RP needs $1 billion for nuclear power plant rehabilitation

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines may need to spend about $1 billion should it decide to operate a nuclear power facility, an energy official said.

National Power Corp. (Napocor) senior vice president and vice chairman of the agency’s special group on nuclear energy development Pio Benavidez told reporters over the weekend that the rehabilitation of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) may cost about $800 million.

He said additional funds will be needed for transmission lines to transmit the power from the nuclear plant to the end users.

“It is estimated that we could spend around $800 million maximum for the operation of the BNPP. But we may need $1 billion including the transmission lines. We need to build new transmission lines since the old ones are already dismantled,” he said.

Benavidez said a feasibility study being conducted with Korea Electric Power Corp. (Kepco) is expected to be completed by September. The draft result will be out by October this year.

“Everything is on track and ongoing. By October, Kepco is expected to finish its study,” he said.

He said government has set aside some P100 million to study the feasibility of nuclear power development in the country.

“We have allotted P100 million for the study, but under the General Appropriations Act we have proposed a budget of P1 billion to restart the nuclear power plant,” he said.

The Napocor official said they are now in the process of system evaluation.

“We are currently doing system verification review where all the parts are being verified if it still can be used. We and Kepco have identified some that can be used. Out of that review, we will look at the results as to what can still be used and cannot be used. The system that have to be updated are mostly on the electrical side (i.e wiring, cable), particularly the controls, but in terms of the mechanical side it still can be used. We just have to replace the parts that have to be replaced to make it operational,” he said.

Amid the conduct of the feasibility study, Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes pointed out that the government will not restart the BNPP unless they are assured it would be safe.

“Let’s not get into nuclear power until we are deadsure that we are ready. And we are ready if we have stakeholder support. We don’t want a situation where we put up another nuclear power plant. The most expensive nuclear power plant is one that you set up but is not operational. We don’t want another one like that, thus if the country is not ready then it should not proceed with it,” Reyes told reporters at the Manila Overseas Press Club Energy Night at Hotel Intercon Wednesday.

But Reyes admitted that tapping nuclear energy as a possible source of power is an option the DOE wants to take.

“We are keeping nuclear power as an option we are willing to consider. But right now, we are not ready for it because we need the human, regulatory, physical and financial infrastructure which we don’t have and we have to set up. We also need stakeholder support. We have to work on this and it’s a slow process. But we have to get there eventually,” he said.

Though Reyes admitted there are disadvantages in dealing with nuclear energy, he said there are also benefits from using one.

“Nuclear power has its inherent dangers which the whole world is trying to solve, but there are advantages as well. And among the advantages is that nuclear power is baseload and will remain stable for as long as 50 years. It provides you steady and cheap power in the long run– it is expensive initially,” he pointed out.

This is one source of power, he said, industries need. “If we have expensive power, there are industries, which are export-oriented and energy intensive, which cannot compete in the international market,” he said.

The energy chief said he wants to assure the public that the government’s objective in including nuclear as one of the power source options is to have stability of supply.

“There is no option that has no cost. If you want an option that has no cost, you will not find one,” he said.

The Philippines is planning to start up its first 600-megawatt (MW) nuclear power plant by 2025, based on DOE data.

The DOE noted that the new nuclear power facility is expected to contribute 0.885 million ton oil equivalent (MTOE) to the projected energy mix and reach up to 3.54 MTOE by 2035. –Donnabelle L. Gatdula, Philippine Star