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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 1) – Any plan to reactivate the Bataan nuclear power plant should start with securing the approval of residents in the area, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered.
Duterte spokesman Harry Roque confirmed that the president recently met with Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi and former Pangasinan representative Mark Cojuangco, who lobbied to use the suspended facility to supply electricity in the country.
“The president said, study hard but start from scratch. I guess that means that we Bataan people should check first if we want to open Bataan Nuclear Power Plant ”, said Roque at a press conference held in Mariveles.
[Translation: The President instructed to study the plan well and start from the ground. I take that to mean that we, Bataan residents should first be consulted if we are in favor of reopening the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant.]READ: A look inside a sleeping giant: the Bataan nuclear power plant
The country’s first and only nuclear power facility is located in Morong City, Bataan, and was supposed to generate 623 megawatts of clean energy. In 1986, then-President Corazon Aquino closed the facility due to corruption and security concerns after the disastrous Chernobyl incident in Russia in the same year.
The project was revised in 2018 as the Philippines was looking for other sources to meet the growing demand for energy. However, Russian Ambassador Igor Khovaev told CNN Philippines that the plant was beyond reactivation due to its “absolutely outdated” technology.
Duterte has expressed his openness in harnessing nuclear energy, having previously issued Executive Order 116 that created the Interagency Committee for the Nuclear Energy Program. The agency will study the adoption of a national nuclear energy policy.
The government is also in talks with Russia on nuclear power technology, including Moscow’s idea of using floating nuclear power barges to bring electricity to island provinces.
Cusi previously said there is a plan to use small modular nuclear reactors to power Palawan and Sulu, areas that can be difficult to connect to the national grid.
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