Inverell will lose seven jobs and Glen Innes, Moree and Tenterfield will lose two each.

Essential Energy Deputy Chief Executive Officer Gary Humphreys said the Australian Energy Regulator’s (AER) 30 per cent cut in operating expenditure had left Essential Energy without funding for an estimated 1,395 positions from July 1 2015.

“Following an extensive review of business operations, we have provided details to employees and the unions around the number of proposed unfunded positions in the first phase of workforce reductions required for our business to remain sustainable,” he said.

“A period of consultation with potentially impacted employees has begun and will continue over coming weeks to explain processes and how they may affect individuals.

“We’ve got to start operating our business with fewer employees, while maintaining network safety and reliability and delivering a satisfactory level of service to our customers, these proposed workforce reductions are regrettable yet unavoidable.”

A second phase of reductions of a further 695 positions will be assessed once the outcome of Essential Energy’s appeal of elements of the AER’s determination is known which is expected in late 2015.

However, Electrical Trade Union Deputy Secretary Neville Betts said the treatment of workers whose jobs have been declared “unfunded” was particularly nasty.

“These workers will have as little as one week of transition training before they are forced to start using up their own annual leave and other entitlements,” he said.

“This treatment only worsens the distress being suffered by many staff, making an extremely challenging time that much harder.

“Even worse, many workers have been left in limbo after being notified that their position is ‘potentially impacted’, but that they will need to wait until October 12 to find out if they will be relocated to another depot, either locally or elsewhere in the state, or made forcibly redundant.”

The ETU also accused Essential Energy of lying about the reason for the cuts.

“Their reasons contradict a statement by Australian Energy Regulator CEO Michelle Groves, who said they have not made decisions requiring particular staffing levels for these businesses,” Mr Betts said.

“We are asking all MP’s and management to investigate every single option including those put forward by the ETU to be investigated and implemented if they protect any number of regional jobs.”

Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall said he is opposed to the federal regulators determination as they have not taken into account the job losses that will occur.

“They haven’t taken into account the impacts to the maintenance of the networks and I will be fighting for local jobs along with the union,” he said.