The Republic of the Philippines is a constitutional democracy, with the President as head of state. The president and vice president are elected by the people for six-year terms. The national government has three equal branches that exercise a system of checks and balances: executive, legislative and judicial.

The executive branch consists of 26 cabinet, secretariat and equivalent ranks in specialized agencies, the national bureaucracy and the military, of which the president is Commander-In-Chief. The legislative branch of Congress is a two-chamber legislature. There are 24-senators in the Philippine Senate, while there are 290 Congressmen or House Representatives in the 16^th Congress. The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, Regional Trial Courts and other special courts (i.e. Juvenile, Family or Sharing Courts).

Sources: eTravel Pilipinas, Department of Tourism Promotions Board.

The Philippine archipelago lies in Southeast Asia, in a position that has led to it becoming a cultural crossroads, a place where Malays, Chinese, Spaniards, Americans and others have interacted to forge a unique cultural and racial blend known to the world as Filipino. The archipelago numbers some 7,107 islands, as the nation claims an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 200 nautical miles from its shores. The Philippines occupies an area that stretches for 1,850 kilometers from about the fifth to the twentieth parallels north latitude. The total land area is approximately 343,448.32 km². Only approximately 1,000 of its islands are populated; and less than one-half of these are larger than 2.5 km

Topographically, the Philippines are broken up by the sea, which gives it one of the longest coastlines of any nation in the world. Most Filipinos live on or near the coast, where they easily supplement their diet from approximately 2,000 species of fish.

Off the coast of eastern Mindanao is the Philippine trough, which descends to a depth of 10,430 meters. The Philippines is a part of a Western Pacific arc system that is characterized by active volcanoes. Among the most notable peaks are Mount Mayon near Legazpi, Taal Volcano on South of Manila and Mount Apo in Mindanao. All of the Philippines islands are prone to earthquakes. The Northern Luzon highlands or Cordillera Central rise to between 2,500 and 2,750 meters, and together with the Sierra Madre in the northern portion of Luzon and the mountains of Mindanao, they boast rain forests that provide refuge for numerous upland tribal groups. The rain forests also offer prime habitat for more than 500 species of birds, including the Philippine eagle (or monkey-eating eagle), and some 800 species of flowering plants.

The country’s most extensive river systems are the Pulangi (Rio Grande), which flows into the Mindanao River, the Agusan, in Mindanao which flows north into the Mindanao Sea, the Cagayan in Northern Luzon into Manila Bay. Laguna de Bay, southeast of Manila Bay, is the largest fresh water lake in the Philippines. Several rivers have been harnessed for hydroelectric power.

Figure 1. Map showing areas of different climate

The climate of the Philippines is a tropical marine climate dominated by a rainy season, a dry season and a cool season that dominates on November to mid-February. The summer monsoon brings heavy rains to most of the archipelago from May to October, whereas the winter monsoon brings cooler and drier air from December to February. Manila and most of the lowland areas are hot and dusty from March to May. Even at this time, however, temperatures rarely rise above 37şC. Mean annual sea-level temperatures rarely fall below 27şC. Annual average rainfall ranges from as much as 5,000 mm in the mountainous east coast section of the country to less than 1,000 mm in some of the sheltered valleys. Monsoon rains although hard and drenching, are not normally associated with high winds and waves; however the Philippines sit astride the typhoon belt and the country suffers an annual onslaught of dangerous storms from July through October. These are especially hazardous for Northern and Eastern Luzon, the Bicol and Eastern Visayas regions, with Manila getting devastated periodically as well.

The Philippines is the world’s 12^th most populous country, with a population of about 94 million people. Its national economy is the 45^th largest in the world, with an estimated 2010 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Purchasing Power Parity of US$351.4 billion. There are more than 11 million overseas Filipinos worldwide, an estimate of about 11% of the population.

More than 55% of the Philippine population is living on the northern island of Luzon, the National Capital Region (NCR) and part of Luzon, and is the most densely populated area of the country. More than 9.9 million (13.0%) people are living here. The total area of the National Capital area is 636 km² (0.2% of the country’s total land area) and its density is 15.617 people per km².

TABLE 1. POPULATION INFORMATION

							Average Annual growth Rate (%)
Year	1970	1980	1990	2000	2007	2010	2000-2010
Population (millions)	36.7	48.1	60.7	76.51	88.55	92.34	1.90
Population density (inhabitants/km2)			202	255		308	1.91
Urban Population as % of total				48	42.43	45.33
Area (1000 km2)	343.88

Latest available data, population census is conducted every 10 years.

