Daily Tribune (Philippines)

Meralco’s nuke scholars take off to China, US

- BY MARIA ROMERO @tribunephl_mbr

In pursuit of the developmen­t of nuclear energy as a viable source of affordable power supply, the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is sending its first batch of Filipino scholars to China and the United States.

“This country — and Meralco — should be prepared for and committed to nuclear energy. Supporting aspiring energy profession­als will help build a talent pipeline of nuclear energy experts, paving the way for a smarter and greener future for our country,” Meralco chairperso­n and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan said on Monday.

According to Meralco, the five engineers who will join the two-year Filipino Scholars and Interns on Nuclear Engineerin­g (FISSION) program will be assigned to lead its nuclear power generation unit.

Of them, Amiela Nicodemus and Gener Atienza will start their program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the United States of America.

Rigid screening

The three others, Kenneth Tulagan, Mark Justin Salas and Marc Laurence Ceria, will undertake the program at Harbin Engineerin­g University in China.

The FISSION scholars underwent a screening process conducted by a selection committee composed of energy industry experts and academe profession­als like Dr. Ike Dimayuga from the Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. and Dr. Aura Matias, former dean of the University of the Philippine­s College of Engineerin­g, among others.

Meralco Power Academy, the energy education unit of the distributi­on utility, is responsibl­e for managing and overseeing the implementa­tion of FISSION.

Since then, MPA has partnered with top-notch universiti­es offering internatio­nal graduate programs in nuclear engineerin­g.

Meralco has been actively pursuing nuclear energy developmen­t and it even hopes to see an operationa­l power plant in the country by 2028 or before the conclusion of the Marcos administra­tion.

The company recently concluded its prefeasibi­lity study on local nuclear power developmen­t, which nominated five particular areas, prompting the company to launch a deeper and more formal study.

?? PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF MERALCO ?? MERALCO executives led by chairperso­n and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan (fifth from left) introduced to the public the scholars under the Filipino Scholars and Interns on Nuclear Engineerin­g (FISSION) program. With them are: (from left) Meralco senior vice president and chief human sesources officer and head Edgardo Carasig; Meralco executive vice president and chief operating officer Ronnie Aperocho; FISSION scholars Gener Atienza, Kenneth Tulagan, Ami Nicodemus, Justin Salas, and Marc Ceria; Meralco first vice president and head of networks Froilan Savet, and Meralco PowerGen Corp. president and CEO Emmanuel V. Rubio.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF MERALCO MERALCO executives led by chairperso­n and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan (fifth from left) introduced to the public the scholars under the Filipino Scholars and Interns on Nuclear Engineerin­g (FISSION) program. With them are: (from left) Meralco senior vice president and chief human sesources officer and head Edgardo Carasig; Meralco executive vice president and chief operating officer Ronnie Aperocho; FISSION scholars Gener Atienza, Kenneth Tulagan, Ami Nicodemus, Justin Salas, and Marc Ceria; Meralco first vice president and head of networks Froilan Savet, and Meralco PowerGen Corp. president and CEO Emmanuel V. Rubio.

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