The government said it is wants to include the nuclear as an option for the country to address what it describes as poor energy security and accessibility.
Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi has reiterated this during the recent hearing at the House of Representatives on the budget proposal of the Department of Energy.
“We are pushing for nuclear as an option,” Mr. Cusi told members of the House. “We have adopted this technology-neutral policy.”
A couple of weeks ago, DOE said it has engaged the services of the Social Weather Station to determine the public’s perception on the possibility of adopting nuclear energy in the Philippines.
Energy Undersecretary Donato Marcos had said that while results of the survey won’t be made yet, the DOE will submit this to Malacanang so it can help charter the path for a policy on nuclear energy.
“We cannot disclose now the perception survey. It will be presented to the Cabinet and, whatever will be the result, we can release it,” Mr. Marcos said.
The DOE said to address the growing demand of the country for energy, the government must explore all available sources.
“We are technology neutral, because we want to explore all possible ways to bring affordable, secure and reliable power to Filipinos throughout the entire archipelago,” Mr. Cusi said. “I believe this is the time for us to take a leap and include nuclear power into our energy mix. We wouldn’t want to wait until we are all crying for power before we actually do something.”
Coal, at present, still carries the country’s baseload requirements, accounting for 39 percent the country’s 21,241 megawatts of installed energy capacity. Renewable energy provides 31 percent of power. Natural gas contributes 16 percent, while oil, 14 percent.