Source: National Statistics Office, www.nscb.gov.ph

As of 01 January 2015, the population of the Philippines was estimated to be 102,333,484 people. This is an increase of 1.90% (1,911,039 people) compared to the population of 100,442,445 the year before. In 2014, the natural increase was positive as the number of births exceeded the number of deaths by 2,040,584. Due to external migration, the population declined by 129,545.

The sex ratio of the total population was 1.006 (1,006 males per 1,000 females) which is lower than the global ratio. The global sex ratio in the world was approximately 1,016 males to 1,000 females as of 2014.

Source: http://countrymeters.info/en/Philippines

TABLE 2. GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP)

							Average Annual growth Rate (%)
Year	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2009-2014
GDP (billions of current US$)	173.60	168.33	199.59	224.75	250.27	272.02	9.40
GDP (millions of constant 2000 US$
GDP per capita (PPP*US$/capita)	1,332.83	1,325.90	1,403.31	1,433.48	1,501.83	1,581.01	3.47
GDP per capita (current US$/capita)	3,375.03	3,357.75	3,553.50	3,629.90	3,802.99		3.03**

*PPP Purchasing Power parity

** Calculated for years 2009-2013

Sources: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/

The National Statistical Coordination Board; www.nscb.gov.ph

Philippine GDP- Annual Growth Rate-Actual data Forecasts

TABLE 3. ESTIMATED AVAILABLE ENERGY SOURCES (2012 -20130)

	Estimated available energy source
	Fossil Fuels			Nuclear	Renewables
	Solid	Liquid	Gas	Uranium	Hydro	Other Renewables
Total amount in specific units	229.9 M MMT with 10,000 BTU/lb	148.8 MMB	2,837.8BCF	No available data	5,934.1 MW	4,537.2 MW
Total amount in Exajoule (EJ)

MMT – Million metric tons

MMB - Mega barrel

BCF – Billion cubic ft.

Source: Philippine Energy Plan, 2012-2030 Department of Energy

TABLE 4. ENERGY STATISTICS

						Average Annual Growth rate (%)
Energy consumption*	2000	2005	2007	2009	2013	2000-2009
- Total, MTOE	39.9	38.5	38.9	39.6		-0.08
Solids** MMT with 10,000 BTU/lb	8,762	10,075	10,215	11,494		3.06
Liquids, MBbl	103.7	98.45	96.48	96.25		-0.82
Gases, MSCF	376	115,988	130,210	138,029		92.74
Nuclear	-	-	-	-	-	-
Hydro, MWh	7,799	8,387	8,563	9,787	10,019,308	73.4***
Other Renewables, MWh	11,317	9921	10274	10403	279042	27.96***
Energy Production	2000	2005	2007	2009	2013	2000 - 2009
- Total, MTOE	19.3	21.2	22.0	23.5		2.2
Solids** MMT with 10,000 BTU/lb	1,353	3,164	3,737	5,176		16.1
Liquids, MBbl	0.42	6.76	5.93	8.38		39.5
Gases, MSCF	376	115,965	130,211	138,030		92.7
Nuclear	-	-	-	-	-	-
Hydro, MWh	7,799,000	8,386,773	8,563,433	9,787,567	10,019,308	1.95***
Other Renewables, MWh	18,986	59,151	79,399	204,690	279,042	23.0***
Net import (Import-Export)	2000	2005	2007	2009	2013	2000 - 2009
- Total, MTOE	19.9	17.3	16.9	16.2		-2.26

*Energy consumption = Primary energy consumption + Net import (Import – Export) of secondary energy.

**Solid fuels include coal, lignite

***Calculated for 2000-2013

AAGR – Average Annual Growth Rate (%)

KTOE – Kiloton Oil equivalent

MTOE – million tons of oil equivalent

MSCF – Million std. cubic ft.

MMT – Million metric tons

MBbl – Thousand barrels

BCF – Billion cubic ft.

Source: Department of Energy, www.doe.gov.ph.

As the country faces the realities of growing energy demand, tight energy supply, limited foreign investments and critical power development issues, the Department of Energy is set to release the Philippine Energy Plan (PEP) highlighting the plans and programs of the energy sector to fuel support for the economic growth of the country for the period 2009-2030.

The plans and programs of PEP 2009-2030 will see to it that public policies of energy are at par with the changing needs of the energy sector.

