Normalizing high power rates

For what it’s worth, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s energy policy remains a benchmark for sustainability and reliability.

- MYRNA M. VELASCO

Had the 620-megawatt Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) not been shelved by the Aquino administration, Filipinos would likely have enjoyed cheaper electricity rates from that technology decades ago.

But what awaits Filipino consumers under the BBM administration could be a lingering legacy of pain. Even decades after he leaves office, ratepayers may still be footing the bill for the surge in electricity rates baked into his current energy policies.

Why? Because the Marcos Jr. administration is pushing costly capacity additions that Filipino ratepayers can scarcely afford, banking on technologies like offshore wind and nuclear power without a credible plan to shield consumers from punishing bill increases.

To be clear, nuclear power pays off in the long run. But without disciplined rate-setting, government guarantees, or control over the front-loading of financing costs, its colossal upfront price tag risks crushing consumers’ pockets long before the promised savings arrive.

Nuclear power remains the country’s unfinished love affair—both literal and symbolic. That is why Energy Secretary Sharon Garin is determined to concretize that vision, pushing nuclear development into the fast lane during the Marcos administration’s final two years.

Even so, nuclear remains a work in progress. Rate impacts must be tamed, and the Philippines must ensure that small modular reactors (SMRs) do not turn the country into a testing ground for technologies still unlicensed in their home markets.