The 123 Agreement, and what nuclear does and does not change

On 16 November 2023 the Philippines and the United States signed an agreement on civil nuclear cooperation, the kind known as a 123 Agreement after the section of American law that requires it. It permits the transfer of nuclear material, equipment and know-how, and it is the legal precondition for any American-designed reactor in the country. It followed the executive order of February 2022 that adopted a national position in favour of nuclear power.

Compiled in September 2026 from the releases of the time, with the revisions the agencies have published since. Nothing here is a forecast.

What the agreement is

A framework. It commits both countries to safeguards, to non-proliferation obligations and to a channel for commercial contracts. It needed ratification by the Senate, which came the following year. It is not a contract for a plant, a site licence or a tariff.

What the plan says

The energy plan to 2050 puts the first 1,200 MW of nuclear capacity in 2032, rising in later steps. Small modular reactors are the technology most often discussed, because the grid's largest single unit is around 650 MW and a reactor much larger than that would need reserve the system does not have. The Bataan plant, completed in 1984 and never fuelled, is periodically reassessed and remains where it was.

What it does not change

The price of electricity before 2032, which is set by coal, gas and the auction rounds.

The availability problem of the dry season, which is a problem of the next three years.

Anything about industrial steam, which nuclear does not supply at the scale of a factory.

Why a plant should read it anyway

Because it says what the government expects the grid to look like in a decade: firm, low-carbon and expensive to build. A site deciding in 2024 whether to buy its power or to make it from its own residue is making a decision for the years between now and then. The agreement is about the years after.

We work with developers and technology providers on the Philippine execution side: permits, grid, fuel and construction. Tell us about the project. The figures behind each quarter are in the quarterly market brief.