Privacy policy

Powerco and The Gas Hub are part of your community

Kia ora! We are Powerco Limited and related companies like The Gas Hub.

We own electricity and gas networks throughout the North Island of New Zealand. You can see our power lines along roadsides, and we often have lines and pipes under the road. If you buy electricity or gas from a retailer, our job is to bring it to your door, safely, reliably and efficiently. Here are some other ways we might interact with you:

• We may own lines or pipes on your land, or nearby.
• Your home, business or development may connect to our networks.
• You may deal with, or work for, our contractors or suppliers.
• You may work for retailers or other businesses that we provide services to.
• You may apply for a job with us.
• You may contact us with a question or complaint.
• You may simply visit our website or social media pages.

Powerco is about more than electricity and gas. It’s about people. You are the reason we do what we do. And we care about your privacy.

We care about your privacy

NZ’s Privacy Act applies to us when we deal with personal information.

What’s personal information? It’s information about an identifiable individual. It’s the stuff that can identify you.

This privacy policy is for people outside Powerco. It tells you about:

• the kinds of personal information we may collect and hold about you
• why we collect, hold, use and share that personal information
• how we get it
• who we might share it with outside of Powerco
• how we store your personal information

The kinds of personal information we collect

Let’s start with the basics. We’re likely to collect basic personal information such as your name, address, phone number and email address.

We may collect other kinds of personal information about you depending on the particular interaction we have with you. To find out more, read the section that applies to you (or the business you work for).

customers connected to our networks

about your property	such as ICP, connection type, access, pets and stock on the property, meter location, plans and maps, property photos, GIS data, fault history, installation inspection dates, network category codes, number of people at the property, energy investments (eg solar, pumps, electric fence), retailer
meter data	consumption data from meters connected to our network eg aggregated monthly consumption
about your service providers	details of your service providers that we may need to deal with eg your electrician, builder, gasfitter, surveyor, lawyer, architect, insurer
claims, complaints or disputes	eg the date of the event, what happened, who was involved, what others involved say about what happened, any documents or other information provided to us in relation to the event, emails and other correspondence about the event, recordings of phone calls with us about the event, details relevant to insurance claims, and information that helps us assess the event if we need to pay you, we’ll collect information such as your bank account number
health and safety	eg details of incidents that may involve you
sensitive information	in limited circumstances we may collect sensitive information eg medically dependent or vulnerable people at an address
communications	eg recordings of your calls to us, notes of discussions and meetings, and emails
online interactions	eg details of your visits to our website and social media pages, fields you complete in online forms, details about competitions you enter, and other online interactions we have with you
website analytics, cookies	eg age and demographics (via Google ads and Facebook), IP address, cookie ID, advertising ID, device ID, city, region, browsing behaviour
publicly available information	eg details from LINZ and the Companies Office website, results of online searches, media reports, Council records and archives

 

our contractors and suppliers

about your team	such as names, contact details, job title and addresses, skills and experience, relevant vehicle used
tenders	if you respond to a Powerco request for tender or proposal, we’ll collect the personal information provided in your response and information provided by referees
due diligence	eg details of health and safety site inductions, work experience, cv, records of learning, key personnel, referees
payment	if we need to pay you, we’ll collect information such as your bank account number, GST number, tax declaration, contact for accounts receivable, and we’ll ask you to provide a bank deposit, bank statement or certified bank letter, and to disclose conflicts of interest
health and safety	eg health and safety records, location (when working on lines), results of regular health and safety audits which may include photos
claims, complaints or disputes	eg the date of the event, what happened, who was involved, what others involved say about what happened, any documents or other information provided to us, emails and other correspondence about it, recordings of phone calls with us about the event, details relevant to insurance claims, and information that helps us assess the event
online interactions	eg details of your visits to our website and social media pages, fields you complete in online forms, details about competitions you enter, and other online interactions we have with you
website analytics, cookies	eg age and demographics (via Google ads and Facebook), IP address, cookie ID, advertising ID, device ID, city, region, browsing behaviour
publicly available information	eg details from LINZ and the Companies Office website, results of online searches, media reports, council records and archives

