The government is eyeing at least 2,400 megawatts (MW) of electricity from nuclear energy to be operational by 2035.
This developed as the Department of Energy said the current proposed gas aggregation strategy is seen to keep power from liquefied natural gas (LNG) affordable.
Michael Sinocruz, director of the DOE Energy Policy and Planning Bureau, said in an online forum hosted by the German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry yesterday that under the proposed outlook scenarios in the Philippine Energy Plan 2030 to 2050, 8×150 MW worth of small modular nuclear reactors are eyed to be running by 2032. Another 1,200 MW will come from a bigger nuclear power plant in Luzon by 2035.
“We are running our numbers in terms of reliability and cost. We don’t have a fixed number in terms of capacity (for nuclear). We will have a firm capacity to be included in the mix in the succeeding Philippine energy plan once we have a law establishing an independent atomic energy regulatory commission which is still pending in the Congress now,” Sinocruz said.
Sinocruz added so far, the government is not “abandoning” the possible rehabilitation of the Bataan nuclear power plant although a feasibility study is yet to be done to determine if the facility can be revived at a reasonable cost.
Meanwhile, the DOE said the proposed gas aggregation strategy of Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc. and First Gen Corp. could help cushion the impact of a surge in prices of LNG brought about by the Ukraine-Russia war.
“That’s what we are trying to prevent from happening in terms of spikes in the price of imported LNG and the plan is to blend the lower price of Malampaya natural gas with the imported LNG so that we can soften the impact or the volatilities of imported LNG,” DOE Secretary Raphael Lotilla said in an interview with One News on Tuesday.
“By 2026 or 2025, if we are lucky, there will be more LNG supply coming on stream globally and therefore the expectation is that prices of LNG will soften as well,” Lotilla added.
Prime Infra and First Gen are in discussions to develop a gas aggregation framework on blending currently declining volumes of indigenous Malampaya gas with imported LNG.
The framework is seen to provide the lowest cost possible for consumers while enhancing energy security and ensuring a competitive market for power generation. The goal is to complement this initiative to the ongoing commercial development of new indigenous natural gas fields.
