Energy Security Warning: Metro Manila Could Experience Prolonged Blackouts Without Urgent Power Plant Development
There is a real potential danger that the Philippines’ main island of Luzon could be plunged into a long and debilitating power outage if the government fails to improve power supply by 2030.
It will be an unpleasant experience that the 12 million residents of Metro Manila would not like to experience again. It could also be a total disaster for the country’s economy, particularly the manufacturing and semiconductor industries that are heavily dependent on power.
The last time the National Capital Region (NCR) had experienced about 10 to 12 hours of power outages was in the erly 1990s when the late former President Corazon Aquino failed to build a single power plant during her six-year term, from 1986 to 1992. Fast forward to this day, as power demand grows due to rapid urbanization and industrialization, including the dramatic sales of electric vehicles, there is a need to build more power generation plants and to look for sustainable sources of energy, such as hydrocarbon fuels, coal, natural gas, and renewables, like wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, and even nuclear.
Truth matters. Quality journalism costs.
Your subscription to Mencari (Australia) directly funds the investigative reporting our democracy needs. For less than a coffee per week, you enable our journalists to uncover stories that powerful interests would rather keep hidden. There is no corporate influence involved. No compromises. Just honest journalism when we need it most.
According to 2023 data from the Department of Energy, an estimated 20 to 22 percent of the country’s power generation requirements came from natural gas, a key resource to transition the Philippines from dirty fossil fuel to renewable green energy.
More than half of the country’s energy requirements were imported abroad, according to former Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla, making the Philippines vulnerable to supply and price fluctuations. The unstable prices of fossil fuels abroad were partly caused by sanctions imposed by the United States and other Western countries.
President Donald Trump had also slapped higher tariffs on Indian exports after New Delhi decided to buy cheaper oil from Russia. In the Philippines, most power plants, or 63 percent, were dependent on coal. More than 80 percent of coal requirements were imported, and less than 20 percent were locally supplied. Almost 100 percent of imported coal comes from neighboring Indonesia.
Worried about the country’s energy security with the current mix of energy sources, the government wanted to diversify its energy sources. The Marcos administration said natural gas is vital in the country’s long-term energy transition strategy, shifting from coal to renewables, like solar and wind With Malampaya gas fields rapidly depleting unless new oil and gas fields are discovered, developed, and extracted, the future appeared bleak.
Malampaya’s output has declined to supplying 1.2 to 1.3 gigawatts (GW) of electricity, down from a peak of 3.2 gigawatts. A fourth Malampaya gas field will be drilled this year, hoping to increase its output to 1.7 gigawatts. Still, not enough to ensure energy security and avert potential outages in the future, The new Energy Secretary, Sharon Garin, promised to prioritize energy security, sustainability, and affordable renewable energy, like solar, wind, and nuclear.
The Philippines has solar and wind farms, but the investments in these renewable energy sources are not cheap. Power generated from solar and wind is also unreliable. The biggest potential comes from nuclear, although operating a nuclear power plant has some political costs due to unpleasant experiences with the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant.
The Marcos administration is not closing its doors on nuclear energy after the former Biden administration had promised to deliver a modular nuclear reactor to the Philippines. IN 2023, Manila and Washington had signed a “123 agreement” to build and supply micro-reactors, mlounted on trucks.
However, the United States does not have an operating modular nuclear reactor until 2028. Washington also would like to test its modular reactors in the country, making the Philippines a test site.
Moreover, the US company, Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp., has technical difficulties in getting its product operational. It also has financial problems, delaying the project. Only China and Russia have existing modular nuclear reactors. But they are not yet selling and sharing their technology. At present, South Korea, Japan, China, and Russia are the world’s top producers of tradtional nuclear reactors for power generation.
However, there are limitations in contracting these four states to build nuclear power plants. For instance, the escalating tension in the West Philippine Sea could prevent the Philippines from trusting China, through its CNNC, to build its nuclear power plant. Japan’s Hitachi and South Korea’s KEPCO also had their problems.
Japan’s nuclear power technology was questioned after the Fukushima incident, and South Korea had its own financial woes, particularly KEPCO. In the past, KEPCO had offered to rehabilitate the moribund Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. It appeared that Russia’s RosAtom had fewer issues.
Like KEPCO, it has also offered to build nuclear reactors for the Philippines after it won contracts to put similar nuclear power plants in India, Bangladesh, Turkey, Egypt, and Hungary. He Philippines must not limit itself to the United States to provide nuclear reactors to generate power. It must look for cheaper, reliable, and time-tested partner for nuclear energy, not just the United States,
The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of this publication.
Got a News Tip?
Contact our editor via Proton Mail encrypted, X Direct Message, LinkedIn, or email. You can securely message him on Signal by using his username, Miko Santos.
Sustaining Mencari Requires Your Support
Independent journalism costs money. Help us continue delivering in-depth investigations and unfiltered commentary on the world's real stories. Your financial contribution enables thorough investigative work and thoughtful analysis, all supported by a dedicated community committed to accuracy and transparency.
Subscribe today to unlock our full archive of investigative reporting and fearless analysis. Subscribing to independent media outlets represents more than just information consumption—it embodies a commitment to factual reporting.
Not ready to be paid subscribe, but appreciate the newsletter ? Grab us a beer or snag the exclusive ad spot at the top of next week's newsletter.
