Meralco shifts focus to larger nuclear plant

November 18, 2024 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), chaired by tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan, is leveraging France’s nuclear expertise to explore the potential deployment of a large-scale facility in the Philippines.

“We might be entering into a feasibility study with the French government. This is not for the smaller ones but the bigger ones like conventional,” Meralco EVP and COO Ronnie Aperocho said in a recent interview.

Following recent initiatives to study available nuclear technologies, Aperocho said the power distribution giant is now setting its sights on developing a nuclear plant with a capacity of up to 1,200 megawatts (MW).

France, he said, has been building nuclear facilities since 1948, and its technologies are already considered “mature” globally. Nuclear energy also accounts for about 75 percent of France’s power generation mix.

“For them, the construction of nuclear power plants has become almost a ‘copy-paste’ process, and their safety record is well-established,” the Meralco executive pointed out.

This partnership with France is aligned with the government’s thrust to have at least 1,200 MW of nuclear capacity by 2032 and double this up to 2,400 MW by 2035 and to 4,800 MW by 2050.

“We see nuclear as the ultimate solution for our requirement for a reliable power supply baseload. As we know, renewables are intermittent. So in terms of reliability, nuclear is what is being recognized globally,” Aperocho said.

While awaiting the release of potential nuclear sites by the Department of Energy, Meralco is finalizing the terms of its agreement with the French government to launch the feasibility study early next year.

“MVP (Pangilinan) wants it done fast. The instruction we received is to assign point persons to work on the terms of reference. Definitely, it should be ready within the next two to three months,” the Meralco official said.

However, all these preparations to unlock the power of nuclear technologies would heavily depend on legislation, particularly the creation of a regulatory body.

Under the country’s nuclear roadmap, the government wants a fully operational and independent nuclear regulatory commission by 2026, the creation of which is expected to address critical safety concerns.

“We’re already laying the groundwork and conducting all the necessary studies. That way, once the law is in place, we can ensure quick execution. Building a nuclear power plant takes several years, so the timeline must be strategic,” Aperocho underscored.

This latest move by Meralco is a big leap from its earlier plan to roll out small modular reactors, or nuclear technologies that have a capacity of up to 300 MW.

In real terms, one MW of nuclear capacity can power up to 1,000 homes.

As part of its commitment to advancing nuclear development in the country, Meralco is also planning to send a new batch of Filipino engineers to France under its nuclear scholarship program.

Earlier, the company sent its pilot batch of scholars to partner institutions in the US and China.

They are expected to return to the Philippines in 2028 and take on new roles in Meralco’s nuclear operations.

Pangilinan has said that building a talent pipeline of nuclear energy experts would pave the way for “a smarter and greener future for our country.”