The Department of Energy (DOE) is being pushed to submit its Php 266 million nuclear power development study to the Senate, which remains unavailable to the public until today.
In a report by the Manila Bulletin, Senate Committee on Energy chairman Sen. Raffy Tulfo has asked Energy secretary Raphael Lotilla to submit a copy of the government-funded nuclear feasibility study commissioned under the term of former Energy Sec. Alfonso Cusi.
Lotilla, however, said that they have yet to know what happened to the study and its results, adding that they’re trying to find out “if there was an output.”
Former senate committee on energy chairman Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said that Congress appropriated around Php266 million for the study of the possibility of injecting nuclear power into the National Grid.
The newly appointed energy secretary acknowledged that the previous administration did commission a study, but has yet to see it. Gatchalian likewise said that he has not yet seen the output of the nuclear study.
Lotilla noted that the DOE wants to build on what was done by the previous administration and assure that “whatever feasibility study in the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) is done by an independent, credible consultant with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) guidance.”
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. instructed the DOE to ensure the safety standards and comply with all the requirements of the IAEA. Earlier, he revealed that he is in talks with South Korean experts on the possible revival of the BNPP.
