Aquino may use nuke power; Napocor men now training

MANILA, Philippines—A small group of Filipinos has begun training in preparation for the possible use of nuclear energy as the Aquino administration begins discussing measures to deal with an impending power crisis, the head of National Power Corp. (Napocor) said Wednesday.

“We are doing all the preparations already,” Froilan A. Tampinco, president of the state-run Napocor, told reporters.

“We are sending people to be trained, though not massive, just for the purposes of being able to be in a position to come out with a good plan. We have to take into considerations the lessons learned from the previous experience we’ve had. And we don’t want a repeat of that.”

Tampinco stressed that Malacañang had not given formal directions but the various options of using nuclear power had already been discussed.

He said Napocor would “go ahead” with the nuclear project once the Palace had laid down the policy.

Tampinco said several decisions had to be made: Operating the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), or abandoning the $2-billion facility altogether and constructing a new one.

“It’s possible we build (a new nuclear power plant) now but the possibility of it being operational within this administration is not certain,” said Tampinco, who explained that it takes a number of years to put up a nuclear facility.

5 years to revive BNPP

Tampinco said rehabilitating the 620-megawatt BNPP, which was shut down without ever generating electricity during former President Corazon Aquino’s administration over safety and environmental concerns, would take about five years.

“If it is something that is already an existing or available plant that will simply have to be situated to a particular logical site then that may take a period of seven to eight years. But if we will start from scratch, a new power plant altogether, it may take 10 years,” Tampinco explained.

Should the government consider putting up a new plant, Tampinco said it may cost at least $2 million to produce a megawatt of power from nuclear sources.

He disclosed that Toshiba, Korea Electric Power Corp. (Kepco) and a French nuclear company remained interested in putting up nuclear facilities in the country.

Japanese firms

A Japanese company, Tampinco added, is also “interested in involving themselves in preparing our people for our nuclear program, as well as in possibly looking at the BNPP.”

Two more Japanese firms—Kensai Electric Power Co. and Tokyo Electric Power Co.—have also expressed interest to become technology providers in the Philippines, should the government proceed with plans to go nuclear.

Considering the nature of the country’s transmission network, Tampinco said he would recommend a medium-sized nuclear power plant or nothing bigger than the BNPP.

“We should not go for 1,000-MW and above, because if we put up such capacities it will require a much more robust transmission network. And where are we also going to put it? The only place we can possibly put it is in Luzon,” he said.

Public acceptance

“However, public acceptance is one big issue here in Luzon. We have to address the education of people, and safety concerns. So for me, a more logical approach would be to propose medium-sized plants. With medium-sized power plants we can locate in either Mindanao, Visayas or Luzon,” he added. –Amy R. Remo, Philippine Daily Inquirer