Group backs use of nuclear power

By Danessa Rivera (The Philippine Star), October 12, 2016

MANILA, Philippines – The Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine Islands (CCPI), the country’s first and oldest business group, is batting for the use of nuclear power and of the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) to address issues in power supply and high cost of electricity as well as to support the country’s economic development.

In a forum yesterday, CCPI president president Jose Luis Yulo Jr. said the business group is backing the proposal to add nuclear power in the energy mix and operate BNPP.

“With the spiraling high cost of energy in the country, our organization supports the operation of the 620-megawatt (MW) BNPP to accelerate the economic progress of the Philippines through industrialization,” he said.

In the position paper on nuclear energy, CCPI said the index poverty and unemployment in the country remains high and the only solution to this create jobs “is by massive industrialization and agricultural development.”

“For this to become a reality in the Philippines, the cost of electricity must be brought down in the shortest possible time through nuclear energy. It is the earnest hope of the chamber that this policy recommendation be brought to the attention and political will of President Rodrigo Duterte,” it said.

Built in the 1980s, BNPP was supposed to operate commercially in 1986 but was mothballed due to strong opposition from environmental and cause-oriented groups over safety concerns and reports former president Ferdinand Marcos received about $80 million in kickbacks from builder Westinghouse.

The power facility is still being maintained by the National Power Corp. (Napocor) with a cost of P50 million since then and more recently, P27 million a year under the Aquino administration.

In the same forum, Department of Science and Technology Secretary Fortunato de la Peña stressed the country’s need for energy and a good mix to fuel energy targets.

“We are open to technologies as long as it will benefit the country but the final decision will be an apolitical one,” he said.

Nuclear is among the options for baseload power as the Department of Energy (DOE) works on projecting energy capacities up to 2030, DOE Undersecretary Jesus Posadas said.

“We’re looking at the power mix and basically the power mix is to address the economic growth especially the industrialization aspiration of the President,” he said.

As the country recently hosted a three-day international nuclear energy conference, the Duterte administration revived plans of tapping nuclear energy as an alternative option in meeting the country’s growing energy requirements as well as to power up the country’s economic progress.

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi earlier said nuclear is seen as a viable choice because it is high on productivity and reliability, low on cost and emissions, and more cost efficient in the long term.

However, he admitted that going nuclear would need a lot of work to be done.