MikeLigalig.com

By Marie S. Neri

The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) urges its critics to refrain from any speculations about the possible refund after the Commission on Audit (COA) claimed that the distribution utility collected excess revenues for the year 2004 and 2007.

In a statement, Meralco president and chief operating officer Jose P. de Jesus said that "premature judgment and speculations could raise undue expectations by consumers of a refund," which should be disallowed since there was no final ruling yet on this matter.

“We (Meralco) maintain that we did not overcharge. Our unbundled rates were duly approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) in 2003 after extensive evaluation by the commission of the property we use and the expenses we incur in providing electricity service, ”de Jesus said.

Meralco vice president and Utility Economics head Ivanna de la Peña said that “only actual costs incurred and assets ‘used and useful’ in delivering service in the year 2000 were incorporated in the ERC-approved unbundled rates. The rates were not adjusted for any incremental costs/assets after 2000. Thus, none of these incremental costs were passed on to consumers.”

Year 2000 was the test year for the rate unbundling applications of all distribution utilities.

“So if we charged only those that had been allowed, how could we be accused of overcharging when we did not pass-on to our customers the so-called disallowed items in the first place?” de la Peña said.

The Meralco statements were in reaction to an earlier COA audit report, which claimed that the utility company committed overcharging by including unnecessary expenses, property and equipment in its rate adjustment approved by the ERC in 2003.

De Jesus also assured the public that the Meralco board of directors and its officials, both past and present, had always exercised prudence in their decisions, particularly with regard to those that directly affected customers. - PNA

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