Energy Columns in BusinessWorld

SONA 2024 and the nuclear power roadmap July 25, 2024 | 12:02 am   My Cup Of Liberty By Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2024/07/25/610051/sona-2024-and-the-nuclear-power-roadmap/   President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. delivered his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) last Monday at the Batasan Pambansa. Some energy topics that he mentioned in all his SONAs — 2022, 2023, and 2024 — were the push for more renewable energy, the role of Malampaya gas, and power transmission development towards a “Unified Philippine Grid.” See his statements below:   From SONA 2022: “Furthermore, we must examine the entire system of transmission and distribution for the purpose of finding ways to lower the price of energy to the consumer.   “We must expand the network of our transmission lines while examining schemes to improve the operation of our electrical cooperatives.”   From SONA 2023: “We finally have a Unified National Grid, with the interconn...

On coal, gas, and energy security July 18, 2024 | 12:02 am   My Cup Of Liberty By Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2024/07/18/608737/on-coal-gas-and-energy-security/   For this column, I will cover three recent important local events in the energy sector, then look at global trends in the gas trade. First, I went to the Power 102 forum on July 10 at the Seda Hotel BGC organized by Aboitiz Power Corp. (AP) and their partner Manila-based journalists. It drew a big audience — about 60 reporters and journalists from Metro Manila and provincial media, both print and broadcast, covering energy stories. The opening remarks were given by Ronald “Suiee” Suarez, Vice-President for Corporate Communications of AP. Said the soft-spoken engineer: “AboitizPower started this power lecture series in 2023 with a goal to help energy journalists in their professional development by increasing their understanding of an important yet very complex industry. As a follow-u...

Nuclear energy for economic growth July 11, 2024 | 12:02 am My Cup Of Liberty By Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. Share https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2024/07/11/607283/nuclear-energy-for-economic-growth/ T he Department of Energy (DoE) announced last Tuesday, July 9, that the “Agreement for Cooperation Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy” or the “123 Agreement” signed by the US and the Philippines in San Francisco on Nov. 16, 2023, came into force on July 2. It is a beautiful agreement because it provides for the safe and efficient use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes — in agriculture, healthcare, industry, and power generation applications. On nuclear energy development in particular, DoE Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla said that the Nuclear Energy Program-Inter-Agency Committee (NEP-IAC) “is now finalizing the country’s nuclear energy program roadmap which outlines key targets that must be achieved for the successful use of nuclear energy for power generation. Under the 2...

Coal power and the Meralco CSP July 4, 2024 | 12:02 am My Cup Of Liberty By Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. Share https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2024/07/04/605910/coal-power-and-the-meralco-csp/ T his week two groups attempted to advance their degrowth and blackout agenda with their nefarious lobbying. The London-based renewables lobby group Ember-Climate called out the Philippines’ and Indonesia’s high coal dependency and the self-styled “consumer group” Power for People Coalition (P4P) called out Meralco for securing cheap electricity sources for its consumers. Good thing that our Department of Energy (DoE) is not falling for these groups’ agenda. See these recent reports in  BusinessWorld : “Coal- fi red plants can support PHL baseload needs until 2030 — DoE” (June 19), “Philippines’ dependency on coal- fi red power surpasses China, Indonesia” (July 1), and, “Consumer group  fi les petitions vs Meralco’s supply contracts” (July 3). We go straight to the numbers. I checked th...