Mercury Energy
Encyclopedia
Mercury Energy is the retail operating division of Mighty River Power, a New Zealand
State-owned enterprise. It retails electricity and gas to customers, primarily in the North Island
of New Zealand. Mercury has a 19% share of the New Zealand retail electricity market.
The current Mercury Energy took over the trading name and retail electricity business from an earlier company of that name, the electricity lines (networks) business is now known as Vector
. The earlier company known as Mercury Energy was the electricity supplier in the 1998 Auckland power crisis
.
Mercury Energy has won the CRM Contact Centre Awards. The CRM Contact Centre Awards recognise excellence in standards of customer service delivered by contact centres throughout the country. Entrants are anonymously audited via phone and email over an extended period of time using criteria such as answer time, ease of access, product knowledge and operator attitude and efficiency. A vast array of industries from banking and telecommunications to consumer goods enters the awards. In 2005 over 91 companies competed in these awards.
Energy Retailer of the Year 2011
Mercury Energy was awarded the award for Energy Retailer of the Year from the Deloitte Energy Excellence Awards in 2011. Mercury was rated on a strong overall performance, successful improvements to the business, and innovation in product offerings to customers.
to disconnect the electricity supply due to an unpaid power account. Muliaga was using a home oxygen machine
which stopped working when the electricity was disconnected. There is speculation that Muliaga died as a result. However eveidence suggests that Muliaga died of natural causes some 4 hours after the electricity was disconnected, not as a result of a lack of oxygen.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
State-owned enterprise. It retails electricity and gas to customers, primarily in the North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
of New Zealand. Mercury has a 19% share of the New Zealand retail electricity market.
The current Mercury Energy took over the trading name and retail electricity business from an earlier company of that name, the electricity lines (networks) business is now known as Vector
Vector Limited
Vector Limited is a multi-network infrastructure company in New Zealand. It is the national number one provider of electricity distribution, number one provider of gas transmission and distribution, number one provider of electricity and gas metering, number two wholesaler of LPG and number three...
. The earlier company known as Mercury Energy was the electricity supplier in the 1998 Auckland power crisis
1998 Auckland power crisis
The 1998 Auckland power crisis was a five-week-long power outage.Almost all of downtown Auckland in New Zealand was supplied electricity by Mercury Energy via four power cables, two of them 40-year-old oil-filled cables that were past their replacement date. One of the cables failed on 20 January,...
.
Starship Supporters
In 2004 Mercury Energy and the Starship Foundation launched the Star Supporters Club - an initiative where customers are able to make a monthly donation via their Mercury bill to raise money for vital pieces of equipment for Starship Children's Health. Beyond the Star Supporters Club, Mercury Energy hosts a “Stars for Starship” competition each year in which school children are asked to decorate paper stars to help brighten up Starship. In 2010, 894 schools across New Zealand took place in the competition and the best six stars for each school were sent in for judging. Winners received prizes such as money towards books for their schools. This annual event is a big part of the holiday season for Starship.People and Culture
Approximately 250 people work for Mercury Energy with the majority based in their Auckland office. Mercury Energy supports events and community initiatives including the “Knowledge is Power!” informational sessions which take place in West, Central and South Auckland locations.Awards
CRM Contact Centre AwardsMercury Energy has won the CRM Contact Centre Awards. The CRM Contact Centre Awards recognise excellence in standards of customer service delivered by contact centres throughout the country. Entrants are anonymously audited via phone and email over an extended period of time using criteria such as answer time, ease of access, product knowledge and operator attitude and efficiency. A vast array of industries from banking and telecommunications to consumer goods enters the awards. In 2005 over 91 companies competed in these awards.
Energy Retailer of the Year 2011
Mercury Energy was awarded the award for Energy Retailer of the Year from the Deloitte Energy Excellence Awards in 2011. Mercury was rated on a strong overall performance, successful improvements to the business, and innovation in product offerings to customers.
Controversy
On 29 May 2007, a contractor for VirCom EMS was sent by Mercury Energy to the home of Folole MuliagaFolole Muliaga
Folole Muliaga was a Samoan schoolteacher living in Manukau, New Zealand. She was terminally ill with obesity-related heart and lung disease and using a home oxygen machine. She died less than three hours after the electricity supply from state-owned Mercury Energy was disconnected to her house...
to disconnect the electricity supply due to an unpaid power account. Muliaga was using a home oxygen machine
Oxygen concentrator
An oxygen concentrator is a device providing oxygen therapy to a patient at minimally to substantially higher concentrations than available in ambient air. They are used as a safer, less expensive, and more convenient alternative to tanks of compressed oxygen. Common models retail at around US$800...
which stopped working when the electricity was disconnected. There is speculation that Muliaga died as a result. However eveidence suggests that Muliaga died of natural causes some 4 hours after the electricity was disconnected, not as a result of a lack of oxygen.