Napocor suspends talks on nuclear energy

MANILA, Philippines – The National Power Corp. (Napocor) board has decided to put in the back burner discussions on the development of nuclear energy.

Napocor president Froilan Tampinco said the board was not able to discuss the financial aspect of the nuclear energy development in its last meeting.

“There was a little bit of a setback when Congress did not endorse the bill on nuclear energy,” Tampinco said.

However, he said all other aspects, except the financials will be pursued.

“We will be focusing more on the training of the people while we are waiting for the new Congress to affirm a budget for nuclear energy development in the country,” he said.

Tampinco also pointed out that failure to discuss the matter at Napocor’s board will not in any way hamper the plan of the government to make nuclear one of the options for energy sources in the future.

“We will continue to push for nuclear energy. We believe it should still be part of the option for energy supply security of the country,” the Napocor chief added.

He said “for the meantime, we are not giving up on the idea and we will focus more into skills development and participate in different fora on current trends and technology on nuclear energy development.”

According to the Napocor president, the absence of a clear policy on nuclear energy will just render all their efforts futile.

“I think we should just await for firmer policies from the National Government and the legislative body on nuclear development,” he said.

Tampinco said Napocor may also be dealing more on strategies and programs rather than on financial estimates.

Korea Electric Power Corp. has submitted to the Napocor board an initial estimate of about $1 billion for the rehabilitation of Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP).

The Napocor board was supposed to discuss this estimate in its recent meeting and decide whether it is feasible for the power firm to be a party to the proposed rehabilitation program of the mothballed nuclear facility.

The Arroyo administration has revived the idea of rehabilitating BNPP to generate an additional 600 MW. –Donnabelle L.Gatdula (The Philippine Star)