As an overall guiding principle, the plan is based on three broad policy thrusts:

1. Ensuring energy security;

2. Pursuing effective implementation of energy sector reforms and;

3. Implementing social mobilization and cross-sector monitoring mechanisms.

Since the path to energy security cannot rely on one option only, the PEP has laid out essential and urged steps to support the policy thrusts of the energy sector. Below are the plans for the 20-year planning horizon.

Exploration/Development of Conventional Fuels

The country’s conventional energy fuels – oil, gas and coal – will continue to remain indispensable in meeting the country’s energy demand, even as the country pursues other alternative energy sources.

Oil and Gas

For fossil fuels, like oil and gas, the target production level at the end of the planning horizon is 78.59 million barrels. Service contracts, which to date total to about 34, will increase to 117 by 2030. Assuming the realization of these targets, hydrocarbon resources will increase 40% by the planning period. The country has 16 sedimentary basins and the majority of these areas are found in Luzon, particularly in Palawan.

Coal

Indigenous coal production will increase to a high 250% with the entry of more investors through the energy contracting round mechanisms and the conversion of existing coal operating contracts, from exploration to development stage.

Currently, the country imports around 75.4% of the domestic coal requirements.

Renewable Energy

Renewable energy (RE) development was given a tremendous boost with the passage of the Renewable Energy Act of 2008. Since its signing, a total of 206 contracts have been signed. The target is to double the RE-based installed capacity to power generation at the end of the planning horizon from its 2008 level of 5,300 MW.

In the case of geothermal, a comparatively more advanced resource, the targeted installed capacity will increase from 1,972 to over 3,000 MW at the end of the planning horizon, to boost the country’s leadership in geothermal energy development worldwide.

Nuclear

Worldwide, there is a revival of interest in nuclear energy as an alternative energy source. And along this line, the secretaries of the Department of Energy and the Department of Science and Technology jointly created an inter-agency task force to exactly determine the feasibility of considering nuclear energy as a long term option in the country. The task force validated the results of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) feasibility study in 2009 which is the major deliverable of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the National Power Corporation and KEPCO. It also undertook the site safety review of the BNPP. A study on the competitiveness of nuclear power against other fuel sources will also be conducted and in the meantime the country is capacitating it’s manpower through various training programs.

Promoting Responsible Use of Energy

The government is developing opportunities to make realistic changes in the way the country uses its energy resources. Energy conservation programs and technologies will help Filipinos become efficient consumers of energy. For the energy efficiency program, the Plan aims to achieve 10% energy savings on the total annual demand of all economic sectors.

Other programs for implementation are the monitoring of efficiency performance of power generation utilities and electric distribution facilities, promotion of aviation fuel efficiency enhancement, retrofit of commercial and industrial establishments and voluntary agreement programs on the rationalization of tricycle operation.

Ensuring Development in the Power and Electrification Sectors

Given the critical periods in the respective major grids of the country, between 2009-2030, the plan provides a list of projects that will come on stream at various timeliness. This will include committed projects as essentially already having financial closure and indicative projects as being in various stages of development. A 600 MW coal fired plant is a committed project for the Luzon and year of availability in 2012. While for Visayas, two committed coal power plants will bring in 328 MW of additional capacity. Additionally, 4 additional power projects came in with an additional capacity of 325 MW. For the Mindanao region, the Sibulan Hydropower plant (42.5 MW) came on-stream as well as the Cabulig Hydropower Project (8 MW) this year and the Mindanao Geothermal Project (52 MW).

The Philippine Energy Plan 2012 – 2030, which the Department of Energy (DOE) launched in December, 2012 lays down the road map for future demand and capacity addition plans. As per the plan, the current installed capacity in the country of about 16,250 MW is expected to go up to 25,800 MW (an increase of about 60% by 2030). This is still expected to be short of the projected demand of 29,330 MW in the year 2030. In addition, various interconnection links between the island grids need to be developed.

Continued Capacity Addition – The three regions in the Philippines; Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao will require substantial capacity addition in the coming years. Out of the expected capacity addition of close to 13,000 MW until 2030, only 1,800 MW has been committed.

Grid Connectivity and Strengthening – The fact that the installed capacity in the country will increase a fair bit, sufficient investment needs to happen in strengthening the transmission and distribution infrastructure. In addition, the island grids also need to be interconnected.

Mindanao is currently not connected with the Luzon and Visayas grid. This will entail huge capital expenditure that needs to be sustained by the sector. Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) plays an important role in allowing for recovery of investment with appropriate regulated returns for this transmission infrastructure.

