Bridging the Atom: Energy Players Chart Path for Nuclear Power

With the country evaluating how local industries can participate in the emerging nuclear energy sector, key energy stakeholders gathered to review existing domestic capabilities, address supply gaps, and identify investment opportunities across the nuclear value chain. The discussions took place at the Trade and Industry Building in Makati City during a multi-sectoral roundtable under the Philippine Nuclear Energy Analysis: Assessing Technology Opportunities and Supply Chain Mapping (ATOM) Project, organized by the Board of Investments (BOI) to gather frontline market feedback and validate initial industry assessments alongside the Nuclear Energy Program Inter-Agency Committee (NEP-IAC).

The session was headed by Director Patrick Aquino, CESO III, head of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy Utilization Management Bureau and the NEP-IAC Technical Secretariat. The event brought together energy planners, investors, distribution utilities, electric cooperatives, power generation companies, and supply chain partners. While technical scoping and equipment manufacturing formed an essential part of the agenda, participants also turned their attention downstream, discussing the market mechanisms and commercial structures needed to ensure nuclear-generated power can be delivered reliably and affordably to end-users once plants come online.

Jacqueline Castillo, President and CEO of Mabuhay Energy Corporation (MECO), brought the perspective of a Retail Electricity Supplier (RES) into the dialogue, noting that commercial off-take arrangements must ultimately serve the consumer. "From an RES perspective, the core question has to be: How do we actually bring down the cost of electricity for the end-user? That must be the ultimate goal," Castillo said. "When we contract supply from generators, including nuclear once it becomes available, the challenge lies in utilizing that capacity so it reaches our customers in a way that is dependable, economically viable, and adaptable to their commercial needs."

The push for nuclear baseload comes amid structural shifts in the power sector, including the moratorium on new coal-fired power plants and the rapid addition of variable solar and wind generation. This influx has expanded the "duck curve" on the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, leading to a midday surplus followed by steep evening price spikes. Market observers noted that battery energy storage systems alone cannot resolve this imbalance, as battery charging cycles introduce additional load during off-peak hours, keeping the requirement for steady baseload power a priority.

Planning for nuclear off-takers also requires looking well ahead. Because nuclear facilities involve lead times of 10 to 15 years before commercial operations begin, market participants pointed out that long-term contracting dynamics may change significantly. While distribution utilities and electric cooperatives currently anchor many long-term power supply agreements, contestable commercial and industrial users are expected to comprise a larger, more active share of the contracting landscape.

This reality highlights the operational function of retail suppliers as aggregators and portfolio managers. Nuclear power plants are built to run continuous, flat 24/7 schedules to remain cost-effective, yet individual end-users rarely match that operating profile on their own. "Nuclear generation provides baseload power, but very few individual commercial or industrial customers require a pure twenty-four-seven operating profile on their own," Castillo explained. "That is precisely where an RES steps in. Our role is portfolio management—aggregating diverse consumer classes, from continuous manufacturing plants like cement and semiconductors to daytime-heavy commercial facilities like shopping malls and office complexes, to synthetically build a viable baseload profile that makes multi-billion-dollar plants bankable."

Discussions also addressed spatial and transmission considerations, particularly grid readiness and plant location. Forum attendees noted that concentrating future nuclear assets primarily in Luzon could exacerbate existing regional price gaps among Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Furthermore, historic candidate locations such as the Bataan corridor already experience line congestion, prompting calls to ensure that transmission planning and grid interconnectivity progress concurrently with any generation timeline.

As the ATOM Project continues its five-month stakeholder engagement and mapping process, energy players emphasized that building out the nation's nuclear framework requires a complete market perspective. Ensuring that grid capacity, retail contracting tools, and diversified off-taker portfolios are aligned early will be essential to making future nuclear generation commercially workable for end-users.