SMC open to investments in nuclear power

MANILA, Philippines – San Miguel Corp. (SMC), the biggest food and beverage company in Southeast Asia, is open to investments in nuclear power generation in line with its continued diversification into heavy industries.

“Yes, if the government will bid out Bataan (nuclear power plant), we will join,”SMC president Ramon Ang said when asked if they would consider nuclear power as part of their generation portfolio.

The Department of Energy (DOE) earlier said it will study the eventual disposal of the mothballed BNPP as the Aquino administration has already ruled out the possibility of reviving the facility.

Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almedras said they would be coordinating with the Department of Finance (DOF) on how to privatize the BNPP.

“(Reviving) BNPP is not an option anymore. It’s a policy decision on the part of the President that we are not going to open the BNPP because of too much social complexities that have been caused by that and secondly there is this issue on the safety considering the fault line and all. We are now trying to come up with ways on how we can maximize revenues for the government when it comes to selling BNPP,” he said.

“What we have discussed is to find the best value for the asset to pay up energy-related debts of the government. The Philippines needs the resources to bring down the debt level of the energy sector,” he said.

Ang, meanwhile, also said that they may also consider tapping partners should they eventually enter into nuclear power development projects.

“We are willing to partner with any expert in nuclear,” he said.

Sources said SMC’s power generation arm, SMC Energy Corp. (SMEC), and Korea Electric Power Corp. (Kepco) have already “agreed in principle” to pursue possible joint ventures in various power projects in the future.

“We agreed to pursue future joint venture projects but no specifics,” well-placed industry sources said.

But the sources indicated that SMC and Kepco are already partners in running the 1,200-MW Ilijan natural gas power plant in Batangas.

The sources said the expansion of the capacity of Ilijan may be one possible project that could be eyed by the two firms.

At present, SMEC manages the contracted capacity of the Iligan gas plant after winning the bidding last April. It will also manage the fuel requirement of the power plant.

SMEC offered the highest bid of $480 million for the Batangas plant, operated by Kepco.

The Partnership between Kepco and SMEC, sources said, could also involve projects in liquefied petroleum gas (LNG).

Ang earlier said they are eyeing some LNG projects such as converting its Limay diesel-fired into gas-run facility.

Kepco, the dominant power company in Korea, was established in 1981. With an installed capacity of 60 gigawatts (including gas, oil and coal-fired power plants alongside nuclear and hydropower generation), Kepco represents 94 percent of the total power generation in Korea.

SMEC, on the other hand, is now the country’s biggest power generation company. Its generation portfolio  includes the 620-MW Limay combined cycle power plant, and the administration for the contract for energy output of the 1,000-MW Sual coal-fired power plant, 345-MW San Roque multi-purpose hydro plant and the 1,294-MW Ilijan natural gas power plant.

For the Luzon grid, SMEC now holds 28.1 percent while for the national grid, its share is estimated to be around 21.4 percent. –Donnabelle L. Gatdula (The Philippine Star)