The Wanganui Gas Company Limited was formed as a private enterprise company in 1879. The business was subsequently acquired by the then Wanganui Borough Council in 1902. Wanganui Gas continued to operate as a Council department until it was formed into a public limited liability company in December 1992. At the same time Wanganui District Council agreed to sell a 25.1% shareholding in Wanganui Gas Ltd to Natural Gas Corporation.
Following deregulation of the industry in 1999 Wanganui Gas signed an agreement to supply Natural Gas to Sky City in Auckland. Sky City became our first major customer outside our traditional sales area. Since then the number of large industrial, commercial and residential customers that we supply gas to has grown month by month.
In November 2001 Wanganui Gas launched Direct Energy New Zealand (Directenz) as our new brand for customers outside our traditional sales areas of Wanganui, Marton and Bulls.
In April 2002 Wanganui Gas entered the electricity retail market and we now supply both electricity and gas to our residential and small business customers here in Wanganui, Marton and Bulls. Today Wanganui Gas is part of a multimillion dollar energy business, focused on providing reliable and cost efficient energy supply service anywhere in the North Island of New Zealand.