Using Energy in an Environmentally Responsible Manner (Climate Change Adaption Measures)

The country, like the rest of the world, is facing a moment of decision in terms of using energy in a more environment friendly way. Fully aware on the role and responsibility of the energy sector in helping mitigate the impact of climate change, the plan is introducing the pursuit of adaptation strategies, among which are the following: to conduct an impact and vulnerability assessment of energy systems such as power generation, transmission and distribution, fuel production and transport in the immediate term, integration of structural adaptations into the design of energy infrastructures to include modification of engineering design practices and integration of climate change adaptation to energy policies, plans and programs, including laws and regulations.

Source: Department of Energy Portal (www.doe.gov.ph).

The energy policy reflects the state’s commitments to pursue the energy independence agenda under the government five-point reform program package as shown in Figure 2. The first objective is anchored on the effective implementation of the following goals:

1. Accelerating exploration, development and utilization of indigenous energy resources;

2. Intensifying renewable energy resource development;

3. Increasing the use of alternative fuels and;

4. Enhancing energy efficiency and conservation.

Also, the continuing reforms in the power sector, as well as the downstream oil and gas industries, will pave the way in realizing a globally competitive Philippine energy sector.

Figure 2. The Philippines’ Five-Point Reform Package

The Philippine Distribution Code establishes the basic rules, procedures, requirements and standards that govern the operation, maintenance and development of the electric distribution systems in the Philippine Grid Code and the market rules of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market to ensure the safe, reliable and efficient operation of the total electric energy supply system in the Philippines.

Republic Act No. 9136, also known as the “Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001”, mandated the creation of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). Section 43(b) of the Act provides that the ERC promulgates and enforces a National Grid Code and a distribution code which shall include, but not be limited to: (a) Performance Standards for TRANSCO O & M Concessionaire, Distributors and Suppliers, and (b) Financial Capability Standards for the Generating Companies, the TRANSCO, distributors and suppliers. The act also mandates the ERC to enforce compliance with the Grid Code, the Distribution Code, and the Market rules and to impose fines and penalties for any violation of their provisions.

The restructuring of the electric power industry will result in significant changes in distribution system operation and management. The act allows end-users belonging to the contestable market to obtain power from suppliers who are licensed by the ERC. Distributors must provide wheeling services to these end-users. Distributors must also procure energy from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market and through bilateral contracts to serve the remainder of the customers in their franchise area.

The distribution code defines the technical aspects of the working relationship between the distributors and all users of the distribution system. Distributors must deliver electric energy to the users at acceptable levels of power quality and customer service performance.

Source: Energy Regulatory Commission (Philippines).

The Philippine power industry is divided into three major sectors: generation, transmission, and distribution. Under the present power industry; structure, NPC generates its own electricity and buys electricity from Independent Power Producers (IPP’s).Generation used to be a monopoly of the National Power Corporation (NPC) until the issuance of Executive Order No. 215, which opened the generation sector to private investors.

At present, a number of IPP’s generate and sell electricity to NPC and other customers. NPC transmits electricity to distributors and large industrial customers via high voltage wires. NPC is also responsible for constructing the transmission grid highway interconnecting the main islands nationwide.

Distribution of electricity at its usable voltage to end-consumer is performed by investor-owned utilities and numerous electric cooperatives which sell to households as well as commercial and industrial enterprises located within their franchise areas at retail rates regulated by the Energy Regulatory Board (ERB). The Department of Energy (DOE) sets policy directions for the energy industry, while the National Electrification Administration (NEA) provides financial and technical assistance to electric cooperatives.

The major reforms are embodied in RA 9136, namely the restructuring of the electricity supply industry calls for the separation of the different components of the power sector namely; generation, transmission, distribution and supply.

On the other hand, the privatization of the National Power (NPC) involves the sale of the state-owned power firm’s generation and transmission assets (e.g. power plants and transmission facilities) to private investors. These two reforms are aimed at encouraging greater competition and at attracting more private sector investments in the power industry. A more competitive power industry will in turn result in lower power rates and a more efficient delivery of electricity supply to end-users.

Source: www.psalm.gov.ph

Installed Capacity

Total installed capacity of the country increased by 6.0 percent in 2012 to 17,025 MW from the 2011 level of 16,162.0 MW.

Among the major island grids, Luzon registered the biggest increase in installed capacity at 5.4 % from 11,181.1 MW in 2011 to 12,527.8 MW in 2012. For the same periods, dependable capacity of the grid likewise increased by 4.8 % from 10,824.4 MW to 11,348.7 MW. Said increase was attributed to the commercial operations of 651.6 MW coal power plant of GN Power, the 21.3 MW CIP II Diesel Power Plant, and the 19.8 MW Green Future and the 1.2 MW Pangea biomass power plants. The uprating of Binga Hydroelectric Power Plant from 100 MW to 125 MW also contributed to the increase.

