Switching back on to a ‘nuclear-powered’ Philippines
One only needs to visit a remote village to realise the sorry state of the Philippines’ rural electrification programme. An estimated 16 million Filipinos still don’t have access to electricity, and where it is available, costly rates mean poorer househol
Our country generates its power from various sources, but they are not enough to keep up with the demand of a fast-growing economy and steadily rising population.
The Philippines missed a crucial opportunity to achieve energy self-sufficiency when it opted to mothball the completed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant 40 years ago, wasting US$2.3 billion in the process. Had we opted to flip the nuclear switch four decades ago, our development would now be on par with other nuclear-adopters like the US, Canada, Britain, France and Germany.
The Bataan plant is still there and the political wind now seems to be blowing in its favour thanks to open-minded energy secretary Alfonso Cusi and the progressive energy policy of Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.
More than ever the Bataan reactor is worth a try. Nuclear energy offers the Philippines the promise of stable power supply at rates affordable to every household.
Maria Regina B Santiago
(From the Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN)
