MANILA, Philippines?The Lopez-led Manila Electric Co. has finally agreed to have the Commission on Audit scrutinize its books after the Energy Regulatory Commission directed that the firm be audited to find out if it had overcharged consumers.

Monico Jacob, head of Meralco?s regulatory management office, said the company was now willing to comply with the COA audit, since this would be done to clarify rate-related issues, in compliance with a 2006 Supreme Court order.

Meralco also said Friday its rate increase would only be 1.15 centavos per kilowatt-hour (kWh), instead of the original expected rate increase of 2.41 centavos per kWh, noting that lower generation costs in August would soften the effect of the its P1.9-billion generation cost-related recoveries this month.

Jacob said the power distribution utility had initially resisted a COA audit, as it was going to be done to accede to the request of consumer group National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms.

That particular audit, he said, would have been general in nature and would not have been confined to rate-related issues.

?Had we agreed to the audit earlier, we would have been subjected to a general audit. But now, they have a definite scope of the audit. That?s why we have agreed to comply,? he said.

He said Meralco would provide the COA auditors whatever they needed in looking at the company?s books.

ERC chair Zenaida Ducut, in a September 3 letter to Meralco president and chief operating officer Jesus Francisco, directed the firm to open its books so that the COA could determine whether its past rate increases were justified.

COA chair Reynaldo Villar, in an August 27 letter to Ducut, said the audit would be done in compliance with the Supreme Court ruling in the Meralco vs. Genaro Lualhati, et al case in December 2006.

Meanwhile, Meralco vice president and utility economics chief Ivanna dela Pena said the company?s generation charge for August, which would be the basis for the September generation component of electricity bills, went down to P4.4174 per kWh, from the July level of P4.43 per kWh.

The difference of 1.26 centavos per kWh could then be subtracted from the 2.41 centavos per kWh that Meralco was supposed to add to its September billing, following the Energy Regulatory Commission?s approval of the company?s recovery of P1.9-billion worth of generation cost-related underrecoveries.

The lower August generation charge, however, did not consider the ?line rental? component of the Philippine Electricity Market Corp.?s billing for Meralco?s purchases from the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) last month.