First operational nuke plan likely within Marcos admin — Meralco

Buoyant about the positive prospects in its ongoing development efforts, The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is hoping to see an operational nuclear power plant in the country by 2028 or before the conclusion of the Marcos administration.

Meralco has recently concluded its pre-feasibility study on local nuclear power development, which nominated five particular areas, prompting the company to launch a deeper and more formal study.

The company aims to conduct more comprehensive analyses, including financial safety evaluations, and site-specific considerations for the installation of micro modular reactors (MMRs).

“Our goal is to be able to start an operational plant perhaps in one of the island provinces to produce power and demonstrate that it's a safe mode of producing power. So we hope to do that certainly well before 2028,” Meralco chairman and chief executive officer Manuel V. Pangilinan said at a media briefing early this week.

Cooperative agreement with USNC

Meralco has a cooperative agreement with US-based Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp. or USNC to explore potential areas for the deployment of MMRs.

According to Pangilinan, USNC has also signified its intention to help build a nuclear site under a “buyer-seller kind of a relationship,” which he said is “fine” with Meralco.

Meralco will not directly participate in plant construction. Instead, it will focus on training engineers to specialize in nuclear power.

“What's important is that given the circumstances around nuclear power in this country it is important that we start today with a fairly modest proof-of-concept plan and they're prepared to do that, whatever the size might be 5 or 10 megawatts and located in a safe place,” Pangilinan said.

First to introduce nuclear power

If this development comes to fruition, Meralco will be the first local energy company to introduce controversial nuclear power into the local area — a move that would also support the government’s efforts to diversify its energy portfolio.

Notably, it is important to consider that the process of integrating nuclear power into the main grid would be a lengthy one, as stipulated by none other than the DoE itself.

This is mainly due to the absence of a governing law that can help regulate the local nuclear industry.

Recently, Energy Undersecretary Sharon Garin disclosed that a National Roadmap for Nuclear Power is currently being developed.

This roadmap is aimed at creating a well-structured nuclear policy that would enable seamless integration of nuclear power into the main grid by 2032.

The government had been supportive of the exploration of nuclear power as an energy source in line with the global push to reduce fossil fuel use due to its hazardous carbon emissions.

Nuclear energy could potentially energize small islands by putting up small modular nuclear power plants, especially in areas not yet connected to the main grid.