DOE to get consultant on possible rehab of Bataan nuke plant

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Energy (DOE) is planning to get a consultant to do a feasibility study on the proposed rehabilitation of the 600-megawatt (MW) Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP).

Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes said if possible, they would get local experts to do the study.

“If the feasibility study says that the existing facilities can be used, then we will rehabilitate it. Before we start the feasibility study, we have to create a team and get the appropriate approvals… I would prefer local consultants,” he said.

But Reyes said they would first create a special department that would be specifically tasked to deal with matters relating to the country’s nuclear development projects.

Reyes however pointed out that the study does not mean that the government would immediately order the reactivation of the power facility.

“The deal is this: we have to prepare for a feasibility study and decide long term. And it will take two years to do nothing but study it. Afterwards, when we are satisfied that it is safe, harmless, economical, beneficial and practical… then we will start to rehabilitate, which will take five years. So we won’t see this thing until seven years from now and we will generate some 620 MW of power for 30 years if we give a green light,” he said.

He said the results of the study would serve as a guide for the government on whether to pursue the planned rehabilitation of BNPP or not.

According to Reyes, there is an impending power shortage in the country in the coming years and rehabilitating the BNPP or putting up a new nuclear facility would definitely be an option to solving this problem.

“Now that we have this problem of power, that people are suffering rotating brownouts when the power coming from Leyte will have to be exported to Cebu, Negros and then Panay. We have plenty of areas that are still un-energized – we have only energized about 96 percent under the barangay electrification program. And we should aim for 100-percent electrification. One option – and we should leave all options open – is to revisit the nuclear option,” he said.

The energy chief said there would be no definitive decision on the fate of BNPP until after seven years when the feasibility study and all the necessary rehabilitation work is done.

“I’m not saying we will open it tomorrow. That’s why we said we will conduct a feasibility study and we invited experts from IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) to assist us,” he said.

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan however assailed proposals to revive the mothballed BNPP, saying the plan was both “ridiculous and dangerous.”

“The proposal is patently ridiculous and dangerous. It is the latest in government’s non-solutions to the energy crisis,” said Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes Jr.

“The BNPP was proven to be an anomalous contract entered into by the Marcos dictatorship. We haven’t even finished paying this onerous debt. Now government is suggesting we borrow more money, $800 million more, so we can operate the plant. This debt will again be paid for by Juan de la Cruz. They call that a solution, mire the people deeper in debt?” Reyes asked.

Reyes said the $800-million rehabilitation plan would cost the government more than if it were to simply remove the value added tax on oil and power. The peso equivalent of the debt would be around P34.4 billion.

“The revival of the plant will simply legitimize a previously onerous contract. It does the public no good to be borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars now. The results will not even directly benefit the people,” Reyes said.

“Increased foreign borrowings also add to fiscal pressure. With mounting foreign debt, government will be obliged to impose more taxes on the people. All the more the government will need to impose the VAT on oil and power. Government will simply be digging a deeper hole,” the Bayan official said.

Bayan also raised the long-standing environmental and safety concerns, especially for residents of Bataan. “The plant has been strongly opposed by the residents of Bataan. They do not want a nuclear plant in their area,” Reyes said.

“The issue is to resolve the energy crisis by reducing power rates. This can be done even without operating the BNPP. The starting point would be the removal of VAT on power and oil. This is the most direct way of helping consumers cope with the crisis. This is far better than any subsidy scheme that is in fact being funded by consumers themselves,” Reyes said.