In the Visayas, installed capacity stood at 2,448.0 MW, an increase of only 2.3 percent from 2011 level of 2,393.8 MW. Meanwhile, the dependable capacity went up by 3.3 percent from 2,036.8 MW in 2011 to 2,103.3 MW in 2012.

In Mindanao, ensuring enough power supply remained a major challenge with the island grid’s ever growing demand and with not much additional capacity coming in. In 2012, installed capacity was recorded at 2,049.3 MW with minimal increase of 27 MW in capacity from previous year level of 2,022.0 MW. The additional capacity was due to the commercial operations MW King Energy (oil-based power plant), the 9.2 MW Cabulig Hydro Electric Power Plant, and the capacity expansion of Crystal Sugar (biomass) from 21 MW to 35.9 MW.

The government also came up with immediate and short-term measures to address the capacity gap in Mindanao. One of the solutions considered was the re-commissioning of the Iligan Diesel Power Plant which has a rated capacity of 100 MW.

The other immediate measures that the government considered in order to address the short term supply gap were:

• Interruptible Load Program (ILP). Designed to entice greater participation from the different distribution utilities (DUs) with embedded generating capacities or those large users within their franchise having backup generating capacities to utilize such capacities. Under this program, the DUs with approved Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) power rates will operate their embedded generating capacities, while the large users running their backup generator sets will be paid by the DU within the franchise area. The reduction of the power load requirements of the DUs with embedded generator will be transferred to other DUs requiring additional supply.

• Interim Mindanao Electricity Market (IMEM). The establishment of an electricity market in Mindanao is seen as a mechanism to provide for a central dispatch and price for available capacities. Transaction in the IMEM will only be undertaken during supply shortfall, Power generating companies with uncontracted capacities as well as DUs and large users with available embedded generating capacities may nominate/bid to the IMEM their available capacities for dispatch at approved bid price.

It is expected that staring second half of 2014 onwards to 2015 and 2016, new capacities from committed power projects will be on commercial operations to provide the needed power supply requirements of the grid.

Power generation

Gross electricity generation in 2012 went up by 5.4 percent from previous year’s level of 69,175.7 gigawatt-hours (GWh) to 72,922 GWh.

Source: Philippine Energy Plan 2012 -2030, Department of Energy

http://www.doe.gov.ph

TABLE 5. ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION, CONSUMPTION AND CAPACITY

							Average annual growth rate %
Year	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2008 -2013
Capacity of Electrical Plants (GWe)	15.68	15.61	16.36	16.16	17.03	17.33	2.02
- Thermal	3.35	3.19	3.19	2.99	3.07	3.35	0.00
- Hydro	3.29	3.29	3.40	3.49	3.52	3.52	1.36
- Nuclear	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
-Renewables, wind, solar, biomass	0.034	0.064	0.073	0.117	0.153	0.153	35.1
- Geothermal	1.96	1.96	1.97	1.78	1.85	1.87	-0.94
- Coal	4.21	4.28	4.87	4.92	5.57	5.57	5.76
-Natural Gas	2.83	2.83	2.86	2.86	2.86	2.86	0.21
- Total	15.68	15.61	16.36	16.16	17.03	17.33	2.02
Electricity production (TWh)	60.82	61.93	67.74	69.18	72.92	75.27	4.36
- Thermal	4.87	5.38	7.10	3.40	4.25	4.49	-1.61
- Hydro	9.84	9.79	7.80	9.70	10.25	10.02	0.36
- Nuclear	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
- Renewables, wind, solar, biomass	0.063	0.079	0.090	0.205	0.259	0.279	34.7
- Geothermal	10.72	10.32	9.93	9.94	10.25	10.02	-1.34
- Coal	16.84	15.75	16.48	23.30	25.34	28.27	10.9
- Natural Gas	18.79	19.58	19.89	19.52	20.59	19.64	0.89
Total Electricity consumption (TWh)	60.82	61.93	67.74	69.18	72.92	75.27	4.36

Note: Electricity transmission losses are not deducted.

Note: Generation data includes grid connected, embedded and off-grid generator.

