New South Wales residents may expect to see a drop in their energy bills, with three major companies locking-in reductions over the next five years.

Sydney’s western suburbs will benefit the most following the submissions of five-year price proposals by Ausgrid, Essential Energy and Endeavour Energy. The providers have asked for increases equal to or below inflation.

For most of the state the deals only mean that energy price increases will be slower than those of petrol or household items, but for western Sydney families; prices will drop.

With some minor fiscal trickery, the State Government says for wages which increase in line with CPI, households will save money on power because their bill increases will not keep pace with their income.

NSW Treasurer Mike Baird says the changes are significant and hard-won.

“The NSW government has been working hard to rein in power prices through network reform,” Mr Baird said.

“The pricing proposals lodged by the network businesses show that our reforms are working to take some of the pressure off businesses and deliver cost-of-living relief to hard-working NSW families.”

The greatest movement from the new pricing is for Endeavour Energy’s customers in western Sydney and the Illawarra region, where the average bill over the next year is expected to fall by $1.71.

It seems like a minor decrease, but it is long-awaited reprieve for customers who have experienced the 69 per cent increase across NSW between 2006 and 2012.

Some reports have credited the turnaround to a revamping of the electricity network to slash costs.