Meralco watches nuclear energy developments

By Alena Mae S. Flores

POWER retailer Manila Electric Co. is keeping a “vigilant watch” on nuclear energy developments as the company studies the technology’s role in the sustainability mix.

“The best we can [do] for the moment is to really maintain a vigilant watch over what’s happening with the States, but we’re about five to 10 years away from making a decision,” Meralco chairman Manuel Pangilinan said.

Pangilinan also questioned the country’s readiness to educate the people on nuclear energy.

“But we should prepare for it now, by educating our people in nuclear energy. We should prepare for it though, and I think Meralco is prepared to sponsor scholarship for Filipinos in that particular area,” he said.

Meralco president Ray Espinosa said the company had not allocated any budget for nuclear power projects including small nuclear reactors.

SMR are advanced nuclear reactors with up to 300 megawatts, or about a third of the generating capacity of traditional nuclear power reactors. They are smaller in size than conventional power reactors and easier to install.

“It’s very difficult to budget and forecast nuclear, for instance, because as you know, if you’re talking about SMR, the first of its kind will be delivered only in 2028,” Espinosa said.

He said nuclear pricing for SMR was unclear, and the NuScale Power Corp.’s SMR pilot project was still “a proof of concept.”

Espinosa said the Philippines was also not socially ready for nuclear. However, Meralco plans to apply for a grant with the U.S. Trade and Development Agency for a feasibility study on SMRs for power generation.

“We are applying for a grant with the USTDA to do a feasibility study for SMR. So, it’s in process. But we’re looking into nuclear for feasibility study only,” Espinosa said earlier.

The USTDA links U.S. businesses to export projects by funding project preparations and creating partnerships.

Meralco is studying nuclear power as part of its sustainability strategy through 2050 in the wake of the government’s plan to pursue the technology in the country’s energy mix.

By Darwin G. Amojelar

CEBU Pacific kept its position as the country’s top domestic carrier with a 57-percent market share last year, up 5 percentage points from 52 percent in the pre-pandemic year of 2019.

Citing data from the Civil Aeronautics Board, Cebu Pacific said it flew close to 13.5 million domestic passengers in 2022, up 312 percent from 2021, indicating a strong recovery in both capacity and passenger traffic.

Combined with its international operations, the airline flew over 14.8 million passengers in 2022, or 335 percent higher year-on-year, for a seat load of 75 percent, which improved 14.7 percentage points from 2021.

“Higher travel demand both domestically and internationally, coupled with the easing of various travel regulations, drove the steep recovery for Cebu Pacific in 2022,” the airline unit of the Gokongwei Group said.

Cebu Pacific flew 4.4 million passengers in the fourth quarter, 6 percent higher quarter-on-quarter, for a seat load of 78 percent, up 3.6 percentage points quarter on quarter, as the holiday peak season encouraged a further uptrend in travel demand for both domestic and international destinations.

PORT TO DOOR. Contecon Guayaquil, the Ecuadorian business unit of International Container Terminal Services Inc. and concessionaire of Puerto Libertador Simón Bolívar, introduces Port to Door—an automated cross-docking service that allows customers to receive their cargo directly at their doorsteps. Attending the launch of the new service are (from left) Eduardo Navas, undersecretary of Ports and Maritime and RiverTransport; Sol Medina, CGSA inland services manager; Lancha de Micheo; Pablo Rizzo, president of the board of directors of the Port Authority of Guayaquil; and Andrés Tapia, general manager of the Port Authority of Guayaquil.