IPPs generation included in the utility

Source: Power Statistics, Department of Energy

TABLE 6. ENERGY RELATED RATIOS

Year	2005	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Energy consumption per capita (GJ/capita)	19.42	18.89	18.47
Electricity consumption per capita (kWh/capita)	583	587	589	593	641	647
Electricity production/Energy production (%)	22.33	22.67	22.05
Ratio of external dependency (%) (1)	44.9	43.5	40.08

Source: World Bank Indicators – Philippines – Energy Production & Use

In 1958, the Philippine Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) was established in accordance with Republic Act 2067, which was supported by then president Carlos P. Garcia.

In 1973, the Philippine economy was under a lot of pressure due to the oil crisis. With the intention of finding an alternative energy source, President Marcos decided in July of that year to construct a nuclear power plant (NPP). Workers started building the power plant in 1976. Construction was put on hold in 1979 because of the Three Mile Island accident that happened in the United States of America (USA). The President of the Philippines issued Executive Order No.539 creating a Presidential Commission (Puno Commission) to conduct an inquiry on the safety of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. The BNPP was completed in 1984. Its construction cost the government US$2.3 billion. With its Westinghouse pressurized water reactor (PWR), BNPP was supposed to generate 621 MW of electric energy.

In 1986, the Marcos regime ended and Aquino was installed into presidency. In April of that same year, the Chernobyl accident happened. This was one of the major reasons; Aquino did not push through with the operation of the BNPP.

The Philippine government tried to legally charge Westinghouse Electric Company for fraudulent schemes in the installment of the Westinghouse nuclear reactor. However, a USA court turned down the case.

The succeeding administration was strained to pay off the debt incurred for BNPP’s construction. They also tried to come up with ways in order to convert the NPP into a fossil fuel-based energy source, but such plans were deemed economically infeasible. In 2008, the International Atomic Energy Commission (IAEA) eight-man team by Mr. Akira Omoto inspected the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) for possible rehabilitation.

Thus, the IAEA made the following recommendations; 1. The power plant’s status must be thoroughly evaluated by technical inspections and economic evaluations conducted by a group of experts with nuclear power experience in preservation and management, 2. The IAEA mission advised the government on the general requirements for starting its’ nuclear power program with emphasis on the proper infrastructure, knowledge and safety standards.

Representative Kimi S. Cojuangco filed House Bill No. 1291; “an act mandating an immediate validation process which satisfies internationally accepted nuclear power industry norms to determine the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant’s operability culminating in either the immediate rehabilitation, certification and commercial operation or the immediate permanent closure and salvage value recovery of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, appropriating funds therefore and for other purposes “at the fifteenth (15^th) Congress and has not been acted upon until its’ closing hours. This 16^th Congress (2013-2016), no bill pertaining to the possible operation of the BNPP has not been filed yet to the lower house, but Senate Bill 580 known as the “Bataan Nuclear Power Plant Operability Act” has been filed by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago.

The Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) is mandated to undertake research and development activities in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, to institute regulations on the said uses and to carry out the enforcement of said regulations to protect the health and safety of radiation workers and the general public.

The DOE is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for preparing, integrating, coordinating, supervising and controlling all plans, programs, projects and activities of the government relative to energy exploration, development, utilization, distribution and conservation.

The National Power Corporation (NPC or Napocor) is a state-owned company that serves as the largest provider and generator of electricity in the Philippines.

NPC started to set up the initial organization and studies for the nuclear project implementation.

Figure 3. Nuclear Organizational Chart

Sources: www.pnri.dost.gov.ph/

www.doe.gov.ph

www.napocor.gov.ph

TABLE 7. STATUS AND PERFORMANCE OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

Reactor Unit	Type	Net Capacity [MW(e)]	Status	Operator	Reactor Supplier	Construction Date	First Criticality Date	First Grid Date	Commercial Date	Shutdown Date	UCF for 2014
BNPP-1	PWR	620	Cancelled Constr.	RPNPC	WH	1976-07-01				1986-05-01

Data source: IAEA - Power Reactor Information System (PRIS).

Note: Table 7 is completely generated from PRIS data to reflect the latest available information and may be more up to date than the text of the report.

The BNPP is under preservation since its completion in 1986 and a preservation team from the National Power Corporation has been working to preserve the plant up to present.

Due to the need for a potentially cheap and safe power generation facility, the Philippine government is considering the rehabilitation of BNPP by virtue of House Bill No. 1291, filed at the Fifteenth (15^th) Congress.

The Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) performed feasibility study on BNPP from February-April 2009.

