Allan Asher

Allan Asher is the Chief Executive Officer of Energywatch [1], a gas and electricity watchdog, committed to improving the consumer experience of energy markets according to a Times Online article.[2] He sits on the Advisory Board for the Office of Fair Trading. [3]

For over 20 yrs, Asher's been with national and international consumer agencies in developing countries. He lived in Australia and was deputy chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, an energy regulator. He has acted as Director of the Foundation for Effective Markets and Governance in Canberra, Australia, and chair of the International Network of Civil Society Organisations on Competition in Jaipur, India.

He is a barrister and Australian High Court solicitor. He was previously the Campaigns Director of the Consumers' Association.

In addition, Asher chairs the consumer policy committee of the British Standards Institute and acts as a consultant to Consumers' International and to the Consumer Unity and Trade Society (India).

Asher is also a member of Transparency International.

Asher told the Times Onlines that Britain faced an “uncertain energy future” and spoke of “a national energy crisis” [4], in which four million families spend over 10% of their household income on power.

Notes

<Energywatch, http://www.energywatch.org.uk/about_us/chief_executive/index.asp, last accessed 04 March 2008: 21:24/>

<Office of Fair Trading, http://www.oft.gov.uk/about/organisation/board/asher, last accessed 04 March: 21:23./>

<Times Online, http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/related_reports/business_ideas/article3398667.ece, last accessed 04 March 2008: 21:30/>

<Times Online, http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/utilities/article3427276.ece, last accessed 04 March 2008: 21:43./>