A senator is urging the government to consider reviving the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) to provide cheaper power to consumers.
“It’s worth considering. One of the weaknesses of the Philippine economy, aside from infrastructure, is the high cost of energy,” Senator Joseph Victor said in a report by the Philippine Star.
The senator said this after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) declared that the location where BNPP stands is safe.
Earlier, Phivolcs director Renato Solidum recently vouched for the safety of the area when BNPP is located, reducing fears that an earthquake or eruption of the nearby Mount Natib that could lead to a catastrophe.
Solidum noted that Mount Natib is no longer active and BNPP is built on a solid foundation.
“But in this day and age, most developed countries are using nuclear energy. China is building 50 nuclear power plants,” Ejercito said.
The senator added that nuclear energy will contribute in bringing down power rates for the consumers in the country.
Consumers are charged P5 per kilowatt hour based on the current average power generation rate in the country, Ejercito said.
But nuclear power will cost only P1.80 to P2.50 per kWh, the senator stressed.
The option of reviving BNPP has been met with conflicting opinions from other senators, including Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate committee on energy.
Gatchalian said that he was not in favor of the BNPP revival because it was idle for over 40 years and there are now newer and safer technologies available.