Power companies are among New Zealand's slowest payers in meeting their bills, according to debt collection and credit reporting agency Dun and Bradstreet.
The average payment time has come down, despite the recession, to just over 45.5 days - a reduction of almost three days over the past quarter.
The worst performers, for the seventh consecutive quarter, were in the electric, gas and sanitary services sectors, says Dun and Bradstreet. They were more than a week behind the average, taking just over over 53 days to pay up.
Small businesses and the agriculture industry were among the quickest to pay their bills, and Christchurch is the fastest-paying city.
