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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Trade & Industry devider DOE drafts nuclear agreements as private interest surges

DOE drafts nuclear agreements as private interest surges

Published Nov 24, 2025 12:00 am  |  Updated Nov 22, 2025 01:13 pm
The Department of Energy (DOE) said the agency is ramping up efforts to draft more agreements as private-sector interest in nuclear power surges.
In an interview, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said that several companies are awaiting government guidance to pursue nuclear exploration before they can start developing the nation’s first atomic facilities.
“They’re waiting for us to finalize the site selection and evaluation, and we’re working with some of the countries and some companies to help us complete the site selection [and characterization],” she told reporters. “It’s a very thorough study.”
Garin added that the DOE is “drafting a lot of MOAs (memorandum of agreement) with private companies to facilitate the studies of power plants.”
Major industry players, including Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), Aboitiz Power Corp., and other generation and distribution firms, have already expressed strong interest in pursuing nuclear developments, according to the energy chief.
These projects, once realized, could provide a stable baseload power source, which is especially critical as the growing number of data centers drives higher electricity demand, Garin said.
Garin clarified that most of the nuclear financing will remain private-driven. She had previously disclosed that the DOE would coordinate with the Department of Finance (DOF), the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DepDev), and Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC) to study financial models for the technology.
“If they [MIC] want to invest in nuclear, they can… They have enough access to funds,” she added.
While MIC has assured its openness to support the path to energy security, its president and chief executive officer Rafael Jose Consing Jr. explained that the state-run sovereign fund is still weighing the limitations of its investments due to cross-ownership prohibitions.
“Any potential investment in this sector—whether for the BNPP [Bataan Nuclear Power Plant] revival or new SMR [small modular reactor] technologies—must be carefully weighed against the cross-ownership prohibitions under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA),” Consing told the Manila Bulletin.
“We are currently studying how these legal frameworks apply to our mandate, alongside our financial due diligence,” he added.

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Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Secretary Sharon Garin
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