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Abstract
The retail electricity market in New Zealand is evolving as the government continues to promote
the development of a competitive and efficient market. Encouraging consumer switching
through the “What’s My Number” campaign is expected to put pressure on electricity retailers to
reduce prices. Recent reports indicate that relatively few customers have switched supplier in
the past two years despite potential average savings of NZ$165 per year per household. This
suggests that non-price factors are also important determinants of switching behavior. We use
choice experiments to investigate residential consumers’ preferences for the attributes of
electricity suppliers and the possible role of attitudes in explaining preference heterogeneity
among the sampled respondents. Data required for the study was collected through a web survey
administered to an online panel of bill payers in New Zealand. Willingness to pay (WTP) is
estimated for attributes of electricity suppliers such as renewable portfolio, local ownership,
discount rates, fixed rate plan, loyalty rewards and supplier type. WTP estimates indicate the
importance of the attributes and hence provide guidance to suppliers in designing their price and
service offers. Knowledge of how attitudes influence switching behavior may inform future
policy directed at stimulating competition in the retail market.