 

landowners and occupants

about your property	such as the address and legal description of land you own, occupy or have an interest in, registered interests over the land, results of LINZ searches, ICP, connection type, access, pets and stock, meter location, plans and maps, property photos, GIS data
owners and occupants	name and contact details of owners and occupiers such tenant, lessee, forestry manager, farm manager
about your service providers	eg your electrician, builder, gasfitter, surveyor, lawyer, architect, insurer
about your trees	such as tree site and notices given and received under tree regulations, emails and other correspondence about your trees near our network, GPS data
payment	if we need to pay you, we’ll collect information such as your bank account number, GST number, tax declaration, contact for accounts receivable, and we’ll ask you to provide a bank deposit, bank statement or certified bank letter, and to disclose conflicts of interest
health and safety	eg details of incidents that may involve you
claims, complaints or disputes	eg the date of the event, what happened, who was involved, what others involved say about what happened, any documents or other information provided to us, emails and other correspondence about it, recordings of phone calls with us about the event, details relevant to insurance claims, and information that helps us assess the event
communications	eg recordings of your calls to us, notes of discussions and meetings, and emails
online interactions	eg details of your visits to our website and social media pages, fields you complete in online forms, details about competitions you enter, and other online interactions we have with you
website analytics, cookies	eg age and demographics (via Google ads and Facebook), IP address, cookie ID, advertising ID, device ID, city, region, browsing behaviour
publicly available information	eg details from LINZ and the Companies Office website, results of online searches, media reports, council records and archives

retailers and others we provide services to

about your team	such as your contact person’s name, job title, phone and email and the names and contact information of key personnel who we may deal with
payment	if we need to pay you, we’ll collect information such as your bank account number, GST number, tax declaration, contact for accounts receivable, and we’ll ask you to provide a bank deposit, bank statement or certified bank letter, and to disclose conflicts of interest
health and safety	eg details of incidents that may involve you
claims, complaints or disputes	eg the date of the event, what happened, who was involved, what others involved say about what happened, any documents or other information provided to us, emails and other correspondence about it, recordings of phone calls with us about the event, details relevant to insurance claims, and information that helps us assess the event
communications	eg recordings of your calls to us, notes of discussions and meetings, and emails
online interactions	eg details of your visits to our website and social media pages, fields you complete in online forms, details about competitions you enter, and other online interactions we have with you
website analytics, cookies	eg age and demographics (via Google ads and Facebook), IP address, cookie ID, advertising ID, device ID, city, region, browsing behaviour
publicly available information	eg details from LINZ and the Companies Office website, results of online searches, media reports, council records and archives

the wider community

job applicant details	if you apply for a job with us, we’ll collect the contents of your cv and job application as well as information provided to us by your referees or recruitment agencies, assessments
stakeholder communications	eg notes of consultation with you as a stakeholder in our community, answers to surveys you complete online or at events
health and safety	eg details of incidents that may involve you
claims, complaints or disputes	· eg the date of the event, what happened, who was involved, what others involved say about what happened, any documents or other information provided to us, emails and other correspondence about it, recordings of phone calls with us about the event, details relevant to insurance claims, and information that helps us assess the event · if we need to pay you, we’ll collect information such as your bank account number
communications	eg recordings of your calls to us, notes of discussions and meetings, and emails
online interactions	eg details of your visits to our website and social media pages, fields you complete in online forms, details about competitions you enter, and other online interactions we have with you
website analytics, cookies	eg age and demographics (via Google ads and Facebook), IP address, cookie ID, advertising ID, device ID, city, region, browsing behaviour
publicly available information	eg details from LINZ and the Companies Office website, results of online searches, media reports, council records and archives

Why we collect, hold, use and share personal information

Our business is to keep the lights on and the gas flowing, and we collect, hold, use and share personal information to help us do that.

