Manila Bulletin
Business
The Stock Market
AboitizPower partners with South Korea's KHNP to explore nuclear power shift
Business
The Stock Market
AboitizPower partners with South Korea's KHNP to explore nuclear power shift
AboitizPower partners with South Korea's KHNP to explore nuclear power shift
Published Aug 5, 2026 02:18 pm
AboitizPower Chief Corporate Services Officer Carlos Ramon Aboitiz (2nd from left) and KHNP Senior EVP for the Business Development and Management Division Il-kyung Choi (3rd from right) formalize an MOU on joint nuclear pre-feasibility studies in the Philippines. With them are (L-R) NAPOCOR President & CEO Jericho Jonas Nograles, AboitizPower President & CEO Danel Aboitiz, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin, KNHP EVP - Construction Project Division Seung-oh Hong, and KNHP VP - Overseas NPP Project Office Geun Park.
Aboitiz Power Corp. signed a preliminary agreement with South Korea’s state-run nuclear operator as the Philippine power generator evaluates commercial atomic energy to reinforce national energy security and accelerate its transition to low-carbon electricity generation.
Under the non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed at the headquarters of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) in Gyeongju, South Korea, both companies agreed to pursue joint pre-feasibility studies, cross-border technical information sharing, and specialized capacity-building activities.
The framework will focus on assessing emerging and commercial nuclear power technologies to determine how atomic generation can fit into the long-term Philippine energy matrix.
The partnership comes as domestic power producers face growing pressure to secure stable and low-carbon baseload electricity while expanding renewable energy portfolios.
AboitizPower, one of the country’s largest power producers with assets spanning thermal, hydro, solar, and geothermal power, said the arrangement is a structured mechanism to test the technical and economic viability of nuclear assets.
“This MOU marks a meaningful step in AboitizPower’s efforts to understand nuclear energy’s potential contribution to the Philippines’ energy security,” said Carlos Ramon Aboitiz, the company’s chief corporate services officer.
He noted that any potential commercial deployment of nuclear capacity must be grounded in strict technical assessments and robust regulatory frameworks.
The Department of Energy (DOE) has increasingly advocated for international knowledge transfers and public-private coordination to ensure power grid resilience.
Energy Secretary Sharon Garin explained that cross-border technical partnerships are pivotal to achieving the nation’s energy transition goals.
“The transition toward a secure, clean, and reliable energy future cannot be achieved by government alone,” Garin said.
“It requires strong public-private coordination and the exchange of best practices across borders with experienced industry leaders such as KHNP,” she added.
South Korea’s KHNP accounts for roughly 32.76 percent of its home country’s total electricity output and operates 26 nuclear units. The Korean company brings significant international experience to the partnership, having constructed the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the United Arab Emirates and currently advancing new nuclear projects in the Czech Republic.
Il-kyung Choi, KHNP’s senior executive vice president for business development and management, emphasized that the firm intends to leverage its construction and operational expertise—both domestically and internationally—to support the Philippines’ clean energy objectives.
For AboitizPower, exploring nuclear capability aligns with broader corporate efforts to diversify power generation and address grid supply constraints without compromising climate targets.
While the agreement remains exploratory, it underscores the expanding involvement of private energy companies in evaluating advanced nuclear generation for the Southeast Asian nation. (Gabriiell Christel Galang)