Govt, in policy switch, plans to go nuclear

MALACANANG has earmarked P50 million for a government study on the possible use of nuclear energy in the country, Energy Secretary Rene Almendras said Thursday.

“A client of Citibank” submitted a proposal during President Benigno Aquino III’s visit to the United States last week seeking to revive the mothballed Bataan nuclear power plant, but the administration had yet to come up with a policy on the issue, he said.

Earlier, Mr. Aquino said he was open to using nuclear power as an alternative energy source, but investors should look for new sites instead of focusing on the controversial Morong plant, and because rehabilitating it for $1 billion would be costlier than building a new facility.

Almendras said the government was in talks with San Miguel Corp., the Lopez Group, and DMCI Holdings to produce an extra 1,000 megawatts of capacity, adding as much as 600 megawatts could come from rehabilitating power plants.

The government was studying changes to the law mandating the sale of its power assets, he said.

Some companies are hesitant to invest because of concerns about the credit-worthiness of some distribution cooperatives. Joyce Pangco Panares, Manila Standard Today