New Zealand's Electricity Authority on Wednesday published a post-implementation review that found increasing awareness of services that help consumers with utility disputes and price comparisons following measures implemented in 2021.

The review showed that the majority of retailers and distributors are in compliance with requirements in the country's Electricity Industry Participation Code, making information about the support services generally available to consumers.

Although awareness of dispute resolution services is still relatively low, there are signs of improvement as the latest Utilities Disputes annual report pointed to a 62% year-over-year increase in complaints, the Electricity Authority said.

It added that retailers will be required to furnish information about utilities disputes on power bills starting from Oct. 30, as opposed to providing it only with billing communications.

The review further found that roughly 60% of consumers are familiar with comparison and switching services, but awareness is lower among modest-income households.

The New Zealand-listed shares of Genesis Energy (ASX:GNE, NZE:GNE) and Mercury NZ (ASX:MCY, NZE:MCY) were marginally lower in recent Wednesday trade, while Contact Energy (ASX:CEN, NZE:CEN) fell 2% and Meridian Energy (ASX:MEZ, NZE:MEL) shed past 1%.