On 25 July 2024, the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) self-initiated a review to address the important role that electricity pricing, products and services will play in supporting the diverse needs of customers, including delivering the consumer energy resources (CER) necessary for the energy transition. The review, Electricity pricing for a consumer-driven future, will examine how markets and regulatory frameworks can provide the products and services that best match consumer preferences now, and into the future.
Draft Terms of Reference
The AEMC released a draft terms of reference alongside the review’s announcement. The AER made a submission on these draft terms of reference on 27 August 2024.
Consultation paper
On 7 November 2024, the AEMC published a consultation paper for its self-initiated Pricing Review. The consultation paper’s purpose was to seek stakeholder feedback on the AEMC’s intended approach for the Pricing Review and to describe its outlook on what the future energy system could look like.
On 20 December 2024, the AER made a submission to the Consultation paper.
Discussion paper
On 3 June 2025, the AEMC published a discussion paper for its Pricing Review. The paper sought to test and validate with stakeholders what the AEMC have heard about the problems identified, why they are occurring, and whether they will persist in the future in the absence of reform.
The AER lodged a submission on 14 July 2025 which:
- shares implementation insights from the AER’s role in tariff review
- explores how pricing interacts with other elements
- highlights the need for better alignment to support demand-side flexibility
- discusses challenges in how network price signals are translated by retailers into customer offers
- offers potential opportunities for future analysis and exploration. Pricing reform should seek to improve both individual responsiveness and support a broader shift toward orchestrated flexibility and integrated distribution system operation. This can also build on other reforms including in relation to CER data availability, metering, and consumer protections.