Arab members of Opec imposed an oil embargo in 1973 against the United States and other nations that supported Israel during the Arab-Israeli War. The initial targets were the US, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The embargo was later extended to Portugal, Rhodesia and South Africa. The oil supply disruption led to major price increases and worldwide energy crisis. The Philippines greatly suffered because 100 percent of the country’s electricity was produced using oil. The sudden spike in oil prices forced the government to diversify the power mix.
The Marcos administration saw nuclear power as part of the solution to meet the country’s growing energy demands. Construction of the first and, to this date, only nuclear power plant began in 1976 in Morong, Bataan, and was finished in 1984 at a cost of $2.3 billion. The 620-megawatt Bataan Nuclear Power Plant was supposed to be the first of two nuclear plants to be built in Bataan. It was also the first nuclear power plant in Southeast Asia, which was shelved in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.
Executive Order (EO) 164, which was signed by President Duterte on February 28 and announced to the media on March 3, outlines the country’s national position for a nuclear energy program. In the five-page issuance, the President ordered the Department of Energy to develop and implement the Nuclear Energy Program as part of the Philippine Energy Plan and assist the Nuclear Energy Program Inter-Agency Committee in its functions. The measure is part of the government’s initiative to address the expected increase in demand for clean energy. (Read, “Duterte signs E.O. for nuke in PHL energy mix,” in the BusinessMirror, March 3, 2022).
“Nuclear power shall be tapped as a viable alternative to baseload power source along with alternative resources, to address the projected decline of coal-fired power plants which come under increasing environmental opposition,” the EO said. The Department of Energy has already banned new coal power projects. The projected demand for clean energy is seen growing at 4.4 percent a year, requiring almost 68 gigawatts of additional capacity by 2040. “Considering this demand and the depletion of natural gas resources, nuclear power will play an important role to contribute to the required capacity to achieve energy security, especially to meet the needs of an emerging upper middle-income country,” the EO said.
Rep. Joey Salceda sees the EO as a timely initiative: “We spend around P40 million every year to maintain BNPP. That means we’re spending that much on a white elephant. I think part of the mandate of the EO, which is to review the BNPP, has to include whether we should already totally decommission the asset as scrap metal, if it’s really dangerous and unsafe.” He added that Congress may consider a “franchise approach” to operating the BNPP. “I think we should bid it out as a public-private partnership and grant its operator a franchise. The thing with nuclear power plants is the gestation period for the investment requires several decades. So our private partner will need the political and legal security of a franchise from Congress. That is definitely on the table, and I will tell President Duterte to consider that approach as well.” (Read, “Nuke can do,” in the BusinessMirror, March 5, 2022).
For Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Energy committee, transparency “is the most important factor in any discussions on nuclear power.” The Senate, he said, has funded the Department of Energy’s nuclear research and feasibility study of P266 million since 2018. “This study should be made public in order for the Filipino people to understand the risks and benefits of nuclear power injected into our energy mix.” The senator lamented that the 18th Congress, with just few session days left, has no time to enact any nuclear power-related proposed laws. “It will be up to the next administration to decide whether the benefits of nuclear power outweigh the risks and pursue nuclear as a source of power for our country,” he said.
As the Ukraine war rages and continues to drive oil prices skyward, we should learn the lessons from the past and catch up with the missed opportunities. The Philippines is facing a bleak reality: The Malampaya gas fields that supply 30 percent of Luzon’s energy consumption are expected be depleted by 2024. Thanks to our heavy reliance on imported oil, power cost in the Philippines is among the highest in Southeast Asia and is considered relatively high compared to global standards. Will nuclear power be the answer to the country’s impending power crisis?