In 2009, faulty electricity poles were found to have caused five of the black Saturday bushfires in Victoria which killed 173 people.

The Electrical Trades Union on Monday launched a campaign calling for upgrades to power lines, poles and wires across Australia.

The union claims the energy regulator has reduced electricity companies' budgets by $10 billion in 10 years, resulting in cuts to upgrade and maintenance projects.

ETU national secretary Allen Hicks said cost cutting has left the electricity grid "dangerously neglected".

"This is a matter of life and death for communities and workers - we cannot wait until after a horrific bushfire for change," he said.

"Commonwealth and state governments need to act now, before a coroner's report forces them to."

The union is calling for federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor to change the regulator's decision-making process to prevent cuts to funding for maintenance and network upgrades.

It also wants improvements to the regulator's assessment of maintenance and upgrade proposals.

Thirteen network distribution businesses maintain the poles and wires across the national electricity grid.

Australian Energy Regulator chair Clare Savage said spending by the network businesses was routinely monitored and reported on.

"The AER's role is to ensure that consumers pay no more than is necessary for safe and reliable electricity by distribution networks," she said in a statement.

"To do this we need to strike a balance between providing incentives for investment by the network business to maintain its poles and wires, and how much this will impact on the everyday household power bill.

"That's why we look at what is the most efficient spending to accommodate the reliability and safety requirements of the distribution networks, including expenditure to mitigate bushfire risks."

Australian Associated Press