Genesis Energy, the country's largest energy company by customer numbers, says electricity retail connections fell by 1.2 per cent to 514,155 between the end of September and the end of December 2016.
In an update to the NZX, Genesis said the fall in connections, combined with reduced national demand, saw electricity volumes sold fall by 3.2 per cent in the mass market, and 3.6 per cent in the time of use market.
Retail gas sales were flat on a quarter to quarter basis, but were up 1 per cent on the previous year.
LPG sales were a bright spot however, with the number of connections rising 5 per cent between the end of September and the end of December to 17,513. Connections were also up 22 per cent on a year earlier. Retail sales volumes rose 25 per cent to 1,101 tonnes.
The average price received for electricity generation was $47.07 per gigawatt hours, down by almost a third from a year ago. This reflects a wet spring, with hydro generation up 22 per cent on a year earlier. Thermal generation was down 37 per cent, while total coal generation fell 92 per cent on a year earlier.
