Privacy Policy

 In accordance with the New Zealand Privacy Act 1993, Mercury Energy maintains high standards for the protection of data to ensure that customer information remains private and is only used for the purpose it was collected.

This policy explains how these standards are maintained regarding:

    *Data and information collected or generated from visits by customers/visitors to the site.
    *Customer data transmitted across the public internet.
    *Website security.
    *Use of 'cookies' to manage a website visit.
    *Use of data and information collected from website visits.
    *Use of email for customer communications.

This policy is regularly reviewed and if necessary updated to meet Mercury Energy customer requirements for internet privacy. Customers will be notified if changes are made to the Website Privacy and Security Policy or the way Mercury Energy implements or operates its website.

Collection of data and information from website visits

Collection
Personal information about you (e.g. your name, contact details, electricity usage data) may be collected by Mercury Energy (and/or its subsidiaries) during the course of your use of this website.

The guiding principle is that Mercury Energy only obtains specific and individualised data about its website visitors when such information is supplied voluntarily (e.g. when website visitors send email, respond to customer surveys or use the 'My Account' service on the website). Mercury Energy then uses this information for the purpose of fulfilling visitors' requests.

Mercury Energy automatically gathers generic information to determine the usefulness of its website, in order to plan future customer service requirements. This generic information does not contain the identity of the visitor, but includes the pages that have been visited, how much
time is spent on the various pages, the visitor's domain name (for example company-name.co.nz, ISP-name.net.nz) and the originating web page of the visitor.

Purpose of collection
Mercury Energy will use your personal information only for the following purposes:
    Mercury customers:
    *Supplying you with electricity and associated services, including billing and meter reading.
    All:
    *Responding to requests for information;
    *Providing you with information about goods and services that we, your Network Company (where applicable), and/or (unless you instruct us otherwise) other persons may from time to time wish to offer you.

Access to and correction of personal information
You may at any time request access to, or (if necessary) correction of, any personal information about you held by Mercury Energy.

Customer data transmitted across the public internet

Mercury Energy will ensure that customer privacy is protected when logging onto the website or when using the 'My Account' service. This is done by protecting logon (user name and password) and account data transmitted across the public internet.

256-bit SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) Encryption is used for all traffic sent to and from the website when the 'My Account' service is being used, and when logging onto the 'My Account' service. Browsers unable to support SSL will not allow a customer to logon to the website 'My Account' service.

Email sent to Mercury Energy is not encrypted and is therefore not secure.

Website security

The Mercury Energy website has layers of security to protect it against malicious activity, possible breaches of the system ('cracking') and unauthorised access to customer data.

Customer data or logon information (user name and password) is not permanently stored on the website.

Mercury Energy's employees and website partners are required to protect the privacy of customer data and maintain the integrity of the website during the course of their duties.

Use of cookies

Mercury Energy's website uses both non-persistent and persistent cookies to manage a customer's visit to the site. Non-persistent cookies are temporary and are deleted when a browser session is closed and persistent cookies are used in order that third party vendors, such as Google, can serve ads based on a user's prior visits to the Mercury Energy website (in connection with the display on the internet of Mercury Energy advertisements by third party vendors, such as Google).

Other than as noted above, information about a visit to Mercury Energy's website is not permanently stored on a visitor or customer's personal computer. 

Persistent cookies are typically small text files sent from a website and stored on the visitor’s PC hard drive. They are used to manage site visits, track transactions and collect data about previous transactions. These are usually transmitted back to the originating website on a later visit to it.

While Mercury Energy recommends that users enable cookies on their browsers in order to enjoy all the features of Mercury Energy's website, the decision remains in the hands of the individual.  (The management of cookies will be different depending on each user's PC - refer to your browser help menu for further information).


Google Analytics

Mercury Energy uses services such as Google Analytics, which will issue cookies from their own servers and which will be able to track website visitors throughout Mercury Energy's website and through any other sites that use those services. Mercury Energy does not control how those cookies are issued, or the data that they store. Please refer to the Google Analytics Privacy Policy below for more information.

Google Analytics Privacy Policy

Google Analytics is a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. ("Google"). Google Analytics uses "cookies", which are text files placed on your computer, to help the website analyze how users use the site. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website, compiling reports on website activity for website operators and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google's behalf. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website. By using this website, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above.

Use of data and information collected from website visits

Mercury Energy will not sell or reveal information obtained about its visitors to anyone outside of Mercury Energy unless:
    *It is specifically authorised by the visitor.
    *It is legally required to do so.
    *Such disclosure is required to protect the safety of employees, visitors, customers, or property.

Use of email for customer communications

As part of the customer website registration process or account set up, customers can supply an email address which can be used by Mercury Energy to contact them, respond to messages, confirm services, transmit information requested by a customer or send relevant offers on services from time to time. Mercury Energy does not sell or rent email addresses to third-party organisations.

By default, a customer is:

    opted-in to email marketing.
    opted-in to regular monthly account updates.
    opted-in to Mercury Energy service announcements.