The Australian Energy Market Commission’s Alex Oeser has been appointed to bring a strong consumer voice to two landmark reviews that will feed into the prices electricity and gas customers pay.

The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) has appointed Mr Oeser, a senior advisor in the AEMC’s transmission and distribution networks team, to a Consumer Reference Group for the reviews.

Mr Oeser will be helping ensure that consumers’ perspectives are considered in the AER’s 2020 Inflation Review and Rate of Return Instrument 2022.

The group will be consulting with consumers themselves and advising the AER on its consumer engagement.

AEMC chief executive Benn Barr welcomed Mr Oeser’s appointment to the group and said that listening to the views of consumers was fundamental to the AEMC.

“Ensuring that the long-term interests of households and businesses is taken into account is core to our decision-making,” Mr Barr said. “We considering listening to the voices of consumers, both big and small, as deeply meaningful to our work here.”

Mr Oeser will bring his experience in financial and economic analysis to the table.

This will include advising on cost of capital issues, which are significant as they are a major driver of the regulated returns to monopoly gas and electricity networks. In turn, these returns affect what the companies collect from consumers.

Mr Oeser’s work for the group will also include advising on the impact on consumers of different rules and consumer advocacy, insight and engagement.

At the AEMC, Mr Oeser is leading the rule change process for minimum technical standards for distributed energy resources.

Before joining the AEMC, he was at the NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal.