DOE drums up nuclear option amid power supply shortfall

THE Department of Energy (DOE) has resumed its lobby for the use of nuclear power amid a growing shortfall in the Philippines’ electricity supply brought about by a prolonged dry spell.

“Definitely, [the] nuclear option is always an option that should be made available. We should not shut ourselves out of that option for a number of reasons. One, nuclear power is a base load source of power, [and it’s not] intermittent like wind nor is it dependent on weather like hydro,” Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes said.

State-owned National Power Corp. (Napocor) is spearheading efforts to revive nuclear power use more than two decades after the government, under then President Aquino, mothballed the country’s lone nuclear facility in Bataan province due to safety concerns.

Napocor’s success however depends on a bill filed at the House of Representatives last year that seeks to rehabilitate the Bataan power plant.

Besides from securing the legal mandate, the government should also look into the financial, social and regulatory aspect of nuclear power to ensure that the country would not waste another $2.3 billion in putting up a plant, Reyes said.

“The thing going against nuclear is one, [the] upfront investment [is huge.] [But even if] you pay a lot, it serves you over a long period of time. Second, there is the question of disposal of nuclear waste, the jury [for which] is still out,” he said.

A study conducted by the Korea Electric Power Corp. earlier found that the government could still rehabilitate the Bataan facility at an estimated cost of $1 billion.

According to the bill pending before Congress, operating the Bataan plant would generate electricity that would cost P2.50 per kilowatt-hour, or less than half of Napocor’s current rates.

The DOE’s renewed push for the nuclear option comes as the return of the El Niño has rendered an increasing number of hydroelectric generating plants inoperable.

Data from the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) showed that reserves in the Visayas grid inched higher to five megawatts from negative levels in the past weeks.

The increase in the available capacity could be due to the additional power generated from Mahanagdong Power Plant Unit 1 and the Cebu Thermal Power Plant Unit 1.

The Mahanagdong facility raised the grid’s available supply by 60 megawatts, while the Cebu Thermal plant contributed 105 megawatts.

Both were recently reconnected and synchronized to the grid after a maintenance shutdown.

Because of this, the Visayas grid is expected to enjoy no supply interruptions, provided all other power plants run and remain connected to the grid, the NGCP, which operates the country’s transmission network, said.

The situation in the Luzon grid remains normal with reserves placed at 812 megawatts after a number of power plants came online last week.

In Mindanao, most hydroelectric power plants are still running with very limited capabilities because of the low water levels at reservoirs. As a result, the country’s second largest island suffered a power generation shortfall of 183 megawatts on Monday.

Out of the 982-megawatt total rated capacity of Mindanao’s hydro facilities, only 441 megawatts have been generated because of the prolonged dry spell. –EUAN PAULO C. AÑONUEVO Reporter, Manila Times