Essential Energy to slash 165 regional NSW jobs

More than 165 jobs are expected to go in NSW with staff at offices in Bathurst, Port Macquarie, Taree, Grafton and Lismore to be the hardest hit.

A spokesperson at the Electrical Trades Union said it is consulting with the company to determine the specifics in relation to Wagga employees.

"The jobs are not limited to just those areas [Bathurst, Port Macquarie, Taree, Grafton and Lismore], so we're trying to extract more information from Essential Energy as part of the consultation," the spokesperson said.

The ETU said more than 2000 jobs have been cut at the company since 2015, which has nearly halved the workforce and drastically reduced the skilled front-line workers.

The ETU also said the company blamed the Australian Energy Regulator for the cuts, saying the money spent on building, upgrading and replacing infrastructure will be cut by 11.5 per cent during the next five years, while general operating expenses need to be reduced by 3.9 per cent.

ETU secretary Justin Page slammed the announcement and said the use of forced redundancies along with a "hunger games" style competition between workers to hold onto their jobs was causing unnecessary hardship.

Workers have been given until July 10 to respond before forced redundancies are implemented, Mr Page said.

"We are examining every legal and industrial avenue available to stop them," he said.

"Since 2015, when the National Party claimed they'd 'saved' Essential Energy from privatisation, we've seen the workforce absolutely gutted, with nearly half the skilled workers responsible for keeping the lights on across regional NSW shown the door."

In a statement, an Essential Energy spokesperson said: the organisation is "committed to maintaining downward pressure on the network component of electricity pricing by adopting new technologies, improving the way we do business, achieving operational efficiencies whilst ensuring a safe, reliable service for our customers".

"The safety of our employees and the communities we serve will always be a fundamental priority as we undertake these changes to our business," the spokesperson said.

"Over the next three to five years, Essential Energy will progress a series of programs and initiatives to deliver a better service at lower cost.

"As we drive efficiencies in our business, we will also be ensuring that we have the right size workforce across our service territory."

The statement ends with: "These changes will allow us to continue to deliver the high quality of service our customers want at a lower cost".

The organisation is yet to answer questions about the jobs in Wagga, but the spokesperson said all employees affected will be "fully supported through the transition".

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