Figure 4. Bataan Nuclear Power Plant

Since the creation of the DOE in 1992, only the PEP covering the planning period 1998-2035 incorporated nuclear as a long term energy supply option. The 1998 Plan forecast developed four scenarios to determine its sensitivity to different energy policy alternatives and impact of regional cooperation programs. Under the said plan, a 600 MW nuclear plant will be operational by 2025. Additional nuclear plant units, 600 MW each, were planned to be completed in 2027, 2030 and 2034. Thus under the PEP 1998-2035, the total nuclear capacity was projected to reach 2,400 MW by the end of the planning period. At present, a bill for the re-commissioning of the BNPP is pending in the Philippine Congress, which when passed into law would hasten the nuclear program for the Philippines. Likewise, operation of the said power plant would also trigger the construction of more units. When the BNPP re-commissioning bill is approved, feasibility for the plant’s re-commissioning will be undertaken and within a period of three to five years, BNPP may be put into operation.

Figure 5. Nuclear Infrastracture Development

The contract for the re-commissioning of BNPP may be through a government-to-government arrangement. For the nuclear power cycle involving the BNPP, the recommendations from which the Philippine government would contract its re-commissioning project would be the prime consideration. However, for the future programs, the Philippine strategy for the back end of the cycle at the moment would be for long term storage of spent fuel onsite, while waiting for the identification of the Philippines, National Radwaste Repository Center. A suitable site within the Philippines was already identified for this center.

TABLE 8. PLANNED NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

Station/Project/Name	Type	Capacity	Expected Construction Start Year	Expected Commercial Year
BNPP	PWR	620 MW	-	-
NPP 1	PWR	600 MW	2015	2025
NPP 2	New Generation NPP	600 MW	2017	2027
NPP 3	New Generation NPP	600 MW	2020	2030
NPP 4	New Generation NPP	600 MW	2025	2035

Source: Philippine Energy Plan

Figure 6. Organizational Structure

The development of the country’s nuclear power program is vested under a governmental ad-hoc committee described in Figure 6. By virtue of an inter-departmental order between DOE and DOST, this inter-agency Core Group on nuclear energy was created. Its prime objective is the development, management, setting up of policies and strategies which will involve nuclear power generation. Part of their mandate is the feasibility study for the possible re-operation of BNPP.

On April 1986, the Philippine government decided to mothball the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) and on May 1986, the contract with Westinghouse was suspended and the plant was placed under preservation.

Atty. Rene A.V. Saguisag, Chairman, Bataan Nuclear Power Plant Committee (which was formed by the Philippine government under President Corazon Aquino to look into the fate of the plant), officially informed the National Power Corporation that the government will not operate the Bataan Nuclear Power plant on July 1986.

The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant was then transferred to the Philippine National Government under Executive Order Nos. 55 and 98 including its equipment, materials, facilities, records and Uranium fuel, providing for the assumption of the remaining foreign loan obligations of the NPC with foreign lenders under the loans contracted by the NPC and guaranteed by the Republic of the Philippines and of the peso obligations incurred to finance the construction of BNPP by the National Government and for other purposes on November 1986. The plant’s short term preservation thus started.

On August 1992, the nuclear power plant preservation project was formed under the Special Projects Group. From April 2003 up to the present, the plant was under the Asset Preservation Department under Engineer Mauro L. Marcelo, Jr.

The nuclear power project would be funded by an external financing organization in view of the huge capital cost necessary in putting up a new plant. Likewise, in case of the BNPP re-commissioning, external funding may also be required. However, the re-commissioning bill has made certain provisions in the electricity tariff as source of funds for BNPP.

New high voltage transmission lines as well as switchyard upgrade is necessary for the re-commissioning of BNPP, as well as for new power plants.

In 1998, the government created a committee, the Nuclear Power Steering Committee, to provide the direction of the country’s nuclear power program during this period. It identified numerous possible sites throughout the country as future sites for NPPs, as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7. Other Candidate Sites for the Nuclear Power Plant

Except for the Bataan site, this would only need updating date for its Environmental Impact Assessment. All sites are located near the sea, with abundant cooling water obtained from the sea. Likewise, all identified sites are accessible by land transportation and within distance from transmission lines.

The Department of Energy together with the National Power Corporation and the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute are doing Information and Education Campaign (IEC) on power technology options.

Among its objectives are:

1. To consult the people living in the neighboring area of the BNPP of their power plant preference and to complete profiling of such.

2. To inform and educate the people living in the neighboring area of the BNPP on power plant technologies other than the nuclear power plant.

At present, the PNRI has the mandate on R&D in the field of nuclear sciences and technology. The country does not have any private institution that deals in this field. However, the pending bill in Congress on the reactivation of BNP has included provisions for nuclear R&D. Also, upon embarking to nuclear power, the country’s science and technology industry will certainly add R&D on nuclear.

