Meralco hopes for quick approval of proposed nuclear regulatory body

Filipino energy giant Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) hopes that the bill establishing an independent nuclear regulatory body will be approved by the Senate in June. During a press briefing last week, the company’s Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer, Ronnie L. Aperocho, said that any delay in the bill’s enactment could have negative consequences for hitting the government’s energy targets. Under the Philippine nuclear energy roadmap, the country aims for at least 1,200 megawatts (MW) of nuclear energy capacity by 2032, scaling to 2,400 MW by 2040 and 4,800 MW by 2050. The bill under review at the Senate establishes the Philippine Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (PhilATOM), which will have a control function over all sources of ionizing radiation, including nuclear and radioactive materials and radiation devices. It will also contribute to the legal and regulatory framework to implement the government’s nuclear roadmap. The bill was approved by the House of Representatives in 2023, and the Senate began to discuss it last year. However, Congress is on a four-month break for the midterm elections and should resume normal activities only in June.
During the press briefing, Mr. Aperocho said that without the creation of PhilATOM, it would take years to build a nuclear plant, affecting the country’s capacity to integrate the planned 1,200 MW of nuclear energy capacity into its power supply mix by 2032. Recently, Meralco signed a two-year memorandum of cooperation with state-controlled French multinational Electricité de France SA to explore the potential development of nuclear energy in the Philippines. The two companies will undertake a feasibility study on the technical and economic viability of nuclear energy in the country’s energy mix.