Telstra chief executive Andy Penn is aggressively looking to mitigate energy costs that have slashed earnings by $200 million over the past two years as the telco is readying to build out Australia’s ultra-fast next generation 5G mobile network.

Mr Penn told Fairfax Media during Telstra's annual technology conference in Melbourne on Wednesday that electricity prices have jumped significantly in recent years. The bill shock comes as the company is looking to cut $2.5 billion in costs by 2022 as part of a radical turnaround of the business.

Telstra boss Andy Penn said energy prices increased $100 million for the telco in the last 12 months. Credit:Jesse Marlow

“Our energy costs went up more than $100 million in the last 12 months, so we care about that,” Mr Penn said. The company's fiscal 2017 results also showed a $100 million increase.



In the past 12 months, internet provider TPG Telecom (which is in the early stages of building a mobile network) absorbed additional expenses of $5 million due to “increased electricity prices”. This was one of several “significant headwinds” it faced in fiscal 2018, financial details released on Tuesday show.