The country is not engaged in any advanced nuclear technology development.

On an international level, the PNRI acts as the national government agency which represents the country as a member state in the IAEA. PNRI has co-operative agreements in nuclear technology with 16 other member states of the Regional Cooperative Agreement (RCA) for research, development and training related to nuclear sciences and technology for Asia and the Pacific. The PNRI partners with several organizations and entities like the RCA Regional Office (RCARO), Forum for Nuclear Cooperation in Asia (FNCA), Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) and other organizations from Australia, Canada, Japan, Republic of Korea, United States and other countries through bilateral agreements/institute to institute agreements.

The present nuclear regulatory authority is the PNRI, formerly the Philippine Atomic Energy Commission or PAEC. The PNRI’s basis for nuclear power plant regulation is the USNRC Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

The licensing procedures involve three main processes; the Provisional Permit stage where a licensee is issued with Provisional Permit or limited Work Authority. Next is the Construction Permit Stage where a construction permit is issued upon licensee’s satisfaction or compliance to various requirements of the Preliminary Safety Analysis Report (PSAR). The third stage is the Operating license stage, where after completion of all conditions present; regulatory requirements, licensing of operators, etc., an Operating license is issued, where the licensee can then proceed with the fuel core loading and initiate reactor operation for criticality.

• Republic Act no. 2067 (Science Act of 1958) created the Philippine Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC). At the initiative of PAEC the Congress enacted RA 3859 amending RA 2067. To provide PAEC with a dual mandate to promote the peaceful applications of atomic energy and to license and regulate the use of radioactive materials.

• Republic Act No. 5207 (Atomic Energy Regulatory and Liability Act of 1968) was enacted by Congress to establish the comprehensive nuclear regulatory function of PAEC. Provided authority to PAEC to issue licenses for the construction, possession and operation of any atomic energy facility. It also served as basis for the promulgation of rules and procedures in the licensing of nuclear power plants.

• RA No. 6395 enacted in 1971 – authorized the National Power Corporation (NPC) to established and operate NPPs.

• Presidential Decree No. 606 issued on December 13, 1974 constituted PAEC as an independent and autonomous body, transferring the same from the National Science Development Board (NSDB) to the Office of the President (OP).

• With the creation of the Ministry of Energy (MOE) under Presidential Decree No. 1206 dated October 06, 1977, PAEC was transferred to the control and supervision of the MOE from the Office of the President.

• Executive Order No. 613 dated August 15, 1980 transferred PAEC from MOE back to the office of the President.

• 1981- Code of PAEC Regulations (CPR) promulgated in April 1981 under Administrative Order No. 1 Series of 1981. The National Standards/Regulatory Requirement were as follows:

• CPR Part 3, “Standards for Protection Against Radiation”;

• CPR Part 4, “Rules and Regulations on the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material”;

• CPR Part 7, “Licensing of Atomic Energy Facilities”, based mainly on US NRC documents and IAEA Standards, codes and guidelines.

• Executive Order No 708 which was promulgated on July 27, 1981 attached PAEC to the Office of the Prime Minister.

• On March 17, 1984, Executive Order No. 784 reorganized NSDB to National Science and Technology (NSTA) and placed PAEC under its administrative supervision. Executive Order no. 980 dated August 29, 1984 converted PAEC from a single-headed agency into a multi-headed agency composed of a Chairman and four (4) Associate Commissioners forming the Board of Commissioners. It reaffirmed PAEC’s role as the nuclear regulatory board.

• In Executive Order No. 128 dated January 30, 1987, the NSTA was reorganized to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and PAEC became the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) headed by a Director and assisted by a Deputy Director.

• House Bill No. 6300 An Act Mandating the Immediate Rehabilitation, Commissioning and Commercial Operation of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, Appropriating Funds therefore, and for other Purposes (2009)

• House Bill Nos. 3155 and 3254, An Act to Regulate the Nuclear, Security and Safety Aspects in the Peaceful Utilization of Radiation Sources through the Creation of the Philippine Nuclear Regulatory Commission Appropriating Funds, therefore, and for other purposes (2009)

• House Bill No. 1291, An Act Mandating an Immediate Validation Process which satisfies Internationally Accepted Nuclear Power Industry Norms to Determine the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant’s Operability Culminating In Either The Immediate Rehabilitation, Certification And Commercial Operation Or, The Immediate Permanent Closure And Salvage Value Recovery, of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, Appropriating Funds Therefore, And For Other Purposes (July, 2010).