DOE’s Petilla: Nothing much to gain from nuclear plant
BATAAN NUCLEAR PLANT REACTIVATION
LINGAYEN– Is life worth risking for only 30 centavos savings in electricity costs?
This, in gist, was the reaction of Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla to recent suggestions that the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Plant (BNPP) be reopened.
“The risk that may be posed by the nuclear power plants can not be compensated by just few centavos of saving that may be made by households and factories in the country, “ Mr. Petilla said even as he revealed that the operation of the mothballed plant is still not an option for the government to take in solving the country’s energy crisis.
Speaking to local newsmen here last week, Petilla said the hazards that may be posed by nuclear power plants still far outweighs the few centavos of savings that would be realized by electric consumers in the country.
Petilla said if the BNPP would be operated by Meralco today, it would charge no more than P11.50 per kilowatt. Of the amount, at least P6 will cover generation and transmission costs and P5.20, instead of P5.50 per kilowatt, for electricity cost, or a savings of just 30 centavos per kilowatt.
What is 30 centavo saving as compared to the great risk that the nuclear power plant could pose to the health of the people not only around the BNPP but also the whole of Bataan, Metro Manila and Central Luzon? Petilla asked.
One of the early proponents for the reopening of the plant was then Rep. Mark C. Cojuangco. It was revived by Sen. JV Ejercito last year during a hearing on the projected power crisis in 2015.
He said those calling for the operation of the BNPP are lying to the people when they claim that by going nuclear, the people will see much lower electric charges in their monthly billing.
To experience more savings, he said the county will have to operate more nuclear plants, translating to more risks.
But Petilla conceded that not even the President or Congress should decide whether the country would allow nuclear plants to operate in the country.
He said the decision should be made by the people through a national referendum so that if this would be challenged in the Supreme Court, the tribunal can always say this had the approval of the people.
It will be recalled, the government finished paying its obligation to BNPP’s developer in 2007, more than 30 years since the project’s construction began in 1976.
Though completed, the BNPP has never been fueled even once, following several oppositions from various environmental groups and some residents of Morong, Bataan, where the plant is situated.
The opposition grew after it was found out that the plant is situated within a major faultline and is close to Mount Pinatubo, which erupted in 1991.
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