The particular reason why we may collect, hold, use and share your personal information depends on our interaction with you. To find out more, click on the links that apply to you (or the business you work for).

customers connected to our networks

We may collect, use, hold and share your personal information in order to:

• bring electricity and gas to your door, safely, reliably and efficiently
• connect your home, business or development to our networks
• upgrade your supply or change your connection
• disconnect your supply
• understand the requirements and performance of our networks
• tell you about planned outages and keep you updated
• respond to interruption in your supply or unplanned outages
• plan and arrange works on our networks
• update and maintain our customer records
• contact you (including in an emergency)
• answer your questions
• respond to claims, complaints or disputes that involve you
• keep our networks, our people and the public safe
• meet our internal and external reporting requirements
• run and improve our website

our contractors and suppliers

We may collect, use, hold and share your personal information in order to:

• plan, manage and perform works on our networks
• meet our legal, regulatory and contract responsibilities
• contact you and your team
• assess tenders and proposals you submit
• assess your ability to do the job safely, reliably and efficiently
• instruct, engage and pay you
• respond to claims, complaints or disputes that involve you
• keep our networks, our people and the public safe
• meet our internal and external reporting requirements
• run and improve our website

retailers and others we provide services to

We may collect, use, hold and share your personal information in order to:

• plan, manage and perform works on our networks
• meet our legal, regulatory and contract responsibilities
• contact you and your team
• understand your requirements, provide you with services and to pay you
• respond to claims, complaints or disputes that involve you
• keep our networks, our people and the public safe
• meet our internal and external reporting requirements
• run and improve our website

landowners and occupants

We may collect, use, hold and share your personal information in order to:

• get the property rights we need to install and operate our networks
• access and maintain our networks when we need to
• pay you if we need to
• respond to claims, complaints or disputes that involve you
• keep our networks, our people and the public safe
• meet our internal and external reporting requirements
• run and improve our website

the wider community

We may collect, use, hold and share your personal information in order to:

• run and improve our website
• run our competitions that you enter
• respond to claims, complaints or disputes that involve you
• assess your job application if you apply for a job with us
• engage with our stakeholders
• keep our networks, our people and the public safe
• meet our internal and external reporting requirements

We may also collect, hold, use and share your personal information for other reasons permitted by NZ’s Privacy Act eg with your permission or where the law permits or requires it.

How we get personal information

We collect personal information directly from you when you interact with us.

We may also collect personal information about you from others where we consider it appropriate or necessary to do so, such as our contractors and suppliers, your retailer, your service providers eg lawyer, surveyor, property manager, insurer.

If you choose not to provide us with your personal information, we may not be able to properly provide the assistance or services you require.

Who we might share personal information with

We share personal information within Powerco for the reasons we collect it. See ‘Why we collect, use, hold and share personal information’.

We may share personal information outside Powerco:

• if sharing that information is connected to the reason why we collected it eg with our contractors, suppliers and retailers to keep the lights on and gas flowing to customers - safely, efficiently and reliably
• with our professional advisors when we use professional services
• with legal and regulatory authorities, and to others who we are permitted or required by law or regulation to share it with
• with a court, tribunal or authority in the course of proceedings or investigations
• with anyone else as permitted by the Privacy Act or with your consent

How we store your personal information

We take reasonable steps to secure the personal information we hold from risks such as loss and interference and unauthorised access or use. For example, our systems are password protected and we use security measures for the internet.

Access to some kinds of personal information (such as consumption data from your meter) is restricted to authorised people within Powerco, who need to access those records as part of their role.

Personal information may be electronically archived.

We may send data to providers (in NZ or overseas) to hold or process for us e.g., cloud storage providers. The data we send may include personal information. Because the providers are our ‘agents’, the personal information is treated as being held by us (not ‘shared’ with the provider), and we’re responsible for how it’s dealt with.

We take reasonable steps to destroy personal information when we no longer need it for the reasons we collected it.

How you can ask to access and correct your personal information

Under NZ’s Privacy Act, you can ask to access personal information we hold about you. You can also ask us to correct personal information we hold about you.

To make a request, please email privacy@powerco.co.nz and we’ll explain the process.

If there’s a valid reason why we can’t meet your request, we’ll give you an explanation.

Get in touch

We’d love to hear from you! If you have any questions or comments about our privacy policy, please email privacy@powerco.co.nz.

If you’re not ok with the way Powerco has dealt with your personal information, you can make a complaint to our Privacy Officer. Please email privacy@powerco.co.nz.

Updates to our privacy policy

We regularly review and update our privacy policy so it’s accurate and relevant. The current privacy policy is available here at www.powerco.co.nz/privacy-policy.