The power giant's price cut fight comes as householders in the Cootamundra electorate face climbing power bills.

For two years the independent Australian Energy Regulator (AER) tried to reduce energy bills for households and businesses.

But Essential Energy fought the price cuts that would have saved an average household $313 a year.

Documents obtained under Freedom of Information by NSW Labor show that Essential Energy spent $1,774,866 to challenge the AER’s price cuts.

Country Labor’s Candidate for Cootamundra Charlie Sheahan said the AER’s price cuts would have saved small businesses an average of $523 each year and seen total savings of $1.719 billion for Essential Energy’s customers in the four years to 2019.

"In May, the AER’s final appeal was dismissed meaning consumers will be hit with higher electricity bills over the next couple of years," he said.

"Labor will re-regulate the electricity market to help households and businesses struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living they have suffered under this Liberal-National Government.

“For an average family in Cootamundra, the pain of the Government’s cost of living price increases is going to really hurt.

“Cootamundra residents will be wondering why, if the Government has got so much money in the bank, life under the Liberal-National Government is getting harder not easier.”

Shadow Treasurer Ryan Park said families and small businesses are facing record power bills because the LNP Government did everything it could to drive the price up ahead of privatisation.

“The Liberal-National Government has completely lost control of electricity prices, and Cootamundra residents are increasingly having difficulty balancing the family budget under the Nats," he said.

But NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the Government had a tough choice between supporting jobs for Essential Energy workers or the AER’s price cuts.

“What the regulator would have had us do would have cost hundreds of country jobs,” she said.

“We did not want to see jobs lost in regional and rural areas, the regulator hadn’t considered that in their decision, which is why we appealed the decision. We are doing everything we can to lower cost of living expenses.”