AboitizPower exec says nuclear needs to be safe, cost-competitive

AboitizPower exec says nuclear needs to be safe, cost-competitive

The Philippine nuclear program should prioritize safety while striving to make prices competitive via quality planning and a sound regulatory environment, an Aboitiz Power Corporation (AboitizPower) official said.

“Number one, nuclear energy has to be safe, full stop. At the same time, it has to be reliable and affordable,” said AboitizPower Head of Energy Transition Projects Felino Bernardo, noting that the lifespan of a nuclear power plant — which can last from 40 to 60 years — factors into its levelized cost of electricity (LCOE).

LCOE measures the cost of building and operating a power plant to determine the needed average revenue per unit of electricity generated.

“Nuclear has a different kind of economics, with high capital expenditures (CapEx) and low running costs,” Bernardo explained. “But these are just the CapEx and running costs. We’re not yet talking about externalities like impact to the environment, to health, and to supporting the growing share of intermittent sources in the electricity grid. We have to take all these into consideration.”

Bernardo made his remarks during the second Ruperto P. Alonzo Memorial Lecture entitled “The Nuclear Option” held at the University of the Philippines School of Economics, Diliman.

The executive added that a major driver of cost in building nuclear power plants concerns interest rates and whether or not construction is on time and on budget.

“Significant delays, combined with high-interest rates, will make a nuclear project uneconomic. It really depends on the quality of planning, the strength of the supply chain, and the regulatory environment,” he said.

Bernardo said that policy would ultimately determine the desired energy mix of technologies as it relates to balancing energy security, energy affordability, and environmental issues and safety, with the latter being the main responsibility of the proposed nuclear regulatory body.

Electricity demand is projected to

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