Ausgrid cut safety inspector numbers by more than half after receiving a secret report that said it was cheaper for the company to pay compensation for a permanent disability injury than to continue paying for the inspections.

The secret report, conducted by consultancy CutlerMerz and seen by Guardian Australia, recommended Ausgrid slash the inspections it was doing by as much as 55%, saying the cost – $520,219 per year – was “grossly disproportionate to the cost of the consequence being managed”.

CutlerMerz estimated that reducing the number of safety inspections could lead to an additional one person every 40 years becoming permanently disabled, which would cost Ausgrid $500,000 or $28,375 per year.

In light of this “disproportion”, CutlerMerz recommended it was “reasonable to withdra

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