Philippines not yet ready for nuclear power–Sec. Reyes

The country is not yet ready to embrace nuclear power.

This was the stand made by Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes, when asked if the government was seriously pushing through with nuclear technology for the country’s power requirements.

“Right now, we’re not ready for nuclear power,” he said during the Manila Overseas Press Club’s Energy Night held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Makati City on Wednesday.

Reyes’ statement came amid efforts in Congress to revive the mothballed 630-megawatt Bataan Nuclear Power Plant despite growing public clamor against commissioning it.

A bill filed by Rep. Mark Cojuangco of Pangasinan and pending before the House of Representatives seeks to revive the Bataan nuclear plant, which was hounded by controversy over allegations of bribery and safety concerns when it was put up during the Marcos administration.

Reyes said that it would take time before the country can put in place needed infrastructure to push through with nuclear technology.

Such infrastructure, he added, include sharpening local expertise in nuclear technology, formulating a regulatory framework and adopting safety measures.

Reyes said that the government also would have to secure stakeholders’ support if it wanted to push through with its nuclear ambitions.

“We don’t want a situation where we put up another nuclear power plant, and the most expensive nuclear power plant is one that you set up but is not operational. We don’t want another one like that,” he added.

The Bataan nuclear plant—the country’s first and only foray into nuclear power—generated nothing but $2.1 billion in government bills for taxpayers to shoulder after extreme opposition from various environmental and cause-oriented groups led to its mothballing in the 1980s.

Doors still open

But, Reyes said, although nuclear power has its inherent dangers as what had been raised against the Bataan plant, there are also advantages in using the technology that could help benefit the country, such as cheap power rates and applications in other industries.

Thus, he added, the government is keeping its doors open to nuclear power as well as to conventional fossil fuel-based sources to secure the country’s power requirements.

“I see these [fossil fuel-based sources] as transition fuels until renewable energy comes in,” Reyes said.  –Euan Paulo C. Añonuevo, Manila Times