DEVELOPING more plants, harnessing geothermal, wind, and other renewable sources of energy, and replicating San Miguel Corp.’s foray into large-scale battery storage are among the key options on former Senator and presidential frontrunner Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s to slash electricity rates in the country.
In his regular vlog, the standard bearer of Partido Federal noted that “A big part of every Filipino’s salary goes to paying electricity bills. What should be done to bring down the price of electricity?”
In comments made mostly in Filipino, the former senator explained, “Our mission for our country is to have adequate, reliable and affordable electricity for all.”
Marcos said his administration will focus on production, transmission, and distribution of electricity nationwide and will add more energy resources to ensure sufficient power supply.
Included in his plan is to put up additional geothermal and hydroelectric power plants and installation of more solar and wind power farms.
“We will have renewables like solar and wind power as what we did in Ilocos. There are many places in the country where wind power can be harnessed. It’s just a matter of studying and using some imagination to make this possible,” he said.
Meanwhile, the government, he said, should also focus on pushing for the utilization of “Large Scale Battery Storage,” which would be helpful in the preservation of energy and electricity.
“We can also focus attention on what is called large scale battery storage. We had early problems with solar and wind power in terms of intermittent production, meaning, it’s not always that the wind blows or the sun shines,” he explained.
“But now, technology via large scale battery storage” addresses that problem, he added. “Power collected but not yet used can be stored, ready for utilization when needed,” Marcos continued.
He noted that several countries in Europe, the USA, and Australia have been successfully using these technologies. “We have that now in the country such as the project of San Miguel Corp. and we just need to replicate that. That kind of technology is suitable for islands which cannot be reached by transmission lines,” Marcos said.
“Our geographical locations, natural resources and our physical assets, coupled with technology—all this says we should not be lacking in energy. So, let’s study and use this,” he added.
In the end, Marcos suggested a study on the possibility of reviving the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), a brainchild of his father, former President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr., which was mothballed after the Edsa revolution on issues of pricing and safety.
According to a survey he cited, 79 percent of Filipinos agree with the rehabilitation of the BNPP, 65 percent want to construct new power plants, while 78 percent are open to the idea of studying the information regarding the power plant.