical dependency. 

Medical dependency can only be confirmed once we have received a completed medical dependency form signed by your Health Practitioner.  You can download the PDF form here.

Genesis provides a wide range of services to support those who are medically dependent, or who simply need help controlling and managing their power bills.

View the ways that we can help you through our Vulnerable Care Package.

If you are medically dependent and without power, please read this important information on what to do.

If you're in credit, you can request a refund through Energy IQ.  

Need more time to pay?

We’re here to help.

You can request a 14 day extension on your overdue balance in Energy IQ

If you want to talk about what options are available for you, chat with us and we’ll be happy to discuss this with you.

Need some further assistance

If you’re having trouble paying your bill, Genesis provides and supports a range of options to help you. 

• Control-a-bill (link to CAB FAQ page) might work for you by evening out the amount you pay
• Contact FinCap who can help you get budgeting and financial capability advice
• Work and Income New Zealand may be able to lend you a hand, call them on 0800 559 009
• If you live in Porirua, South Auckland or Rotorua we can refer you to EnergyMate who are trained financial mentors from their community who can give advice based specifically on your needs 

If you’re not sure what would be right for you, chat with us so we can talk about your options.

If you or someone in your home is reliant on electricity because of your age, health or disability, it’s important that you let us know.

Chat with us so we can flag your account as vulnerable.

Genesis provides a wide range of services to support those who are vulnerable, or who simply need help controlling and managing their power bills.

View the ways that we can help you through our Vulnerable Care Package.  

What is Auto-pay

Auto-pay is the easy way to take care of your energy bill. With Auto-pay, you can pay your energy bill automatically by regular direct debit from your chosen bank account, or set up a recurring payment from your credit or debit card. This means you won’t have to worry about missing a payment, or have the hassle of paying your bill each month manually.

Auto-pay is built-in to our Energy Basic plans, and optional for our other plans.  With an Energy Plus plan, you’ll get a 2% discount for paying by direct debit, and a 1% discount for paying by recurring, variable credit or debit card.  Even better, we don’t charge any credit card fees on recurring payments for our Energy Plus plans.*

You can set up Auto-pay in the Energy IQ App or by calling us on 0800 300 400.

Auto-pay means you give us the authority to charge the amount due on your bill to your bank account or card each month.

*A transaction fee applies to all credit and debit card transactions for all plans other than Energy Plus plans, and to one-off credit and debit card transactions for Energy Plus plans.

Direct debit and credit card terms and conditions apply.

How do I make changes to my Auto-pay?

We can adjust:

• Frequency of payment
• Bank account you are paying from
• Card you are paying from
• Your payments from Control-a-bill to Recurring Payments
• Or Recurring Payments to Control-a-bill

If you're on an Energy Plus plan you can set up, change, or remove Auto-pay at any stage in Energy IQ under “My Details”.

To set up or change your Auto-pay, chat with us and one of our Kiwi based crew will be able to help.

Direct debit and credit card terms and conditions apply.