Households will save about $30 a year on their electricity bills under a proposal from New South Wales’ largest distributor.

Ausgrid – which distributes power to 1.7 million homes and businesses in Sydney, the Central Coast and Hunter region – on Sunday announced plans to reduce its network prices by 6 per cent in real terms from July next year.

It would cut about $30 a year from the average household bill, Ausgrid said, on top of the average $76 homes are already saving through $100 million in efficiencies.

Network prices would then remain unchanged in real terms until 2024, according to the distributor’s proposal to the Australian Energy Regulator for the 2019-24 period.

Ausgrid charges come to about one-third of the average household bill.

Chief executive Richard Gross called for greater transparency on bills so customers can better understand the breakdown of their power bill.

“Customers rightly want to know how and why they are being charged for their energy and we support greater transparency in billing,” Mr Gross said.

The proposal will go through a public consultation period and consideration by the regulator before final network prices are set by April next year.

It is the distributor’s first proposal since it was partially privatised in 2016, when the state government sold 50.4 per cent of the distributor to AustralianSuper and IFM Investors for $16.2 billion.

Ausgrid’s network prices amounts to about one-third of the average household bill. Photo: Ausgrid

Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said the proposed 6 per cent savings proved leasing the poles and wires had “delivered greater efficiencies and lower prices for consumers”.

“This government is committed to reducing cost of living pressures.”

Mr Gross said the distributor would also be ensuring a reliable and sustainable network.

“While affordable energy is a major concern for customers, they also expect the network to be reliable, keep the lights on and for us to help them transition to a lower carbon economy,” Mr Gross said in a statement.

“The grid will become a more flexible platform, which will be at the heart of future energy exchanges and we will support this transition while continuing to put downward pressure on our prices.”